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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:

  • That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
  • We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
  • On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.

By learning about Rock Island (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.

As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Rock Island. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.

Name Variations for Rock Island ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Rock Island: Rock Is. (in Canada, 'Isld.' is the more common abbreviation.)

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

Neighboring Counties ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived:  their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the west contained birth and death records; the county to the south contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Rock Island is located in Colorado County.

To see how the shape of Texas' counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Colorado County: Austin, Fayette, Lavaca & Wharton.

Below are the counties that are near Rock Island. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Rock Island:

  • Colorado County     (The home county of Rock Island)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rock Island, with the one closest to Rock Island listed first.
    • Sheridan
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Altair
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Altair have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altair
      • Altair is located in Colorado County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Altair <1>
    • Glidden
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Glidden have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glidden
      • Glidden is located in Colorado County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Glidden <1>
    • Columbus
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Garwood
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garwood
      • Garwood is located in Colorado County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Garwood <1>
    • Boedecker Junction
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Boedecker Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boedecker Junction
      • Boedecker Junction is located in Colorado County
    • Alleyton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Ramsey
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ramsey have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ramsey
      • Ramsey is located in Colorado County
    • Borden
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Borden have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borden
      • Borden is located in Colorado County
    • New Bielau ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Bielau have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Bielau
      • New Bielau is located in Colorado County
    • Nada
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Eagle Lake
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Hillcrest
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillcrest
      • Hillcrest is located in Colorado County
  • Austin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rock Island, with the one closest to Rock Island listed first.
    • New Ulm
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Rexville ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rexville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rexville
      • Rexville is located in Austin County
    • Cat Spring
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cat Spring have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cat Spring
      • Cat Spring is located in Austin County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cat Spring <1>
    • Sealy
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sealy have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sealy
      • Sealy is located in Austin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,443 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sealy <1>
    • Industry
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Industry have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Industry
      • Industry is located in Austin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 326 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Industry <1>
    • Millheim
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Millheim have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millheim
      • Millheim is located in Austin County
  • Fayette County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rock Island, with the one closest to Rock Island listed first.
    • Dubina ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dubina have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dubina
      • Dubina is located in Fayette County
    • Ellinger
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Schulenburg
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Fayetteville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fayetteville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayetteville
      • Fayetteville is located in Fayette County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 257 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fayetteville <1>
    • Joiner
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Joiner have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joiner
      • Joiner is located in Fayette County
    • Freyburg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Freyburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freyburg
      • Freyburg is located in Fayette County
    • Halsted
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halsted
      • Halsted is located in Fayette County
    • Engle
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Engle
      • Engle is located in Fayette County
    • Hostyn
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hostyn
      • Hostyn is located in Fayette County
  • Jackson County
    • Morales
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morales
      • Morales is located in Jackson County
  • Lavaca County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rock Island, with the one closest to Rock Island listed first.
    • Sublime
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sublime have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sublime
      • Sublime is located in Lavaca County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sublime <1>
    • Hackberry ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hackberry have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hackberry
      • Hackberry is located in Lavaca County
    • Speaks
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Hallettsville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Moravia
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moravia
      • Moravia is located in Lavaca County
    • Breslau
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Breslau
      • Breslau is located in Lavaca County
    • Ezzell
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ezzell
      • Ezzell is located in Lavaca County
    • Komensky
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Komensky
      • Komensky is located in Lavaca County
    • Wied
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wied have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wied
      • Wied is located in Lavaca County
  • Wharton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rock Island, with the one closest to Rock Island listed first.
    • Bonus
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonus
      • Bonus is located in Wharton County
    • Hahn
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hahn
      • Hahn is located in Wharton County
    • Lissie
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Egypt
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Nottawa
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nottawa
      • Nottawa is located in Wharton County
    • Glen Flora
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • El Campo
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for El Campo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for El Campo
      • El Campo is located in Wharton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,502 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for El Campo <1>
    • Hillje
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillje
      • Hillje is located in Wharton County
    • East Bernard
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Louise
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Pierce
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pierce have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pierce
      • Pierce is located in Wharton County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pierce <1>

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Rock Island, see our County-by-County Page for Rock Island.

Newspapers Published in Rock Island ...

An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).

To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.

Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 45 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rock Island.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Rock Island, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Rock Island.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.

To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Rock Island:

Cemeteries Near Rock Island ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rock Island.

This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Rock Island covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Rock Island, with the one closest to Rock Island listed first.

  • Myrtle Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Myrtle Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Myrtle Cemetery
  • Cheetham Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cheetham Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cheetham Cemetery
  • Miller Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Miller Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Miller Cemetery
  • Miller Creek Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Ijams Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Garwood Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Garwood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Garwood Cemetery
  • Garwood Methodist Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Garwood Methodist Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Garwood Methodist Cemetery
  • Pinchback Obenchain Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pinchback Obenchain Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pinchback Obenchain Cemetery
  • Smoothingiron Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Smoothingiron Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Smoothingiron Cemetery
  • Brownson Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Brownson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Brownson Cemetery
  • Odd Fellows Rest Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • St. Anthony's Catholic Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (140 more) ...
    • Willing Workers Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Shepard Memorial Park
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Adams Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Adams Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Adams Cemetery

Nearby Communities in 1895 ...

We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<4>

While we didn't find Rock Island in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Rock Island.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Rock Island, with the one closest to Rock Island listed first.

  • Altair
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Altair have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altair
    • Altair is located in Colorado County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Altair <1>
  • Glidden
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Glidden have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glidden
    • Glidden is located in Colorado County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Glidden <1>
  • Columbus
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Sublime
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sublime have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sublime
    • Sublime is located in Lavaca County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sublime <1>
  • Ramsey
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ramsey have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ramsey
    • Ramsey is located in Colorado County
  • Alleyton
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Borden
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Borden have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borden
    • Borden is located in Colorado County
  • Eagle Lake
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
  • Vienna
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vienna have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vienna
    • Vienna is located in Lavaca County
  • Oakland
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
  • Mentz
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mentz have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mentz
    • Mentz is located in Colorado County
  • Hackberry ‑ Historic
    (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hackberry have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hackberry
    • Hackberry is located in Lavaca County
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Kinkler
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kinkler have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinkler
      • Kinkler is located in Lavaca County
    • Dubina ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dubina have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dubina
      • Dubina is located in Fayette County
    • Gleckler
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gleckler have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gleckler
      • Gleckler is located in Lavaca County

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Rock Island. See our List of 1890's Communities around Rock Island.

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Rock Island. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for State of Texas: https://texas.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<2>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Rock Island) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rock Island. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 29.5311, Longitude: -96.5752       In this case, the coordinates for Rock Island have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Rock Island, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024