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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 Rockport (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 Rockport. 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 Rockport ...

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.

Another variation: Rock Port.

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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.

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 north 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.

Rockport is located in Aransas County and is the County Seat.

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 Aransas County: Refugio & San Patricio.

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

  • Aransas County     (The home county of Rockport)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockport, with the one closest to Rockport listed first.
    • Fulton
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Copano Village
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Copano Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Copano Village
      • Copano Village is located in Aransas County
    • Aransas Pass
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Aransas Pass have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aransas Pass
      • Aransas Pass is located in Aransas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,496 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Aransas Pass <1>
    • Spanish Village
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spanish Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spanish Village
      • Spanish Village is located in Aransas County
  • Nueces County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockport, with the one closest to Rockport listed first.
    • Port Aransas
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Corpus Christi
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Refugio County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockport, with the one closest to Rockport listed first.
    • Bayside
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bayside have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayside
      • Bayside is located in Refugio County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 322 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bayside <1>
    • Black Point ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Black Point have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Point
      • Black Point is located in Refugio County
    • Woodsboro
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodsboro have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodsboro
      • Woodsboro is located in Refugio County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,376 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Woodsboro <1>
    • Refugio
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Austwell
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Austwell have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Austwell
      • Austwell is located in Refugio County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 144 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Austwell <1>
    • Tivoli
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • San Patricio County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockport, with the one closest to Rockport listed first.
    • Tradewinds
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tradewinds have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tradewinds
      • Tradewinds is located in San Patricio County
    • Ingleside
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ingleside have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingleside
      • Ingleside is located in San Patricio County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,043 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ingleside <1>
    • Gregory
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gregory have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gregory
      • Gregory is located in San Patricio County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,866 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gregory <1>
    • Harbor City ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harbor City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harbor City
      • Harbor City is located in San Patricio County
    • Ingleside-On-the-Bay
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ingleside-On-the-Bay have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingleside-On-the-Bay
      • Ingleside-On-the-Bay is located in San Patricio County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 608 people
    • Portland
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portland
      • Portland is located in San Patricio County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,768 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Portland <1>
    • Doyle
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Doyle have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doyle
      • Doyle is located in San Patricio County
    • Taft
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Taft have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taft
      • Taft is located in San Patricio County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,886 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Taft <1>
    • Taft Southwest
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taft Southwest
      • Taft Southwest is located in San Patricio County
    • Rancho Chico
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rancho Chico have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rancho Chico
      • Rancho Chico is located in San Patricio County
    • Sinton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sinton
      • Sinton is located in San Patricio County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,281 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sinton <1>
    • Del Sol - Loma Linda
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Del Sol - Loma Linda
      • Del Sol - Loma Linda is located in San Patricio County
    • Morgan Farm
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan Farm
      • Morgan Farm is located in San Patricio County
      • Morgan Farm has also been known as:
      • Morgan Farm Colonia

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Rockport ...

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 90 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rockport.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Rockport. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Rockport and those printed in the larger area surrounding Rockport.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<3> of Rockport.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites 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 Rockport:

Cemeteries Near Rockport ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rockport.

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 Rockport covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Rockport Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Fulton Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • McLester Family Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the McLester Family Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • The McLester Family Cemetery has also been known as:
    • McLester Cemetery
    • McLester Orchard Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McLester Family Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #5152 <4>
  • Aransas Memorial Park
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Lamar Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • San Antonio Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Prairie View Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • San Ignacio Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Royal Palm Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
  • Gregory Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Palms Memorial Gardens
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Palms Memorial Gardens is a large cemetery that is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<3> to the southeast of Portland.
    • The Palms Memorial Gardens has also been known as:
    • San Patricio Memorial Gardens
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Palms Memorial Gardens
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #6716 <4>
  • St. Bernard Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Bernard Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Bernard Cemetery
  • Continue List   (20 more) ...
    • La Rosa Cemetery
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the La Rosa Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the La Rosa Cemetery
    • Oakwood Cemetery
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Oakwood Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southwest of Refugio.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oakwood Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #5697 <4>
    • Bellevue Cemetery
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bellevue Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bellevue 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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Rockport had a population of 1,069 people in 1895 with railroad service and no post office. In 2020, Rockport had a population of 10,847 people.

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

  • Fulton
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Lamar
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lamar have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamar
    • Lamar is located in Aransas County
  • Aransas Pass
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Aransas Pass have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aransas Pass
    • Aransas Pass is located in Aransas County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,496 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Aransas Pass <1>
  • Gregory
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gregory have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gregory
    • Gregory is located in San Patricio County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,866 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gregory <1>
  • Portland
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portland
    • Portland is located in San Patricio County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,768 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Portland <1>
  • Refugio
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Sinton
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sinton
    • Sinton is located in San Patricio County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,281 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sinton <1>
  • Nueces
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nueces have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nueces
    • Nueces is located in Nueces County
  • Corpus Christi
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)

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

The official website for Rockport: www.cityofrockport.com/

The official website for Aransas County: www.co.aransas.tx.us/

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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Rockport) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rockport. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 28.0437, Longitude: -97.0511       In this case, the coordinates for Rockport have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com.
<5>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 Rockport, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024