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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 Salem (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 Salem. 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.

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 doctors 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.

Salem is located in Victoria 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 Victoria County: Calhoun, DeWitt, Goliad, Jackson, Lavaca & Refugio.

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

  • Victoria County     (The home county of Salem)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
    • Telferner
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Inez
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Inez have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inez
      • Inez is located in Victoria County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Inez <1>
    • Nursery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Victoria
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Hughes ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hughes have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hughes
      • Hughes is located in Victoria County
    • Dacosta
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dacosta
      • Dacosta is located in Victoria County
    • Placedo
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Placedo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Placedo
      • Placedo is located in Victoria County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Placedo <1>
    • Coletoville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coletoville
      • Coletoville is located in Victoria County
    • Bloomington
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bloomington have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomington
      • Bloomington is located in Victoria County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bloomington <1>
    • Oak Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oak Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Village
      • Oak Village is located in Victoria County
    • McFaddin
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Calhoun County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
    • Kamey
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Kamey. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kamey
      • Kamey is located in Calhoun County
    • Point Comfort
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Point Comfort have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Point Comfort
      • Point Comfort is located in Calhoun County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 652 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Point Comfort <1>
  • Colorado County
    • Provident City ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Provident City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Provident City
      • Provident City is located in Colorado County
  • DeWitt County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
    • Thomaston
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Terryville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terryville
      • Terryville is located in DeWitt County
    • Cuero
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Edgar
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgar
      • Edgar is located in DeWitt County
    • Meyersville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meyersville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meyersville
      • Meyersville is located in DeWitt County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Meyersville <1>
    • Yoakum
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Pearl City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pearl City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearl City
      • Pearl City is located in DeWitt County
  • Goliad County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
    • Cologne
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cologne
      • Cologne is located in Goliad County
      • Former names for Cologne:
      • Centerville
      • Ira Station
      • Perdido
    • Kilgore
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kilgore
      • Kilgore is located in Goliad County
    • Ander
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ander
      • Ander is located in Goliad County
    • Fannin
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Weser
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weser
      • Weser is located in Goliad County
  • Jackson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
    • Morales
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morales
      • Morales is located in Jackson County
    • Matilda
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matilda
      • Matilda is located in Jackson County
    • Edna
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edna have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edna
      • Edna is located in Jackson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,755 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Edna <1>
    • La Salle
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for La Salle have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Salle
      • La Salle is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for La Salle <1>
    • Vanderbilt
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vanderbilt have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vanderbilt
      • Vanderbilt is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vanderbilt <1>
    • Ganado
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Lolita
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lolita have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lolita
      • Lolita is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lolita <1>
    • La Ward
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for La Ward have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Ward
      • La Ward is located in Jackson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 233 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for La Ward <1>
  • Lavaca County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
    • Hope
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope
      • Hope is located in Lavaca County
    • Ezzell
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ezzell
      • Ezzell is located in Lavaca County
    • Speaks
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Sweet Home
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sweet Home have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweet Home
      • Sweet Home is located in Lavaca County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sweet Home <1>

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

Cemeteries Near Salem ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Salem.

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

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

  • Bischoff Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bischoff Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bischoff Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Fordtran Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fordtran Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fordtran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hirchhauser Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hirchhauser Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hirchhauser Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • McHenry Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McHenry Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the McHenry Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Cox Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cox Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cox Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Farrer Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Farrer Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Farrer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Knopp Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Knopp Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Knopp Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Oliver Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oliver Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oliver Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Terrell Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Terrell Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Terrell Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Nursery Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Nursery Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Nursery Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Memory Gardens Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Memory Gardens Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Memory Gardens Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Edwards Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Edwards Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Edwards Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (106 more) ...
    • Harrison Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Harrison Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Harrison Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Kerr Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Kerr Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Kerr Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Gideon Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gideon Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gideon Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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 Salem in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Salem.

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

  • Inez
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Inez have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inez
    • Inez is located in Victoria County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Inez <1>
  • Navidad
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Navidad have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Navidad
    • Navidad is located in Jackson County
  • Nursery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • El Toro
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for El Toro have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for El Toro
    • El Toro is located in Jackson County
  • Victoria
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Morales
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morales
    • Morales is located in Jackson County
  • Thomaston
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • Edna
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edna have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edna
    • Edna is located in Jackson County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,755 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Edna <1>
  • Guadalupe
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Guadalupe have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guadalupe
    • Guadalupe is located in Victoria County
  • Hope
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope
    • Hope is located in Lavaca County
  • Terryville
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terryville
    • Terryville is located in DeWitt County
  • Mission Valley
    (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mission Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mission Valley
    • Mission Valley is located in Victoria County
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Aloe
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Aloe have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aloe
      • Aloe is located in Victoria County
    • Stratton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stratton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stratton
      • Stratton is located in DeWitt County
    • Ezzell
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ezzell
      • Ezzell 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 Salem. See our List of 1890's Communities around Salem.

Newspapers Published in Salem ...

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 38 newspapers that have been published in the area around Salem.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Salem, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Salem.

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 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 Salem:

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

The official website for Victoria County: www.victoriacountytx.org/

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>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<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 Salem, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>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- Salem) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Salem. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 28.9889, Longitude: -96.9111       In this case, the coordinates for Salem have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025