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 Santa Elena (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 Santa Elena. 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 Santa Elena ...
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.
Santa Elena has also been known as: Santa Elena Colonia.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Santa Elena. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Santa Elena.
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 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.
Santa Elena is located in Cameron County.
To see how the shape of Texas' counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Cameron County: Hidalgo & Willacy.
Below are the counties that are near Santa Elena. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Santa Elena:
- Cameron County (The home county of Santa Elena)
- The following are listed by their distance from Santa Elena, with the one closest to Santa Elena listed first.
- Rio Hondo
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Arroyo Colorado Estates
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Arroyo Colorado Estates is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arroyo Colorado Estates
- Arroyo Colorado Estates has also been known as:
- Arroyo Colorado Estates Colonia
- Lasana
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Lasana is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lasana
- Lasana has also been known as:
- Lasana Colonia
- Villa del Sol
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Villa del Sol is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villa del Sol
- Villa del Sol has also been known as:
- Villa del Sol Colonia
- Harlingen
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Combes
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Combes is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Combes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,037 people
- Combes has also been known as:
- Combes Colonia
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Combes <1>
- Lozano
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- San Benito
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Las Palmas - Juarez
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Las Palmas - Juarez is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Las Palmas - Juarez
- Primera
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Primera is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Primera
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,271 people
- Arroyo Gardens - La Tina Ranch
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Palm Valley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Palm Valley is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palm Valley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,231 people
- Hidalgo County
- The following are listed by their distance from Santa Elena, with the one closest to Santa Elena listed first.
- Heidelberg
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Heidelberg is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heidelberg
- Indian Hills
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Indian Hills is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Hills
- La Villa
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- La Villa is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Villa
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,935 people
- Mercedes
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Relampago
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Relampago is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Relampago
- Rio Rico
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Rio Rico is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rio Rico
- Edcouch
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Mila Doce
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Mila Doce is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mila Doce
- Elsa
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Llano Grande
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Llano Grande is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Llano Grande
- Monte Alto
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Olivarez
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Olivarez is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olivarez
- Willacy County
- The following are listed by their distance from Santa Elena, with the one closest to Santa Elena listed first.
- Santa Monica
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Santa Monica is located in Willacy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santa Monica
- Sebastian
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Willamar
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Willamar is located in Willacy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willamar
- Lyford South
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Lyford South is located in Willacy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyford South
- Lyford South has also been known as:
- Lyford South Colonia
- Zapata Ranch
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Zapata Ranch is located in Willacy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zapata Ranch
- Zapata Ranch has also been known as:
- Zapata Ranch Colonia
- Lyford
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- San Perlita
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Raymondville
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Los Angeles Subdivision
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Ranchette Estates
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Ranchette Estates is located in Willacy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ranchette Estates
- Ranchette Estates has also been known as:
- Ranchette Estates Colonia
- Lasara
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Port Mansfield
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Santa Elena, see our County-by-County Page for Santa Elena.
Cemeteries Near Santa Elena ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Santa Elena.
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.
Although we don't have the information ourselves, if you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our list of websites on our Genealogy Helper Page for Santa Elena - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Santa Elena covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Santa Elena, with the one closest to Santa Elena listed first.
- Rio Hondo City Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Rio Hondo Community Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rio Hondo Community Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Rio Hondo Community Cemetery is located outside and to the east of Rio Hondo.
- The Rio Hondo Community Cemetery has also been known as:
- Jack Carpenter Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2188890 <2>
- Los Omales Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Ashland Memorial Park
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland Memorial Park
- The Ashland Memorial Park has also been known as:
- Loma Linda Cemetery
- San Antonio Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Monte Meta Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Harlingan City Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- San Benito City Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- San Benito Memorial Park Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Tanquesitos Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tanquesitos Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Tanquesitos Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<3> to the south of Santa Monica.
- Noyola Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- San Rafael Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Continue List (53 more) ...
- Las Rucias Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- La Leona Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Cavazos Family Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cavazos Family Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Cavazos Family Cemetery is located 11 miles [17.7 km]<3> to the southeast of San Perlita.
- The Cavazos Family Cemetery has also been known as:
- Sabino Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2492338 <2>
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 Santa Elena in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Santa Elena.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Santa Elena, with the one closest to Santa Elena listed first.
- Santa Maria
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Brownsville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Santa Elena. See our List of 1890's Communities around Santa Elena.
Newspapers Published in Santa Elena ...
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 12 newspapers that have been published in the area around Santa Elena.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Santa Elena, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Santa Elena.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Santa Elena:
- Websites specific to Texas
- Pages specific to Cameron County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Hidalgo County
- Willacy County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Texas
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 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. |
| <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 from Point A (ie- Santa Elena) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Santa Elena, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |