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 Maria (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 Maria. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Santa Maria 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 Maria. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Santa Maria:
- Cameron County (The home county of Santa Maria)
- The following are listed by their distance from Santa Maria, with the one closest to Santa Maria listed first.
- Longoria Townsite
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Longoria Townsite is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longoria Townsite
- Longoria Townsite has also been known as:
- Longoria Townsite Colonia
- Bluetown - Iglesia Antigua
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Bluetown
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Bluetown is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluetown
- Bluetown has also been known as:
- Blue Town
- Bluetown Colonia
- Arroyo Alto
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Arroyo Alto is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arroyo Alto
- Bixby
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Bixby is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bixby
- La Feria
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- North La Feria Village
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- North La Feria Village is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North La Feria Village
- North La Feria Village has also been known as:
- North La Feria Village Colonia
- Solis
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Solis is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Solis
- Solis has also been known as:
- Solis Colonia
- La Feria North
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- La Feria North is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Feria North
- Windsong Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Windsong Village is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsong Village
- Windsong Village has also been known as:
- Windsong Village Colonia
- Los Indios
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Rangerville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Rangerville is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rangerville
- Population from the 2010 Census: 289 people
- Rangerville has also been known as:
- Rangerville Colonia
- Carricitos
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Carricitos is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carricitos
- Hidalgo County
- The following are listed by their distance from Santa Maria, with the one closest to Santa Maria listed first.
- Rio Rico
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Rio Rico is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rio Rico
- Relampago
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Relampago is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Relampago
- Mercedes
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Progreso Lakes
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Progreso Lakes is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Progreso Lakes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 270 people
- Progreso
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Heidelberg
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Heidelberg is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heidelberg
- Llano Grande
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Llano Grande is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Llano Grande
- Villa Verde
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Villa Verde is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villa Verde
- Villa Verde has also been known as:
- Villa Verde Colonia
- Indian Hills
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Indian Hills is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Hills
- Weslaco
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Midway South
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Midway South is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway South
- Midway Village
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Midway Village is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway Village
- Midway Village has also been known as:
- Midway Village Colonia
- Midway North
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Midway North is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway North
- Willacy County
- The following are listed by their distance from Santa Maria, with the one closest to Santa Maria listed first.
- Sebastian
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Zapata Ranch
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- 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 South
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- 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
- Lyford
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Santa Monica
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Santa Monica is located in Willacy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santa Monica
- Lasara
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Ranchette Estates
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- 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
- Raymondville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Los Angeles Subdivision
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Willamar
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Willamar is located in Willacy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willamar
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Santa Maria, see our County-by-County Page for Santa Maria.
Cemeteries Near Santa Maria ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Santa Maria.
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 Maria - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Santa Maria covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Santa Maria, with the one closest to Santa Maria listed first.
- Longoria Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Ebony Grove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ebony Grove Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Ebony Grove Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the south of Mercedes.
- The Ebony Grove Cemetery has also been known as:
- Los Ebanos Mercedes Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #3362 <2>
- Mercedes Memorial Restlawn Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- La Feria Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Solis Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Restlawn Memorial Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Anacuitas Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery is located outside and to the northwest of Mercedes.
- The Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery has also been known as:
- Emmanuel Cemetery
- Mercedes Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2184663 <2>
- Mercedes Baptist Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mercedes Baptist Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Mercedes Baptist Cemetery is located outside and to the northwest of Mercedes.
- The Mercedes Baptist Cemetery has also been known as:
- Cementerio Bautista
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2827 <2>
- Mercedes Presbyterian Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mercedes Presbyterian Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Mercedes Presbyterian Cemetery is located outside and to the northwest of Mercedes.
- The Mercedes Presbyterian Cemetery has also been known as:
- Principe de Paz Presbyterian Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2403957 <2>
- Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Cemetery is located outside and to the northwest of Mercedes.
- The Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Cemetery has also been known as:
- Our Lady of Mercy Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #5844 <2>
- Cementerio Bautista Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (70 more) ...
- Campacuas Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- San Pedro Ranch Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- La Capilla Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Santa Maria had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Santa Maria, with the one closest to Santa Maria listed first.
- Brownsville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Hidalgo
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Santa Maria. See our List of 1890's Communities around Santa Maria.
Newspapers Published in Santa Maria ...
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 14 newspapers that have been published in the area around Santa Maria.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Santa Maria, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Santa Maria.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with 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 Maria:
- 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Santa Maria) 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 Maria, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |