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 Stairtown (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 Stairtown. 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 southeast 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 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 east 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.
Stairtown is located in Caldwell 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 Caldwell County: Bastrop, Fayette, Gonzales, Guadalupe, Hays & Travis.
Below are the counties that are near Stairtown. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Stairtown:
- Caldwell County (The home county of Stairtown)
- The following are listed by their distance from Stairtown, with the one closest to Stairtown listed first.
- Prairie Lea
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Fentress
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Joliet
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Joliet is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joliet
- Mineral Springs ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Mineral Springs is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral Springs
- Luling
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Soda Springs
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Soda Springs is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soda Springs
- McNeil
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- McNeil is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McNeil
- Brownsboro
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Brownsboro is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsboro
- Seawillow
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Seawillow is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seawillow
- Martindale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Maxwell
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Tilmon
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Tilmon is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tilmon
- Bastrop County
- The following are listed by their distance from Stairtown, with the one closest to Stairtown listed first.
- Bateman
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Bateman is located in Bastrop County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bateman
- Mustang Ridge
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Mustang Ridge is located in Bastrop County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mustang Ridge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,001 people
- Red Rock
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Jeddo
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Jeddo is located in Bastrop County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeddo
- Cedar Creek
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Rosanky
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Comal County
- The following are listed by their distance from Stairtown, with the one closest to Stairtown listed first.
- Hunter
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Hunter is located in Comal County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunter
- Freiheit
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Freiheit is located in Comal County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freiheit
- Gruene
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Thorn Hill
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Thorn Hill is located in Comal County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorn Hill
- New Braunfels
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Preiss Heights
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Preiss Heights is located in Comal County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Preiss Heights
- Royal Forest
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Royal Forest is located in Comal County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal Forest
- Landa Park Highlands
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- First Crossing
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- First Crossing is located in Comal County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for First Crossing
- Jentsch Acres
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Jentsch Acres is located in Comal County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jentsch Acres
- Second Crossing
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Second Crossing is located in Comal County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Second Crossing
- Solms
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Solms is located in Comal County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Solms
- Gonzales County
- The following are listed by their distance from Stairtown, with the one closest to Stairtown listed first.
- Ottine
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Harwood
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Belmont
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Oak Forest
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Oak Forest is located in Gonzales County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Forest
- Sandy Fork
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Sandy Fork is located in Gonzales County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Fork
- Monthalia ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Monthalia is located in Gonzales County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monthalia
- Bebe
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Leesville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Cost
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Cost is located in Gonzales County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cost
- Gonzales
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Summerville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Summerville is located in Gonzales County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerville
- Dewville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Dewville is located in Gonzales County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dewville
- Guadalupe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Stairtown, with the one closest to Stairtown listed first.
- Staples
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Kingsbury
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Weinert
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Weinert is located in Guadalupe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weinert
- Galle
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Galle is located in Guadalupe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galle
- Redwood
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Redwood is located in Guadalupe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redwood
- Zorn
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Zorn is located in Guadalupe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zorn
- Lauback
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Lauback is located in Guadalupe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lauback
- Geronimo
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Barbarosa
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Barbarosa is located in Guadalupe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barbarosa
- Seguin
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Camp Willow
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Camp Willow is located in Guadalupe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camp Willow
- Clear Springs
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Clear Springs is located in Guadalupe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Springs
- Hays County
- The following are listed by their distance from Stairtown, with the one closest to Stairtown listed first.
- San Marcos
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Goforth
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Goforth is located in Hays County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goforth
- Kyle
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Mountain City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Mountain City is located in Hays County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 858 people
- Buda
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Flatrock Ford
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Flatrock Ford is located in Hays County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flatrock Ford
- Hays
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Hays is located in Hays County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hays
- Population from the 2020 Census: 283 people
- Cloptins Crossing
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Cloptins Crossing is located in Hays County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloptins Crossing
- Pioneer Town
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Pioneer Town is located in Hays County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pioneer Town
- Wimberley
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Travis County
- The following are listed by their distance from Stairtown, with the one closest to Stairtown listed first.
- Creedmoor
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Carl
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Carl is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carl
- Elroy
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Elroy is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elroy
- Manchaca
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Onion Creek
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Onion Creek is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onion Creek
- San Leanna
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- San Leanna is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Leanna
- Population from the 2020 Census: 507 people
- Pilot Knob
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Pilot Knob is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilot Knob
- Wilson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Stairtown, with the one closest to Stairtown listed first.
- Nockenut
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Nockenut is located in Wilson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nockenut
- Union
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Union is located in Wilson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Stairtown, see our County-by-County Page for Stairtown.
Cemeteries Near Stairtown ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Stairtown.
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 Stairtown - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Stairtown covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Stairtown, with the one closest to Stairtown listed first.
- Kelly Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Appling Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Ussery Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Prairie Lea Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- San Juan #2 Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Happle Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Marines Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Union Hill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Vogel Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Pentress Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Highsmith Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Community Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Continue List (191 more) ...
- St. Johns Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Loehmann Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Koonsen Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
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.<3>
While we didn't find Stairtown in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Stairtown.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Stairtown, with the one closest to Stairtown listed first.
- Prairie Lea
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Luling
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Kingsbury
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Staples
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Martindale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Maxwell
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Tilmon
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Tilmon is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tilmon
- Lockhart
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Belmont
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Harwood
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Reedville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Reedville is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reedville
- Zorn
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Zorn is located in Guadalupe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zorn
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Geronimo
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Slayden
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Slayden is located in Gonzales County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slayden
- Seguin
(17 miles [27.4 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 Stairtown. See our List of 1890's Communities around Stairtown.
Newspapers Published in Stairtown ...
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 97 newspapers that have been published in the area around Stairtown.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Stairtown, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Stairtown.
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 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 Stairtown:
- Websites specific to Texas
- Pages specific to Caldwell County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bastrop County
- Comal County
- Gonzales County
- Guadalupe County
- Hays County
- Travis County
- Wilson 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> | 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 Stairtown, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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 from Point A (ie- Stairtown) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |