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 Sterling Forest (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 Sterling Forest. 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 Sterling Forest ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Sterling Forest: Sterling Frst.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Sterling Forest. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Sterling Forest.
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 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.
Sterling Forest is located in Harris 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 Harris County: Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Liberty, Montgomery & Waller.
Below are the counties that are near Sterling Forest. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Sterling Forest:
- Harris County (The home county of Sterling Forest)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sterling Forest, with the one closest to Sterling Forest listed first.
- Channelview
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Cloverleaf
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Winterwood Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Winterwood Village is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winterwood Village
- Sheldon
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Sheldon is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheldon
- Highlands
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Jacinto City
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Deer Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Galena Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Pasadena
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Barrett
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Crosby
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Harrisburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Harrisburg is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrisburg
- Magnolia Park
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Magnolia Park is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia Park
- Brazoria County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sterling Forest, with the one closest to Sterling Forest listed first.
- Woodcreek
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Woodcreek is located in Brazoria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodcreek
- Brookside Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Pearland
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- West Oaks Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- West Oaks Village is located in Brazoria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Oaks Village
- Westwood Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Westwood Village is located in Brazoria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood Village
- Fairway Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Fairway Village is located in Brazoria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairway Village
- Manvel
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Alvin
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Hillcrest
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Hillcrest is located in Brazoria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillcrest
- Population from the 2020 Census: 706 people
- Iowa Colony
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Iowa Colony is located in Brazoria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iowa Colony
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,888 people
- Chambers County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sterling Forest, with the one closest to Sterling Forest listed first.
- Baytown
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Shoreacres
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Shoreacres is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shoreacres
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,578 people
- Mont Belvieu
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Seabrook
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Beach City
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Beach City is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beach City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,825 people
- Old River - Winfree
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Old River - Winfree is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old River - Winfree
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,453 people
- Cove
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Cove is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 586 people
- Wallisville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Anahuac
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Turtle Bayou
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Turtle Bayou is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turtle Bayou
- Smith Point
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Smith Point is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smith Point
- Fort Bend County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sterling Forest, with the one closest to Sterling Forest listed first.
- Fresno
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Missouri City Estates
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Missouri City Estates is located in Fort Bend County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Missouri City Estates
- Arcola
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Fifth Street
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Fifth Street is located in Fort Bend County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fifth Street
- Stafford
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Missouri City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Meadows Place
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Meadows Place is located in Fort Bend County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadows Place
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,813 people
- Meadows
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Meadows is located in Fort Bend County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadows
- Dewalt
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Dewalt is located in Fort Bend County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dewalt
- Hawdon
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Hawdon is located in Fort Bend County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawdon
- Hawdon has also been known as:
- Hawdon Junction
- Trammels
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Trammels is located in Fort Bend County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trammels
- Juliff
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Juliff is located in Fort Bend County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Juliff
- Mission Bend
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Mission Bend is located in Fort Bend County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mission Bend
- Galveston County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sterling Forest, with the one closest to Sterling Forest listed first.
- Clear Lake Shores
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Quaker Village
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Quaker Village is located in Galveston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quaker Village
- Friendswood
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- League City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Parkwood Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Parkwood Village is located in Galveston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkwood Village
- South Shore Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- South Shore Village is located in Galveston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Shore Village
- Kemah
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Carmel Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Carmel Village is located in Galveston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carmel Village
- Bacliff
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Dickinson
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- San Leon
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Arcadia
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Arcadia is located in Galveston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcadia
- Santa Fe
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Liberty County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sterling Forest, with the one closest to Sterling Forest listed first.
- Stilson
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Stilson is located in Liberty County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stilson
- Gum Grove
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Gum Grove is located in Liberty County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gum Grove
- Dayton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Moss Bluff
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Moss Bluff is located in Liberty County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moss Bluff
- Liberty
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Plum Grove
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Plum Grove is located in Liberty County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plum Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 756 people
- Kenefick
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Kenefick is located in Liberty County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenefick
- Population from the 2020 Census: 722 people
- Ames
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Ames is located in Liberty County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ames
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,275 people
- Montgomery County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sterling Forest, with the one closest to Sterling Forest listed first.
- Porter
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- New Caney
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Roman Forest
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Roman Forest is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roman Forest
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,035 people
- Woodbranch
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Woodbranch is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbranch
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,498 people
- Porter Heights
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Porter Heights is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter Heights
- Patton Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Patton Village is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patton Village
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,207 people
- Splendora
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Sterling Forest, see our County-by-County Page for Sterling Forest.
Cemeteries Near Sterling Forest ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sterling Forest.
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 Sterling Forest - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Sterling Forest covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Sterling Forest, with the one closest to Sterling Forest listed first.
- San Jacinto Memorial Park
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- DeZavalla Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Harris County Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Harrington Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Hart - Magee - Oates - Singleton Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hart - Magee - Oates - Singleton Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Hart - Magee - Oates - Singleton Cemetery is located in Houston.
- The Hart - Magee - Oates - Singleton Cemetery has also been known as:
- Oates Prairie Cemetery
- Oates - Singleton Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2134356 <2>
- Betheny Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Crosby Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Sacred Heart Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Glendale Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Jackson Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Evergreen Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Lynch Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (144 more) ...
- Forest Park Lawndale Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Hill of Rest Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Earthman Memory Gardens
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Earthman Memory Gardens
- The Earthman Memory Gardens has also been known as:
- Baytown Memorial Cemetery
- Memory Gardens of Baytown
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2280 <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.<3>
While we didn't find Sterling Forest in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Sterling Forest.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Sterling Forest, with the one closest to Sterling Forest listed first.
- Red Bluff
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Red Bluff is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Bluff
- Lynchburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Lynchburg is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynchburg
- Sheldon
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Sheldon is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheldon
- Magnolia Park
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Magnolia Park is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia Park
- Harrisburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Harrisburg is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrisburg
- Crosby
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Genoa
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Genoa is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Genoa
- Houston
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Cedar Bayou
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Cedar Bayou is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Bayou
- Humble
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Mont Belvieu
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Huffman
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Pierce Junction
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Pierce Junction is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pierce Junction
- Aldine
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Dayton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Sterling Forest. See our List of 1890's Communities around Sterling Forest.
Newspapers Published in Sterling Forest ...
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 33 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sterling Forest.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sterling Forest, there are papers which were published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sterling Forest.
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 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 Sterling Forest:
- Websites specific to Texas
- Pages specific to Harris County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Brazoria County
- Chambers County
- Fort Bend County
- Galveston County
- Liberty County
- Montgomery 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 Sterling Forest, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Sterling Forest) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |