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 Sunset Valley (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 Sunset Valley. 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 Sunset Valley ...
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 Sunset Valley: Sunset Vly. (or less commonly used: Sunset Vally. or Sunset Vlly.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Sunset Valley. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Sunset Valley.
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 hospitals 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.
Sunset Valley is located in Travis 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 Travis County: Bastrop, Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Hays & Williamson.
Below are the counties that are near Sunset Valley. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Sunset Valley:
- Travis County (The home county of Sunset Valley)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunset Valley, with the one closest to Sunset Valley listed first.
- Rollingwood
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Rollingwood is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rollingwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,571 people
- Tanglewood Forest
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Tanglewood Forest is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tanglewood Forest
- West Lake Hills
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- West Lake Hills is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Lake Hills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,254 people
- Lost Creek
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Lost Creek is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lost Creek
- Austin
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Barton Creek
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Barton Creek is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barton Creek
- Manchaca
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- San Leanna
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- San Leanna is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Leanna
- Population from the 2020 Census: 507 people
- Shady Hollow
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Shady Hollow is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Hollow
- Onion Creek
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Onion Creek is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onion Creek
- Carl
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Carl is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carl
- Pilot Knob
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Pilot Knob is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilot Knob
- Bastrop County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunset Valley, with the one closest to Sunset Valley listed first.
- Mustang Ridge
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Mustang Ridge is located in Bastrop County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mustang Ridge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,001 people
- Wyldwood
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Wyldwood is located in Bastrop County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyldwood
- Cedar Creek
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Elgin
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Bateman
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Bateman is located in Bastrop County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bateman
- Red Rock
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Phelan
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Phelan is located in Bastrop County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phelan
- Blanco County
- Cypress Mill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Burnet County
- Spicewood
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Caldwell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunset Valley, with the one closest to Sunset Valley listed first.
- Niederwald
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Niederwald is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Niederwald
- Population from the 2020 Census: 576 people
- Mendoza
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Mendoza is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mendoza
- Uhland
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Uhland is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uhland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,355 people
- Lytton Springs
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Lytton Springs is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lytton Springs
- Maxwell
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Reedville
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Reedville is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reedville
- Saint Johns Colony
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Saint Johns Colony is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Johns Colony
- Lockhart
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Dale
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Martindale
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Taylorsville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Taylorsville is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylorsville
- Elm Grove
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Elm Grove is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elm Grove
- Comal County
- Royal Forest
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Royal Forest is located in Comal County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal Forest
- Guadalupe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunset Valley, with the one closest to Sunset Valley listed first.
- Redwood
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Redwood is located in Guadalupe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redwood
- Staples
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Hays County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunset Valley, with the one closest to Sunset Valley listed first.
- Hays
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Hays is located in Hays County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hays
- Population from the 2020 Census: 283 people
- Bear Creek
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Bear Creek is located in Hays County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Creek
- Estimated population in 2017: 445 people
- Buda
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Flatrock Ford
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Flatrock Ford is located in Hays County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flatrock Ford
- Fitzhugh
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Fitzhugh is located in Hays County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitzhugh
- Mountain City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Mountain City is located in Hays County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 858 people
- Goforth
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Goforth is located in Hays County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goforth
- Driftwood
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Kyle
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Dripping Springs
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Mount Gainor
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Mount Gainor is located in Hays County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Gainor
- Woodcreek
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Woodcreek is located in Hays County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodcreek
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,758 people
- Williamson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunset Valley, with the one closest to Sunset Valley listed first.
- Anderson Mill
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Anderson Mill is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson Mill
- Jollyville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Jollyville is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jollyville
- Cedar Park
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Brushy Creek
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Brushy Creek is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brushy Creek
- Old Round Rock ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Old Round Rock is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Round Rock
- Round Rock
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Leander
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Hutto
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Georgetown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Coupland
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Sunset Valley, see our County-by-County Page for Sunset Valley.
Cemeteries Near Sunset Valley ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sunset Valley.
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 Sunset Valley - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Sunset Valley covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Sunset Valley, with the one closest to Sunset Valley listed first.
- Tucker Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Cook Walden Forest Oaks Memorial Park
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Forest Oaks Memorial Park
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Williamson Creek Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Assumption Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Oak Hill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Chapel Hill Memorial Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Brown Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Live Oak Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Texas State Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Oakwood Cemetery Annex
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Oakwood Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Oakwood Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Austin.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #5704 <2>
- Continue List (184 more) ...
- City Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Mt. Calvary Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Roberts Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
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 Sunset Valley in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Sunset Valley.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Sunset Valley, with the one closest to Sunset Valley listed first.
- Oak Hill
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Oak Hill is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Hill
- Manchaca
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Bluff Springs
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Bluff Springs is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff Springs
- Austin
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Carl
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Carl is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carl
- Cedar Valley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Cedar Valley is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Valley
- Del Valle
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Buda
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Creedmoor
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Daffan
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Daffan is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daffan
- Driftwood
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Goforth
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Goforth is located in Hays County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goforth
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Kyle
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Garfield
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Garfield is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garfield
- Dunlap
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Dunlap is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunlap
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Sunset Valley. See our List of 1890's Communities around Sunset Valley.
Newspapers Published in Sunset Valley ...
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 70 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sunset Valley.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sunset Valley, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sunset Valley.
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 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 Sunset Valley:
- Websites specific to Texas
- Pages specific to Travis County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bastrop County
- Blanco County
- Burnet County
- Caldwell County
- Comal County
- Guadalupe County
- Hays County
- Williamson 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 Sunset Valley, 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 from Point A (ie- Sunset Valley) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |