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 Thomas Ortega Colonia (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 Thomas Ortega Colonia. 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 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.

Thomas Ortega Colonia is located in Hidalgo County.

To see how the shape of Texas' counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Hidalgo County: Brooks, Cameron, Kenedy, Starr & Willacy.

Below are the counties that are near Thomas Ortega Colonia. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Thomas Ortega Colonia:

• Hidalgo County     (The home county of Thomas Ortega Colonia)
  • The following are listed by their distance from Thomas Ortega Colonia, with the one closest to Thomas Ortega Colonia listed first.
  • Palmhurst
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Palmhurst have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmhurst
    • Palmhurst is located in Hidalgo County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,719 people
  • Aloha Village
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Aloha Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aloha Village
    • Aloha Village is located in Hidalgo County
    • Aloha Village has also been known as:
    • Aloha Village Colonia
  • Alton North
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alton North
    • Alton North is located in Hidalgo County
  • Alton
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alton
    • Alton is located in Hidalgo County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 18,785 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alton <2>
  • West Sharyland
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Sharyland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Sharyland
    • West Sharyland is located in Hidalgo County
  • McAllen
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McAllen
    • McAllen is located in Hidalgo County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 143,751 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for McAllen <2>
  • Mission
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mission
    • Mission is located in Hidalgo County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 84,496 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mission <2>
  • Edinburg
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edinburg
    • Edinburg is located in Hidalgo County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 102,374 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Edinburg <2>
  • Lopezville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lopezville
    • Lopezville is located in Hidalgo County
  • La Homa
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for La Homa have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Homa
    • La Homa is located in Hidalgo County
  • Palmview South
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmview South
    • Palmview South is located in Hidalgo County
  • Doffing
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Doffing have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doffing
    • Doffing is located in Hidalgo County
• Cameron County
  • The following are listed by their distance from Thomas Ortega Colonia, with the one closest to Thomas Ortega Colonia listed first.
  • Bixby
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bixby
    • Bixby is located in Cameron County
  • Ratamosa
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ratamosa have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ratamosa
    • Ratamosa is located in Cameron County
    • Ratamosa has also been known as:
    • Ratamosa Colonia
  • Grand Acres
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grand Acres have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Acres
    • Grand Acres is located in Cameron County
  • North La Feria Village
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North La Feria Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North La Feria Village
    • North La Feria Village is located in Cameron County
    • North La Feria Village has also been known as:
    • North La Feria Village Colonia
  • Santa Rosa
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Santa Rosa have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santa Rosa
    • Santa Rosa is located in Cameron County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,684 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Santa Rosa <2>
  • Solis
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Solis have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Solis
    • Solis is located in Cameron County
    • Solis has also been known as:
    • Solis Colonia
  • Tierra Bonita
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tierra Bonita have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tierra Bonita
    • Tierra Bonita is located in Cameron County
    • Tierra Bonita has also been known as:
    • Tierra Bonita Colonia
  • La Feria North
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Feria North
    • La Feria North is located in Cameron County
  • La Feria
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Feria
    • La Feria is located in Cameron County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,240 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for La Feria <2>
  • Windsong Village
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Windsong Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsong Village
    • Windsong Village is located in Cameron County
    • Windsong Village has also been known as:
    • Windsong Village Colonia
  • Longoria Townsite
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Longoria Townsite have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longoria Townsite
    • Longoria Townsite is located in Cameron County
    • Longoria Townsite has also been known as:
    • Longoria Townsite Colonia
  • Santa Maria
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Santa Maria have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santa Maria
    • Santa Maria is located in Cameron County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Santa Maria <2>
• Starr County
  • The following are listed by their distance from Thomas Ortega Colonia, with the one closest to Thomas Ortega Colonia listed first.
  • La Grulla
    (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Grulla
    • La Grulla is located in Starr County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,682 people
  • La Victoria
    (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Victoria
    • La Victoria is located in Starr County
  • Alto Bonito
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alto Bonito
    • Alto Bonito is located in Starr County
    • Alto Bonito has also been known as:
    • Alto Bonito Colonia
  • West Alto Bonito
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Alto Bonito
    • West Alto Bonito is located in Starr County
    • West Alto Bonito has also been known as:
    • West Alto Bonito Colonia
  • Garciasville
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garciasville
    • Garciasville is located in Starr County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Garciasville <2>
  • Arkansas City
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arkansas City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arkansas City
    • Arkansas City is located in Starr County
  • Delmita
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delmita
    • Delmita is located in Starr County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Delmita <2>
  • El Refugio
    (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for El Refugio have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for El Refugio
    • El Refugio is located in Starr County
    • El Refugio has also been known as:
    • El Refugio Colonia
  • La Puerta
    (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Puerta
    • La Puerta is located in Starr County
• Willacy County
  • The following are listed by their distance from Thomas Ortega Colonia, with the one closest to Thomas Ortega Colonia listed first.
  • Lasara
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lasara have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lasara
    • Lasara is located in Willacy County
    • Lasara has also been known as:
    • La Sara
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lasara <2>
  • Zapata Ranch
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Zapata Ranch have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zapata Ranch
    • Zapata Ranch is located in Willacy County
    • Zapata Ranch has also been known as:
    • Zapata Ranch Colonia
  • Sebastian
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sebastian
    • Sebastian is located in Willacy County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sebastian <2>
  • Lyford South
    (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lyford South. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyford South
    • Lyford South is located in Willacy County
    • Lyford South has also been known as:
    • Lyford South Colonia

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Thomas Ortega Colonia, see our County-by-County Page for Thomas Ortega Colonia.

Cemeteries Near Thomas Ortega Colonia ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Thomas Ortega Colonia.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Thomas Ortega Colonia covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Thomas Ortega Colonia, with the one closest to Thomas Ortega Colonia listed first.

• Valley Memorial Gardens
  (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Valley Memorial Gardens
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Valley Memorial Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
• Laurel Hill Cemetery
  (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Laurel Hill Cemetery
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Laurel Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
• Temple Emanuel Cemetery
  (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Temple Emanuel Cemetery
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Temple Emanuel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
• Roselawn Cemetery
  (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Roselawn Cemetery
  • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #6474 <4>
• Palm Valley Memorial Gardens
  (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Palm Valley Memorial Gardens
  • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1989873 <4>
• La Piedad Cemetery
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the La Piedad Cemetery
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the La Piedad Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
• Guadalupe Cemetery
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Guadalupe Cemetery
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Guadalupe Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
• Hillcrest Memorial Park
  (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hillcrest Memorial Park
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hillcrest Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
• Restlawn Cemetery
  (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Restlawn Cemetery
  • To give a relative sense of its location, the Restlawn Cemetery is located outside and to the northeast of Edinburg.
• San Jose Cemetery
  (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the San Jose Cemetery
  • The San Jose Cemetery has also been known as:
  • Abram Cemetery
• Granjeno Cemetery
  (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Granjeno Cemetery
  • To give a relative sense of its location, the Granjeno Cemetery is located in Granjeno.
• San Juan Cemetery
  (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the San Juan Cemetery
  • To give a relative sense of its location, the San Juan Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the south of San Juan.
  • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #6707 <4>
• Continue List   (70 more) ...
  • Old Edinburg Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Edinburg Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Edinburg Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pharr Memorial Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pharr Memorial Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pharr Memorial Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • San Antonio Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the San Antonio Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the San Antonio Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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.<5>

While we didn't find Thomas Ortega Colonia in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Thomas Ortega Colonia.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Thomas Ortega Colonia, with the one closest to Thomas Ortega Colonia listed first.

• Hidalgo
  (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hidalgo
  • Hidalgo is located in Hidalgo County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 14,305 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hidalgo <2>
• Havana
  (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Havana
  • Havana is located in Hidalgo County
• Los Angeles
  (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Los Angeles have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Los Angeles
  • Los Angeles is located in Hidalgo County
• Santa Maria
  (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Santa Maria have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santa Maria
  • Santa Maria is located in Cameron County
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Santa Maria <2>

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Thomas Ortega Colonia. See our List of 1890's Communities around Thomas Ortega Colonia.

Newspapers Published in Thomas Ortega Colonia ...

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 16 newspapers that have been published in the area around Thomas Ortega Colonia.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Thomas Ortega Colonia, there are papers which were published within 5 miles [8 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Thomas Ortega Colonia.

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 helpful 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 Thomas Ortega Colonia:

• Websites specific to Texas
  • Jump to Cyndi's List
  • Jump to Family Search
  • Jump to Genealogy Trails
  • Website for the //www.tsl.texas.gov/

• Pages specific to Hidalgo County
  • Jump to Cyndi's List
  • Jump to Family Search
  • Jump to Genealogy Trails

• Genealogy information for nearby counties
  • Cameron County
    • Jump to Cyndi's List
    • Jump to Family Search
  • Starr County
    • Jump to Cyndi's List
    • Jump to Family Search
    • Jump to Genealogy Trails
  • Willacy County
    • Jump to Cyndi's List
    • Jump to Family Search
    • Jump to Genealogy Trails

• Cemetery Information and Directories for Texas
  • Cemetery Junction: Cemeteries of Texas
  • Cyndi's List
  • Cemeteries of Texas
  • Cemeteries of Hidalgo County
  • FamilySearch.org: Cemeteries of Texas
  • Find-A-Grave: Home Page
  • Interment.net
  • Cemeteries of Texas

Off-the-Road Links ...

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Thomas Ortega Colonia. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Hidalgo County: www.co.hidalgo.tx.us/

The official website for State of Texas: https://texas.gov/