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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 Tierra Bella (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 Tierra Bella. 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 Tierra Bella ...

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.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

Tierra Bella has also been known as: Tierra Bella Colonia.

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 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.

Tierra Bella 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 Tierra Bella. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Tierra Bella:

  • Hidalgo County     (The home county of Tierra Bella)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Tierra Bella, with the one closest to Tierra Bella listed first.
    • Scissors
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scissors have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scissors
      • Scissors is located in Hidalgo County
    • Donna
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donna
      • Donna is located in Hidalgo County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 16,316 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Donna <2>
    • Midway South
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway South
      • Midway South is located in Hidalgo County
    • Midway Village
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Midway Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway Village
      • Midway Village is located in Hidalgo County
      • Midway Village has also been known as:
      • Midway Village Colonia
    • Villa Verde
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Villa Verde have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villa Verde
      • Villa Verde is located in Hidalgo County
      • Villa Verde has also been known as:
      • Villa Verde Colonia
    • South Alamo
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Alamo
      • South Alamo is located in Hidalgo County
    • Midway North
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway North
      • Midway North is located in Hidalgo County
    • Weslaco
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Southside Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Southside Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southside Village
      • Southside Village is located in Hidalgo County
      • Southside Village has also been known as:
      • Southside Village Colonia
    • Llano Grande
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Llano Grande have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Llano Grande
      • Llano Grande is located in Hidalgo County
    • Alamo
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alamo
      • Alamo is located in Hidalgo County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 20,556 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alamo <2>
    • Plumosa Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plumosa Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plumosa Village
      • Plumosa Village is located in Hidalgo County
      • Plumosa Village has also been known as:
      • Plumosa Village Colonia
  • Cameron County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Tierra Bella, with the one closest to Tierra Bella listed first.
    • Bixby
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bixby
      • Bixby is located in Cameron County
    • Longoria Townsite
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • 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
    • North La Feria Village
      (13 miles [20.9 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
    • Ratamosa
      (13 miles [20.9 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
    • Santa Maria
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • 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>
    • Solis
      (13 miles [20.9 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
    • Arroyo Alto
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arroyo Alto have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arroyo Alto
      • Arroyo Alto is located in Cameron County
    • Bluetown - Iglesia Antigua
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Bluetown
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluetown
      • Bluetown is located in Cameron County
      • Bluetown has also been known as:
      • Blue Town
      • Bluetown Colonia
    • La Feria North
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Feria North
      • La Feria North is located in Cameron County
    • La Feria
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Windsong Village
      (14 miles [22.5 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
  • Willacy County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Tierra Bella, with the one closest to Tierra Bella listed first.
    • Zapata Ranch
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • 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
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Lasara
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • 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>
    • Lyford South
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lyford South have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • 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
    • Lyford
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lyford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyford
      • Lyford is located in Willacy County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,513 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lyford <2>
    • Ranchette Estates
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ranchette Estates have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ranchette Estates
      • Ranchette Estates is located in Willacy County
      • Ranchette Estates has also been known as:
      • Ranchette Estates Colonia
    • Raymondville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Los Angeles Subdivision
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Los Angeles Subdivision have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Los Angeles Subdivision
      • Los Angeles Subdivision is located in Willacy County

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

Newspapers Published in Tierra Bella ...

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 20 newspapers that have been published in the area around Tierra Bella.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Tierra Bella, there are papers which were published within 9 miles [14.5 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Tierra Bella.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Tierra Bella:

Cemeteries Near Tierra Bella ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Tierra Bella.

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 Tierra Bella covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Tierra Bella, with the one closest to Tierra Bella listed first.

  • Donna City Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Asadores Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Asadores Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Asadores Cemetery
  • Webber Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Webber Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Webber Cemetery
  • Balli Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Balli Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Balli Cemetery
  • Weslaco Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Weslaco Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Weslaco Cemetery
  • St. Joseph Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Joseph Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Joseph Cemetery
  • San Pedro Ranch Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the San Pedro Ranch Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the San Pedro Ranch Cemetery
  • Brewster Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Brewster Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Brewster Cemetery
  • Old Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Cemetery
  • Highland Memorial Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • San Juan Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Eli Jackson Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Eli Jackson Cemetery is located 4 miles [6.4 km]<3> to the west of Hidalgo.
    • The Eli Jackson Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Eli Jackson - Brewster Cemetery
    • Jackson - Brewster Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Eli Jackson Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2650696 <4>
  • Continue List   (63 more) ...
    • Jackson Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Jackson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Jackson Cemetery
    • Cementerio Bautista Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cementerio Bautista Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cementerio Bautista Cemetery
    • Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • 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 our Gazetteer entry for the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2184663 <4>

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 Tierra Bella in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Tierra Bella.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Tierra Bella, with the one closest to Tierra Bella listed first.

  • Hidalgo
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Santa Maria
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • 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>
  • Havana
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Havana
    • Havana is located in Hidalgo County

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

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Tierra Bella. 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/

Footnotes ...

<1>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Tierra Bella) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Tierra Bella. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 26.1292, Longitude: -98.0533       In this case, the coordinates for Tierra Bella have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>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.
<5>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 Tierra Bella, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024