RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Texas >> Brazos County >> Union >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Union (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 Union. 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 hospitals 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.

Union is located in Brazos 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 Brazos County: Burleson, Grimes, Leon, Madison, Robertson & Washington.

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

  • Brazos County     (The home county of Union)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Union, with the one closest to Union listed first.
    • Edge
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Edge is located in Brazos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edge
    • Kurten
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Tabor
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Tabor is located in Brazos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tabor
    • Wixon Valley
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Wixon Valley is located in Brazos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wixon Valley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 254 people
    • Boonville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Boonville is located in Brazos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boonville
    • Bryan
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Bryan is located in Brazos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryan
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 88,165 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bryan <1>
    • Rye ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Rye is located in Brazos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rye
    • College Station
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Stone City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Stone City is located in Brazos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone City
    • Wellborn
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Millican
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
  • Burleson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Union, with the one closest to Union listed first.
    • Cooks Point
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Cooks Point is located in Burleson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooks Point
    • Tunis
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Tunis is located in Burleson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunis
    • Snook
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Merle ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Merle is located in Burleson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merle
  • Grimes County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Union, with the one closest to Union listed first.
    • Iola
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Bedias
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Roans Prairie
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Shiro
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Leon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Union, with the one closest to Union listed first.
    • Wealthy
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Wealthy is located in Leon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wealthy
    • Hilltop Lakes
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Normangee
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Flynn
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Marquez
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Concord
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Leona
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Madison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Union, with the one closest to Union listed first.
    • North Zulch
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Zulch ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Zulch is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zulch
    • George
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • George is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for George
    • Madisonville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
  • Milam County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Union, with the one closest to Union listed first.
    • Port Sullivan ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Port Sullivan is located in Milam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Sullivan
    • Gause
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Branchville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Branchville is located in Milam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branchville
    • Crossroads
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Crossroads is located in Milam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crossroads
  • Robertson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Union, with the one closest to Union listed first.
    • Wheelock
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Benchley
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Benchley is located in Robertson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benchley
    • New Baden
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Franklin
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Elliot
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Elliot is located in Robertson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliot
    • Hearne
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Hearne is located in Robertson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hearne
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,340 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hearne <1>
    • Mumford
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Ridge
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Ridge is located in Robertson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridge
    • Owensville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Owensville is located in Robertson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Owensville
    • Calvert
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Bald Prairie
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Bald Prairie is located in Robertson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bald Prairie
    • Hammond
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Hammond is located in Robertson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hammond
    • Bremond
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Union ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Union.

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 Union - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Schultze Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Evans Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Jim Harris Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • House Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Cottonwood Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Old Cottonwood Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Edge Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Concord Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Bickham Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Ebenezer Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Arnett Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Kurten Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (190 more) ...
    • Cordey Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Cavitt Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Wheelock Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)

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

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

  • Tabor
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Tabor is located in Brazos County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tabor
  • Kurten
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Wheelock
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Benchley
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Benchley is located in Robertson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benchley
  • Zulch ‑ Historic
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Zulch is located in Madison County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zulch
  • Sutton
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Sutton is located in Robertson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sutton
  • Bryan
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Bryan is located in Brazos County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryan
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 88,165 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bryan <1>
  • Harvey
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Harvey is located in Brazos County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvey
  • New Baden
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Iola
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Franklin
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • College Station
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Elliot
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Elliot is located in Robertson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliot
    • Hearne
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Hearne is located in Robertson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hearne
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,340 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hearne <1>
    • Mumford
      (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 Union. See our List of 1890's Communities around Union.

Newspapers Published in Union ...

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 57 newspapers that have been published in the area around Union.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Union, 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 Union.

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 Union:

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 Union, 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- Union) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.