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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 Urbana (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 Urbana. 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 southeast 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 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 east 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.

Urbana is located in San Jacinto 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 San Jacinto County: Liberty, Montgomery, Polk, Trinity & Walker.

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

  • San Jacinto County     (The home county of Urbana)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Urbana, with the one closest to Urbana listed first.
    • Shepherd
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Coldspring
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Laurel Hill
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Laurel Hill is located in San Jacinto County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Hill
    • Magnolia
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Magnolia is located in San Jacinto County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia
    • Evergreen
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Evergreen is located in San Jacinto County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen
    • Point Blank
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Oakhurst
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
  • Hardin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Urbana, with the one closest to Urbana listed first.
    • Votaw
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Thicket
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Bragg ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Bragg is located in Hardin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bragg
    • Batson
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Liberty County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Urbana, with the one closest to Urbana listed first.
    • Africa ‑ Historic
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Africa is located in Liberty County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Africa
    • Rayburn
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Rayburn is located in Liberty County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rayburn
    • Romayor
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Big Thicket Creekmore Village
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Rye
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Fuqua ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Fuqua is located in Liberty County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fuqua
    • Cleveland
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • North Cleveland
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • North Cleveland is located in Liberty County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Cleveland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 313 people
    • Nimrod ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Nimrod is located in Liberty County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nimrod
    • Coushatta Village
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Coushatta Village is located in Liberty County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coushatta Village
    • Plum Grove
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Plum Grove is located in Liberty County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plum Grove
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 756 people
    • Mariam
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Mariam is located in Liberty County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mariam
  • Montgomery County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Urbana, with the one closest to Urbana listed first.
    • Splendora
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Cut and Shoot
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Patton Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Patton Village is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patton Village
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,207 people
    • Roman Forest
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Roman Forest is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roman Forest
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,035 people
    • Woodbranch
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Woodbranch is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbranch
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,498 people
    • Grangerland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Polk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Urbana, with the one closest to Urbana listed first.
    • Goodrich
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Lamont
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Lamont is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamont
    • Swartout ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Swartout is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swartout
    • Schwab City
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Schwab City is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schwab City
    • Ace
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • West Livingston
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • West Livingston is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Livingston
    • Livingston
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Indian Springs
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Indian Springs is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Springs
    • New Willard
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • New Willard is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Willard
    • Leggett
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Dallardsville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Bold Springs
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Bold Springs is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bold Springs
  • Trinity County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Urbana, with the one closest to Urbana listed first.
    • Carlisle
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Carlisle is located in Trinity County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlisle
    • Chita
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Chita is located in Trinity County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chita
  • Walker County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Urbana, with the one closest to Urbana listed first.
    • Dodge
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Elmina
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Elmina is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmina

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

Cemeteries Near Urbana ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Urbana.

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

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

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

  • Lake Station Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Coley Creek Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Peebles Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Restland Memorial Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Restland Memorial Park
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Milby Hill Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Mitchell Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Ellis Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Big Creek Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Farley Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Lovett Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Rose Hill Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (92 more) ...

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

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

  • Goodrich
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Shepherd
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Livingston
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Coldspring
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Keno
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Keno is located in Liberty County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keno
  • Cleveland
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Evergreen
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Evergreen is located in San Jacinto County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen
  • Leggett
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
  • Dallardsville
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
  • Point Blank
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
  • Seven Oaks
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Seven Oaks is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Oaks
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 131 people
  • Colita
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Colita is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colita
  • Continue List   (5 more) ...
    • Maynard
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Maynard is located in San Jacinto County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maynard
    • Hortense
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Hortense is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hortense
    • Moscow
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)

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

Newspapers Published in Urbana ...

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 14 newspapers that have been published in the area around Urbana.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Urbana, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Urbana.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Urbana:

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 Urbana, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Urbana) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.