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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 Van Raub (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 Van Raub. 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 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.

Van Raub is located in Bexar 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 Bexar County: Atascosa, Bandera, Comal, Guadalupe, Kendall, Medina & Wilson.

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

  • Bexar County     (The home county of Van Raub)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Van Raub, with the one closest to Van Raub listed first.
    • Fair Oaks Ranch
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Scenic Oaks
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Scenic Oaks is located in Bexar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scenic Oaks
    • Leon Springs
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Leon Springs is located in Bexar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leon Springs
    • Cross Mountain
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Cross Mountain is located in Bexar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross Mountain
    • Dominion
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Dominion is located in Bexar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dominion
    • Grey Forest
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Grey Forest is located in Bexar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grey Forest
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 575 people
    • Timberwood Park
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Timberwood Park is located in Bexar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timberwood Park
    • Helotes
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Shavano Park
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Shavano Park is located in Bexar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shavano Park
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,024 people
    • Hollywood Park
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Hill Country Village
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Hill Country Village is located in Bexar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hill Country Village
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,110 people
    • Leon Valley
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Castle Hills
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Bandera County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Van Raub, with the one closest to Van Raub listed first.
    • Lakehills
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Pipe Creek
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Bandera Falls
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Bandera Falls is located in Bandera County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bandera Falls
    • Bandera
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
  • Blanco County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Van Raub, with the one closest to Van Raub listed first.
    • Twin Sisters
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Twin Sisters is located in Blanco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Sisters
    • Flugrath ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Flugrath is located in Blanco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flugrath
    • Blanco
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Comal County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Van Raub, with the one closest to Van Raub listed first.
    • Silver Hills
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Silver Hills is located in Comal County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Hills
    • Bulverde West ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Bulverde West is located in Comal County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bulverde West
    • Oak Cliff Acres
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Oak Cliff Acres is located in Comal County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Cliff Acres
    • Honey Creek
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Honey Creek is located in Comal County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honey Creek
    • Anhalt
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Anhalt is located in Comal County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anhalt
    • Bulverde South ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Bulverde South is located in Comal County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bulverde South
    • Bulverde
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Bulverde East ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Bulverde East is located in Comal County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bulverde East
    • Spring Branch
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Smithson Valley
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Smithson Valley is located in Comal County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smithson Valley
    • Bracken
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Bracken is located in Comal County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bracken
    • Garden Ridge
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Garden Ridge is located in Comal County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Ridge
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,266 people
    • Canyon Springs
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Canyon Springs is located in Comal County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canyon Springs
  • Gillespie County
    • Grapetown
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Grapetown is located in Gillespie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grapetown
  • Guadalupe County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Van Raub, with the one closest to Van Raub listed first.
    • Northcliff
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Northcliff is located in Guadalupe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northcliff
    • Haeckerville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Haeckerville is located in Guadalupe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haeckerville
  • Kendall County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Van Raub, with the one closest to Van Raub listed first.
    • Boerne
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Bergheim
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Kreutzberg
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Kreutzberg is located in Kendall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kreutzberg
    • Ammans Crossing ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Ammans Crossing is located in Kendall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ammans Crossing
    • Nelson City
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Nelson City is located in Kendall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nelson City
    • Welfare
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Welfare is located in Kendall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welfare
    • Sisterdale
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Waring
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Kendalia
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Comfort
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Bankersmith
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Bankersmith is located in Kendall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bankersmith
  • Kerr County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Van Raub, with the one closest to Van Raub listed first.
    • Center Point
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Camp Verde
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Medina County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Van Raub, with the one closest to Van Raub listed first.
    • Mico
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Rio Medina
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Castroville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • LaCoste
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • LaCoste is located in Medina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for LaCoste
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,263 people
      • LaCoste has also been known as:
      • La Coste
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for LaCoste <1>

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

Cemeteries Near Van Raub ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Van Raub.

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 Van Raub - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Heidemann-Moreau Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Heidemann Family Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Howard Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Robles Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Charles Cole Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Cole & Hugman Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Kruckemeyer Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Saur Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Lee Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Wren Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Mission Burial Park
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Mission North Burial Park
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (142 more) ...
    • Lex Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Lenz Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Heimsath Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)

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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Van Raub had a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Leon Springs
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Leon Springs is located in Bexar County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leon Springs
  • Boerne
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Anhalt
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Anhalt is located in Comal County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anhalt
  • Robards
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Robards is located in Bexar County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robards
  • Welfare
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Welfare is located in Kendall County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welfare
  • Sisterdale
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
  • Spring Branch
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Waring
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Wetmore
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
  • Kendalia
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
  • Smithson Valley
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Smithson Valley is located in Comal County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smithson Valley
  • Bracken
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Bracken is located in Comal County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bracken
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • San Antonio
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Comfort
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Selma
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Van Raub ...

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 225 newspapers that have been published in the area around Van Raub.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Van Raub, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Van Raub.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start 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 Van Raub:

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>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- Van Raub) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<4>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 Van Raub, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.