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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 Vleck (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 Vleck. 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 and 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.

Van Vleck is located in Matagorda 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 Matagorda County: Brazoria, Fort Bend, Jackson & Wharton.

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

  • Matagorda County     (The home county of Van Vleck)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Van Vleck, with the one closest to Van Vleck listed first.
    • Caney
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Caney have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caney
      • Caney is located in Matagorda County
    • Bay City
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bay City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay City
      • Bay City is located in Matagorda County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,474 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bay City <2>
    • Chalmers
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalmers
      • Chalmers is located in Matagorda County
    • Elliott ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Elliott. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliott
      • Elliott is located in Matagorda County
      • Elliott has also been known as:
      • Elliott's
    • McCroskey
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCroskey
      • McCroskey is located in Matagorda County
    • Cedar Lane
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Lane have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Lane
      • Cedar Lane is located in Matagorda County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cedar Lane <2>
    • Pledger
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pledger have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pledger
      • Pledger is located in Matagorda County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pledger <2>
    • Markham
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Markham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Markham
      • Markham is located in Matagorda County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Markham <2>
    • Wadsworth
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wadsworth have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wadsworth
      • Wadsworth is located in Matagorda County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wadsworth <2>
    • Elmaton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elmaton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmaton
      • Elmaton is located in Matagorda County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elmaton <2>
    • Sargent
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Gulf ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gulf have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulf
      • Gulf is located in Matagorda County
  • Brazoria County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Van Vleck, with the one closest to Van Vleck listed first.
    • Old Ocean
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Old Ocean have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Ocean
      • Old Ocean is located in Brazoria County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Old Ocean <2>
    • Sweeny
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Danciger
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Danciger have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danciger
      • Danciger is located in Brazoria County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Danciger <2>
    • Wild Peach Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wild Peach Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wild Peach Village
      • Wild Peach Village is located in Brazoria County
    • West Columbia
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • East Columbia
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Columbia
      • East Columbia is located in Brazoria County
    • Brazoria
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Damon
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Damon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Damon
      • Damon is located in Brazoria County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Damon <2>
    • Bailey's Prairie
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey's Prairie
      • Bailey's Prairie is located in Brazoria County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 777 people
    • Jones Creek
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Lake Jackson
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Jackson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Jackson
      • Lake Jackson is located in Brazoria County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 27,063 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lake Jackson <2>
    • Holiday Lakes
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holiday Lakes have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holiday Lakes
      • Holiday Lakes is located in Brazoria County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,225 people
  • Fort Bend County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Van Vleck, with the one closest to Van Vleck listed first.
    • Four Corners
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Four Corners have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Corners
      • Four Corners is located in Fort Bend County
    • Guy
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Guy have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guy
      • Guy is located in Fort Bend County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Guy <2>
    • Needville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Needville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needville
      • Needville is located in Fort Bend County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,131 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Needville <2>
    • Fairchilds
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fairchilds have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairchilds
      • Fairchilds is located in Fort Bend County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,359 people
    • Kendleton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kendleton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kendleton
      • Kendleton is located in Fort Bend County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 458 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kendleton <2>
  • Jackson County
    • Francitas
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Francitas have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Francitas
      • Francitas is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Francitas <2>
  • Wharton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Van Vleck, with the one closest to Van Vleck listed first.
    • Lane City
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lane City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lane City
      • Lane City is located in Wharton County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lane City <2>
    • Newgulf
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Boling
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Boling have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boling
      • Boling is located in Wharton County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Boling <2>
    • Danevang
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Danevang have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danevang
      • Danevang is located in Wharton County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Danevang <2>
    • Pierce
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pierce have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pierce
      • Pierce is located in Wharton County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pierce <2>
    • Wharton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • El Campo
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for El Campo have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for El Campo
      • El Campo is located in Wharton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,502 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for El Campo <2>
    • Hungerford
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Hillje
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillje
      • Hillje is located in Wharton County
    • Glen Flora
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Van Vleck ...

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 41 newspapers that have been published in the area around Van Vleck.

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

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 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 Van Vleck:

Cemeteries Near Van Vleck ...

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

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 Van Vleck covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Roselawn Memorial Park Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Free System Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Matthews Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Matthews Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Matthews Cemetery
  • East End Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the East End Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the East End Cemetery
  • Bay City Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bay City Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bay City Cemetery
  • Hudgins Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hudgins Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hudgins Cemetery
  • Andrews Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Andrews Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Andrews Cemetery
  • Pleasant Green Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Green Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Green Cemetery
  • Williams Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Williams Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Williams Cemetery
  • Boone Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Union Baptist Church Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Morris Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (66 more) ...
    • Berean Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Berean Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Berean Cemetery
    • Sweeny Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Brown Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)

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.<6>

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

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

  • Caney
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Caney have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caney
    • Caney is located in Matagorda County
  • Elliott ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Elliott. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliott
    • Elliott is located in Matagorda County
    • Elliott has also been known as:
    • Elliott's
  • Pledger
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pledger have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pledger
    • Pledger is located in Matagorda County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pledger <2>
  • Ashby
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ashby have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashby
    • Ashby is located in Matagorda County
  • Brazoria
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
  • Hinkles Ferry
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hinkles Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hinkles Ferry
    • Hinkles Ferry is located in Brazoria County
  • Matagorda
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
  • Mackay
    (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mackay have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mackay
    • Mackay is located in Wharton County
  • Wharton
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
  • Hungerford
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)

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

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

The official website for Matagorda County: www.co.matagorda.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>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Van Vleck) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Van Vleck. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 29.0180, Longitude: -95.8895    
<5>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.
<6>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 Vleck, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024