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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 Ventura (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 Ventura. 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 southwest 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 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 west 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.

Ventura is located in Montgomery 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 Montgomery County: Grimes, Harris, Liberty, San Jacinto, Walker & Waller.

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

  • Montgomery County     (The home county of Ventura)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ventura, with the one closest to Ventura listed first.
    • Pinehurst
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Stagecoach
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Stagecoach is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stagecoach
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 604 people
    • Karen
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Karen is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Karen
    • Magnolia
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • The Woodlands
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Shenandoah
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Chateau Woods
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Chateau Woods is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chateau Woods
    • Oak Ridge North
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Dobbin
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Woodloch
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Woodloch is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodloch
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 207 people
    • Montgomery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Conroe
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Conroe is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conroe
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 96,214 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Conroe <1>
    • Sleepy Hollow
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Sleepy Hollow is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sleepy Hollow
  • Brazos County
    • Navasota
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Fort Bend County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ventura, with the one closest to Ventura listed first.
    • Katy
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Katy is located in Fort Bend County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Katy
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 23,889 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Katy <1>
    • Pin Oak Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Pin Oak Village is located in Fort Bend County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pin Oak Village
  • Grimes County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ventura, with the one closest to Ventura listed first.
    • Todd Mission
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Todd Mission is located in Grimes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Todd Mission
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 112 people
    • Plantersville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Stoneham
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Stoneham is located in Grimes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoneham
    • Apolonia
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Apolonia is located in Grimes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apolonia
    • Richards
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Anderson
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Harris County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ventura, with the one closest to Ventura listed first.
    • Hufsmith
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Tomball
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Pinewood Place
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Pinewood Place is located in Harris County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinewood Place
    • Westbourne
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Westbourne is located in Harris County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westbourne
    • Klein
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Forest North
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Forest North is located in Harris County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest North
    • Louetta ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Louetta is located in Harris County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Louetta
    • Cypress
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Hockley
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Oak Creek Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Oak Creek Village is located in Harris County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Creek Village
    • Spring
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Bammel
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Bammel is located in Harris County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bammel
    • Deco
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Walker County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ventura, with the one closest to Ventura listed first.
    • New Waverly
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Elmina
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Elmina is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmina
    • Goshen ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Goshen is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goshen
  • Waller County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ventura, with the one closest to Ventura listed first.
    • Fields Store
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Fields Store is located in Waller County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fields Store
    • Prairie View
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Pine Island
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Pine Island is located in Waller County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Island
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,205 people
    • Hempstead
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Saint Paul
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Saint Paul is located in Waller County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Paul
  • Washington County
    • Graball ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Graball is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graball

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

Cemeteries Near Ventura ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ventura.

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

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

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

  • Tillis Prairie Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Goodson Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Corgey Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Cartwright Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Decker Prairie Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Decker Prairie Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Pate Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Baker Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Juergens - Martens Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Bogs Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bogs Cemetery
    • The Bogs Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Bogs - Hufsmith Community Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #626407 <2>
  • Salem Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Salem Lutheran Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (150 more) ...
    • Hufsmith Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hufsmith Cemetery
      • The Hufsmith Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Hufsmith - McCall Cemetery
      • McCall Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #5097 <2>
    • Zion Lutheran Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Collier Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)

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

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

  • Egypt
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Egypt is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egypt
  • Rose Hill
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Rose Hill is located in Harris County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Hill
  • Conroe
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Conroe is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conroe
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 96,214 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Conroe <1>
  • Montgomery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Hockley
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Cypress
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
  • Plantersville
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Spring
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Fields Store
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Fields Store is located in Waller County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fields Store
  • Waller
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
  • Stoneham
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Stoneham is located in Grimes County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoneham
  • Dacus
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Dacus is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dacus
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Willis
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Willis is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willis
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,122 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Willis <1>
    • Yarboro
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Yarboro is located in Grimes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yarboro
    • Whitehall
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Whitehall is located in Grimes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitehall

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

Newspapers Published in Ventura ...

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 12 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ventura.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ventura, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Ventura.

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 either 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 Ventura:

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