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 Victoria (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 Victoria. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Victoria is located in Victoria County and is the County Seat.
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 Victoria County: Calhoun, DeWitt, Goliad, Jackson, Lavaca & Refugio.
Below are the counties that are near Victoria. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Victoria:
- Victoria County (The home county of Victoria)
- The following are listed by their distance from Victoria, with the one closest to Victoria listed first.
- Hughes ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hughes have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hughes
- Hughes is located in Victoria County
- Telferner
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Dacosta
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Coletoville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Nursery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Oak Village
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oak Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Village
- Oak Village is located in Victoria County
- Bloomington
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bloomington have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomington
- Bloomington is located in Victoria County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bloomington <2>
- Placedo
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Placedo have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Placedo
- Placedo is located in Victoria County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Placedo <2>
- Inez
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Inez have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inez
- Inez is located in Victoria County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Inez <2>
- McFaddin
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Victoria, with the one closest to Victoria listed first.
- Kamey
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Kamey. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kamey
- Kamey is located in Calhoun County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Kamey
- From Victoria to Kamey
- Port Lavaca
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Long Mott
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Point Comfort
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Point Comfort have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Point Comfort
- Point Comfort is located in Calhoun County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 652 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Point Comfort <2>
- DeWitt County
- The following are listed by their distance from Victoria, with the one closest to Victoria listed first.
- Thomaston
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Meyersville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meyersville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meyersville
- Meyersville is located in DeWitt County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Meyersville <2>
- Terryville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Cuero
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Goliad County
- The following are listed by their distance from Victoria, with the one closest to Victoria listed first.
- Cologne
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Fannin
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Kilgore
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Ander
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Weser
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Goliad
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Goliad have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goliad
- Goliad is located in Goliad County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,985 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Goliad <2>
- Weesatche
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Victoria, with the one closest to Victoria listed first.
- La Salle
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for La Salle have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Salle
- La Salle is located in Jackson County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for La Salle <2>
- Matilda
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Vanderbilt
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vanderbilt have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vanderbilt
- Vanderbilt is located in Jackson County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vanderbilt <2>
- Edna
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edna have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edna
- Edna is located in Jackson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,755 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Edna <2>
- Morales
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Lolita
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lolita have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lolita
- Lolita is located in Jackson County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lolita <2>
- Lavaca County
- Hope
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Refugio County
- The following are listed by their distance from Victoria, with the one closest to Victoria listed first.
- Tivoli
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Austwell
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Austwell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Austwell
- Austwell is located in Refugio County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 144 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Austwell <2>
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Victoria, see our County-by-County Page for Victoria.
Cemeteries Near Victoria ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Victoria.
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 Victoria covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Victoria, with the one closest to Victoria listed first.
- Memorial Park Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Evergreen Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Jewett Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Jewett Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Jewett Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Pleasant Green Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Green Cemetery
- 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.
- Memory Gardens Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Memory Gardens Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Memory Gardens Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Joshua Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Joshua Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Joshua Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Reeves Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Reeves Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Reeves Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Oliver Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oliver Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oliver Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Murphy Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Murphy Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Murphy Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- McDonald Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McDonald Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the McDonald Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Shillerville Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- De Leon Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the De Leon Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the De Leon Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Continue List (102 more) ...
- Martin Luther Lutheran Church Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Nursery Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Nursery Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Nursery Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Woodlawn Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Woodlawn Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Woodlawn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
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.<5>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Victoria had a population of 3,046 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Victoria had a population of 66,838 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Victoria, with the one closest to Victoria listed first.
- Aloe
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Aloe have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aloe
- Aloe is located in Victoria County
- Guadalupe
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Guadalupe have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guadalupe
- Guadalupe is located in Victoria County
- Nursery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Placedo
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Placedo have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Placedo
- Placedo is located in Victoria County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Placedo <2>
- Mission Valley
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mission Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mission Valley
- Mission Valley is located in Victoria County
- Inez
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Inez have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inez
- Inez is located in Victoria County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Inez <2>
- Fannin
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Thomaston
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- El Toro
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for El Toro have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for El Toro
- El Toro is located in Jackson County
- Arneckeville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arneckeville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arneckeville
- Arneckeville is located in DeWitt County
- Meyersville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meyersville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meyersville
- Meyersville is located in DeWitt County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Meyersville <2>
- Navidad
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Navidad have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Navidad
- Navidad is located in Jackson County
- Continue List (11 more) ...
- Edna
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edna have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edna
- Edna is located in Jackson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,755 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Edna <2>
- Weser
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Stratton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stratton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stratton
- Stratton is located in DeWitt County
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Victoria. See our List of 1890's Communities around Victoria.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Victoria ...
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 44 newspapers that have been published in the area around Victoria.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Victoria. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Victoria and those printed in the larger area surrounding Victoria.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<6> of Victoria.
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 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 Victoria:
- Websites specific to Texas
- Pages specific to Victoria County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Calhoun County
- DeWitt County
- Goliad County
- Jackson County
- Lavaca County
- Refugio County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Texas
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Victoria: www.ci.victoria.tx.us/
The official website for Victoria County: www.victoriacountytx.org/
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> | 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. |
<5> | 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 Victoria, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
<6> | 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 from Point A (ie- Victoria) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Victoria. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 28.8061, Longitude: -96.9910 |