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 Vista (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 Vista. 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.
Vista is located in Hamilton 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 Hamilton County: Bosque, Comanche, Coryell, Erath, Lampasas & Mills.
Below are the counties that are near Vista. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Vista:
- Hamilton County (The home county of Vista)
- The following are listed by their distance from Vista, with the one closest to Vista listed first.
- Ohio ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Ohio is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ohio
- Slab Crossing ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Slab Crossing is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slab Crossing
- McGirk ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- McGirk is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGirk
- Pottsville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Hamilton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Whiteway
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Whiteway is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiteway
- Whiteway has also been known as:
- White Way
- Lanham
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Lanham is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lanham
- Spurlin ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Spurlin is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spurlin
- Agee ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Agee is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agee
- Carlton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Bosque County
- Cranfills Gap
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Comanche County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vista, with the one closest to Vista listed first.
- Energy
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Gustine
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Newburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Newburg is located in Comanche County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newburg
- Wilson
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Wilson is located in Comanche County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson
- Ararat ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Ararat is located in Comanche County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ararat
- Coryell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vista, with the one closest to Vista listed first.
- Evant
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Bee House
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bee House is located in Coryell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bee House
- Pearl
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Pearl is located in Coryell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearl
- Ireland
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Ireland is located in Coryell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ireland
- Purmela
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Levita
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Levita is located in Coryell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Levita
- Jonesboro
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- King
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- King is located in Coryell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for King
- Gatesville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Turnersville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Turnersville is located in Coryell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnersville
- Fort Gates
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Fort Gates is located in Coryell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Gates
- Lampasas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vista, with the one closest to Vista listed first.
- Adamsville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Adamsville is located in Lampasas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adamsville
- Izoro
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Lometa
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Senterfitt ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Senterfitt is located in Lampasas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Senterfitt
- Nix
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Nix is located in Lampasas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nix
- Mills County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vista, with the one closest to Vista listed first.
- Star
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Center City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Center City is located in Mills County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center City
- Priddy
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Goldthwaite
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Bozar
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Bozar is located in Mills County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bozar
- Williams Ranch ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Williams Ranch is located in Mills County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williams Ranch
- Mullin
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Vista, see our County-by-County Page for Vista.
Cemeteries Near Vista ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Vista.
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 Vista - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Vista covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Vista, with the one closest to Vista listed first.
- Kingsbury Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Murphy Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- West Point Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Perkins Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- New Hope Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Hurst Ranch Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Langford Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Cottage Hill Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Pilgrims Rest Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Little Cowhouse Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- McGirk Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Ward Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Continue List (97 more) ...
- Eastview Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Hines Chapel Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Blue Ridge Baptist Church 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.<2>
While we didn't find Vista in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Vista.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Vista, with the one closest to Vista listed first.
- Evant
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Shive
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Shive is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shive
- Ohio ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Ohio is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ohio
- McGirk ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- McGirk is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGirk
- Bee House
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bee House is located in Coryell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bee House
- Pearl
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Pearl is located in Coryell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearl
- Pottsville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Hamilton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Purmela
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Adamsville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Adamsville is located in Lampasas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adamsville
- Indian Gap
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Indian Gap is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Gap
- Gentrys Mill
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Gentrys Mill is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gentrys Mill
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Levita
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Levita is located in Coryell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Levita
- King
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- King is located in Coryell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for King
- Jonesboro
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Vista. See our List of 1890's Communities around Vista.
Newspapers Published in Vista ...
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 32 newspapers that have been published in the area around Vista.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Vista, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Vista.
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 Vista:
- Websites specific to Texas
- Pages specific to Hamilton County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bosque County
- Comanche County
- Coryell County
- Lampasas County
- Mills County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Texas
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> | 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 Vista, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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 drawn from Point A (ie- Vista) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |