RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Texas >> Houston County >> Vistula >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Vistula (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 Vistula. 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 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.

Vistula is located in Houston 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 Houston County: Anderson, Angelina, Cherokee, Leon, Madison, Trinity & Walker.

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

  • Houston County     (The home county of Vistula)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vistula, with the one closest to Vistula listed first.
    • Austonio
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Austonio is located in Houston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Austonio
    • Antioch ‑ Historic
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Antioch is located in Houston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antioch
    • Cooper
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Cooper is located in Houston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooper
    • Lovelady
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Porter Springs
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Porter Springs is located in Houston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter Springs
    • Holly
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Holly is located in Houston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly
    • Halls Bluff Town ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Halls Bluff Town is located in Houston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halls Bluff Town
    • Crockett
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Latexo
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Hickory Creek
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Hickory Creek is located in Houston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Creek
    • Grapeland
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Belott
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Belott is located in Houston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belott
  • Grimes County
    • Bedias
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Leon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vistula, with the one closest to Vistula listed first.
    • Centerview
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Centerview is located in Leon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerview
    • Middleton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Middleton is located in Leon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middleton
    • Leona
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Centerville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Russell
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Russell is located in Leon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell
    • Flynn
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Normangee
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
  • Madison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vistula, with the one closest to Vistula listed first.
    • Midway
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Madisonville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • George
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • George is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for George
    • North Zulch
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Trinity County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vistula, with the one closest to Vistula listed first.
    • Mill Town
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Mill Town is located in Trinity County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Town
    • Trinity
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Glendale
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Glendale is located in Trinity County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendale
    • Friday
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Friday is located in Trinity County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friday
    • Pennington
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Chita
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Chita is located in Trinity County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chita
    • Groveton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Carlisle
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Carlisle is located in Trinity County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlisle
  • Walker County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vistula, with the one closest to Vistula listed first.
    • Kittrell
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Kittrell is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kittrell
    • Riverside
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Huntsville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Dodge
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Wesley Grove
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Wesley Grove is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wesley Grove

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

Cemeteries Near Vistula ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Vistula.

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

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

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

  • Douglas Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Union Grove Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Adams - Little Memorial Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Salem Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Bozeman Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Bogg Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Weldon Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Midway Southside Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Prairie Point Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Reed Sunshine Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Bynum Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Tan Yard Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (164 more) ...
    • Old Plantation Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Huffman Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Alphin Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)

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

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

  • Antioch ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Antioch is located in Houston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antioch
  • Ash
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Ash is located in Houston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ash
  • Midway
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Lovelady
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Porter Springs
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Porter Springs is located in Houston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter Springs
  • Guys Store
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Guys Store is located in Leon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guys Store
  • Connor
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Connor is located in Madison County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Connor
  • Middleton
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Middleton is located in Leon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middleton
  • Holly
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Holly is located in Houston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly
  • Trinity
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
  • Crockett
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
  • Madisonville
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (12 more) ...
    • Leona
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Riverside
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Saron
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Saron is located in Trinity County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saron

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

Newspapers Published in Vistula ...

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 68 newspapers that have been published in the area around Vistula.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Vistula, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Vistula.

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 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 Vistula:

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 Vistula, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Vistula) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.