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 Watson (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 Watson. 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 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.
Watson is located in Burnet 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 Burnet County: Bell, Blanco, Lampasas, Llano, San Saba, Travis & Williamson.
Below are the counties that are near Watson. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Watson:
- Burnet County (The home county of Watson)
- The following are listed by their distance from Watson, with the one closest to Watson listed first.
- Briggs
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bertram
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Oatmeal
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Burnet
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Naruna
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Naruna is located in Burnet County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naruna
- Silver Creek Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Silver Creek Village is located in Burnet County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Creek Village
- Mormon Mill ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Mormon Mill is located in Burnet County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mormon Mill
- Mormon Mill has also been known as:
- Mormon Colony
- Marble Falls
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Meadowlakes
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Meadowlakes is located in Burnet County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowlakes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,733 people
- Bell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Watson, with the one closest to Watson listed first.
- Maxdale ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Maxdale is located in Bell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxdale
- Copperas Cove
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Ding Dong
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Ding Dong is located in Bell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ding Dong
- Fort Hood
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Killeen
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Chaffee Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Chaffee Village is located in Bell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chaffee Village
- McNair Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- McNair Village is located in Bell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McNair Village
- Walker Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Walker Village is located in Bell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walker Village
- Harker Heights
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Nolanville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Salado
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Brookhaven
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Brookhaven is located in Bell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookhaven
- Coryell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Watson, with the one closest to Watson listed first.
- Montague Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Montague Village is located in Coryell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montague Village
- Comanche Village I
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Comanche Village I is located in Coryell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comanche Village I
- Comanche Village II
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Comanche Village II is located in Coryell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comanche Village II
- Comanche Village III
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Comanche Village III is located in Coryell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comanche Village III
- Saint Elijah Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Saint Elijah Village is located in Coryell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Elijah Village
- Mason Crossing ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Mason Crossing is located in Coryell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason Crossing
- Lampasas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Watson, with the one closest to Watson listed first.
- Kempner
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Sparks Crossing ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Sparks Crossing is located in Lampasas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sparks Crossing
- Lampasas
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Nix
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Nix is located in Lampasas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nix
- Izoro
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Adamsville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Adamsville is located in Lampasas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adamsville
- Lometa
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Llano County
- The following are listed by their distance from Watson, with the one closest to Watson listed first.
- Buchanan Lake Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Tow
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Buchanan Dam
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Bluffton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Travis County
- Nameless ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Nameless is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nameless
- Nameless has also been known as:
- Cross Creek
- Fairview
- Williamson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Watson, with the one closest to Watson listed first.
- Andice
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Florence
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Liberty Hill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Sun City
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Sun City is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sun City
- Jarrell
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Serenada
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Serenada is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Serenada
- Leander
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Georgetown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Walburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Schwertner
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Weir
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Watson, see our County-by-County Page for Watson.
Cemeteries Near Watson ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Watson.
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 Watson - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Watson covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Watson, with the one closest to Watson listed first.
- Ethridge Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Gillum Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Strickling Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Fairview Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Toby Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Bailey Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Couble Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Shady Grove Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Mahomet Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Smith Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant Hill Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Bethel Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (96 more) ...
- Pickett Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Bear Creek Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Mt. Horeb Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
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.<4>
While we didn't find Watson in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Watson.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Watson, with the one closest to Watson listed first.
- Oakalla
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Oakalla is located in Burnet County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakalla
- Sunnylane
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Sunnylane is located in Burnet County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnylane
- Mahomet
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Mahomet is located in Burnet County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mahomet
- Kempner
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Maxdale ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Maxdale is located in Bell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxdale
- Bertram
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Lampasas
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Florence
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Burnet
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Youngsport
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Youngsport is located in Bell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Youngsport
- Naruna
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Naruna is located in Burnet County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naruna
- Liberty Hill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Killeen
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Sudduth
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Sudduth is located in Burnet County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sudduth
- Pidcoke
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Pidcoke is located in Coryell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pidcoke
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Watson. See our List of 1890's Communities around Watson.
Newspapers Published in Watson ...
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 63 newspapers that have been published in the area around Watson.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Watson, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Watson.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we 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 Watson:
- Websites specific to Texas
- Pages specific to Burnet County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bell County
- Coryell County
- Lampasas County
- Llano County
- Travis County
- Williamson 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Watson) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 Watson, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |