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 Watts (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 Watts. 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.
Watts is located in Caldwell 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 Caldwell County: Bastrop, Fayette, Gonzales, Guadalupe, Hays & Travis.
Below are the counties that are near Watts. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Watts:
- Caldwell County (The home county of Watts)
- The following are listed by their distance from Watts, with the one closest to Watts listed first.
- Tilmon
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Tilmon is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tilmon
- Brownsboro
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Brownsboro is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsboro
- McNeil
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- McNeil is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McNeil
- Soda Springs
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Soda Springs is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soda Springs
- Seawillow
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Seawillow is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seawillow
- Joliet
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Joliet is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joliet
- Mineral Springs ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Mineral Springs is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral Springs
- McMahan
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- McMahan is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McMahan
- Luling
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Stairtown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Stairtown is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stairtown
- Elm Grove
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Elm Grove is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elm Grove
- Lockhart
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Bastrop County
- The following are listed by their distance from Watts, with the one closest to Watts listed first.
- Bateman
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Bateman is located in Bastrop County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bateman
- Jeddo
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Jeddo is located in Bastrop County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeddo
- Red Rock
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Rosanky
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Mustang Ridge
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Mustang Ridge is located in Bastrop County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mustang Ridge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,001 people
- Cedar Creek
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Kovar
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Kovar is located in Bastrop County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kovar
- Togo
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Togo is located in Bastrop County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Togo
- Upton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Upton is located in Bastrop County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upton
- Wyldwood
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Wyldwood is located in Bastrop County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyldwood
- Hills Prairie
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Hills Prairie is located in Bastrop County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hills Prairie
- Bastrop
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Comal County
- The following are listed by their distance from Watts, with the one closest to Watts listed first.
- Hunter
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Hunter is located in Comal County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunter
- Freiheit
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Freiheit is located in Comal County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freiheit
- Fayette County
- The following are listed by their distance from Watts, with the one closest to Watts listed first.
- Cistern
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Cistern is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cistern
- Former names for Cistern:
- Cockrell's Hill
- Milton
- Whiteside's Prairie
- Colony
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Colony is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colony
- Flatonia
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Stellar
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Stellar is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stellar
- Muldoon
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Praha
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Praha is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Praha
- Praha has also been known as:
- Hottentot
- Gonzales County
- The following are listed by their distance from Watts, with the one closest to Watts listed first.
- Harwood
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Sandy Fork
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Sandy Fork is located in Gonzales County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Fork
- Ottine
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Waelder
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Oak Forest
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Oak Forest is located in Gonzales County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Forest
- Belmont
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Gonzales
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Monthalia ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Monthalia is located in Gonzales County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monthalia
- Summerville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Summerville is located in Gonzales County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerville
- Cost
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Cost is located in Gonzales County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cost
- Bebe
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Leesville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Guadalupe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Watts, with the one closest to Watts listed first.
- Staples
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Kingsbury
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Weinert
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Weinert is located in Guadalupe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weinert
- Galle
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Galle is located in Guadalupe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galle
- Redwood
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Redwood is located in Guadalupe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redwood
- Zorn
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Zorn is located in Guadalupe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zorn
- Geronimo
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Lauback
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Lauback is located in Guadalupe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lauback
- Seguin
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Barbarosa
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Barbarosa is located in Guadalupe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barbarosa
- Dugger
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Dugger is located in Guadalupe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dugger
- Camp Willow
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Camp Willow is located in Guadalupe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camp Willow
- Hays County
- The following are listed by their distance from Watts, with the one closest to Watts listed first.
- Goforth
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Goforth is located in Hays County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goforth
- Kyle
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- San Marcos
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Buda
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Mountain City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Mountain City is located in Hays County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 858 people
- Flatrock Ford
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Flatrock Ford is located in Hays County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flatrock Ford
- Lavaca County
- Moulton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Travis County
- The following are listed by their distance from Watts, with the one closest to Watts listed first.
- Elroy
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Elroy is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elroy
- Creedmoor
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Carl
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Carl is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carl
- Garfield
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Garfield is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garfield
- Pilot Knob
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Pilot Knob is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilot Knob
- Onion Creek
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Onion Creek is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onion Creek
- Manchaca
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- San Leanna
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- San Leanna is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Leanna
- Population from the 2020 Census: 507 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Watts, see our County-by-County Page for Watts.
Cemeteries Near Watts ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Watts.
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 Watts - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Watts covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Watts, with the one closest to Watts listed first.
- Ebbon Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Hall Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Hardshell Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Clear Fork Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Fork Cemetery
- The Clear Fork Cemetery has also been known as:
- Clearfork Cemetery
- Dickerson Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- McNeil Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Blackwell Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Branyon Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Teas Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Union Hill Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Community Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (204 more) ...
- Plum Creek Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Fleming Memorial Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Jeffrey Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 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 Watts in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Watts.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Watts, with the one closest to Watts listed first.
- Tilmon
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Tilmon is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tilmon
- Luling
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Harwood
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Sandy Fork
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Sandy Fork is located in Gonzales County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Fork
- Taylorsville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Taylorsville is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylorsville
- Lockhart
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Delhi
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Delhi is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delhi
- Dale
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Prairie Lea
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Slayden
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Slayden is located in Gonzales County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slayden
- Jeddo
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Jeddo is located in Bastrop County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeddo
- String Prairie
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- String Prairie is located in Bastrop County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for String Prairie
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Red Rock
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Waelder
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Maxwell
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Watts. See our List of 1890's Communities around Watts.
Newspapers Published in Watts ...
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 74 newspapers that have been published in the area around Watts.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Watts, 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 Watts.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin with 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 Watts:
- Websites specific to Texas
- Pages specific to Caldwell County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bastrop County
- Comal County
- Fayette County
- Gonzales County
- Guadalupe County
- Hays County
- Lavaca County
- Travis 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> | 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 Watts, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Watts) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |