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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 West Sweden (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 West Sweden. 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.

Name Variations for West Sweden ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

For example, a typical abbreviation for West Sweden: W. Sweden

You might be interested in other communities that are also named West Sweden. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for West Sweden.

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

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 northwest 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 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 west 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.

West Sweden is located in McCulloch 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 McCulloch County: Brown, Coleman, Concho, Mason, Menard & San Saba.

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

  • McCulloch County     (The home county of West Sweden)
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Sweden, with the one closest to West Sweden listed first.
    • Brady
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Brady is located in McCulloch County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brady
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,178 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brady <1>
    • Pear Valley
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Melvin
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Lohn
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Salt Gap ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Salt Gap is located in McCulloch County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salt Gap
    • Rochelle
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Calf Creek ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Calf Creek is located in McCulloch County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calf Creek
    • Doole ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Doole is located in McCulloch County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doole
    • Waldrip
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Waldrip is located in McCulloch County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldrip
    • Camp San Saba
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Camp San Saba is located in McCulloch County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camp San Saba
    • Voca
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Milburn
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Milburn is located in McCulloch County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milburn
  • Coleman County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Sweden, with the one closest to West Sweden listed first.
    • Rockwood
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Whon ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Whon is located in Coleman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whon
    • Gouldbusk
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Voss
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • Trickham
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Trickham is located in Coleman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trickham
      • Former name for Trickham:
      • Trick'em
  • Concho County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Sweden, with the one closest to West Sweden listed first.
    • Millersview
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Eden
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Eden is located in Concho County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,339 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eden <1>
    • Live Oak
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Live Oak is located in Concho County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Live Oak
  • Mason County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Sweden, with the one closest to West Sweden listed first.
    • Fredonia
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Grit
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Grit is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grit
    • Streeter
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Streeter is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Streeter
  • Menard County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Sweden, with the one closest to West Sweden listed first.
    • Hext
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Menard
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
  • San Saba County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Sweden, with the one closest to West Sweden listed first.
    • Holt ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Holt is located in San Saba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holt
    • Richland Springs
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)

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

Cemeteries Near West Sweden ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Sweden.

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 West Sweden - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Carroll Colony Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Rest Haven Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Live Oak Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Lohn Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Melvin Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Fife Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Marion Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Rochelle Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
  • Loveless Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loveless Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Loveless Cemetery is located 10 miles [16.1 km]<3> to the southeast of Eden.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #4953 <2>
  • Camp San Saba Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Sudduth Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sudduth Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Sudduth Cemetery is located 6 miles [9.7 km]<3> to the east of Eden.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #7127 <2>
  • Chaffin Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (36 more) ...
    • Spiller Cemetery
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Cowboy Cemetery
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Hext Cemetery
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)

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

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

  • Brady
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Brady is located in McCulloch County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brady
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,178 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brady <1>
  • Rochelle
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Camp San Saba
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Camp San Saba is located in McCulloch County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camp San Saba
  • Waldrip
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Waldrip is located in McCulloch County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldrip
  • Voca
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
  • Rockwood
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
  • Katemcy
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Katemcy is located in Mason County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Katemcy
  • Eden
    (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Eden is located in Concho County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,339 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eden <1>
  • Milburn
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Milburn is located in McCulloch County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milburn
  • Fredonia
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Streeter
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Streeter is located in Mason County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Streeter
  • Richland Springs
    (29 miles [46.7 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 West Sweden. See our List of 1890's Communities around West Sweden.

Newspapers Published in West Sweden ...

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 14 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Sweden.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Sweden, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Sweden.

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 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 West Sweden:

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>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 from Point A (ie- West Sweden) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 West Sweden, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.