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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 (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. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals 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 is located in McLennan 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 McLennan County: Bell, Bosque, Coryell, Falls, Hill & Limestone.

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

  • McLennan County     (The home county of West)
    • The following are listed by their distance from West, with the one closest to West listed first.
    • Tours
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Tours is located in McLennan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tours
    • Ross
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Ross is located in McLennan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ross
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 272 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ross <1>
    • Leroy
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Elm Mott
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Gholson
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Gholson is located in McLennan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gholson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,127 people
    • Northcrest
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Northcrest is located in McLennan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northcrest
    • Lacy - Lakeview
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Axtell
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Patrick
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Patrick is located in McLennan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patrick
    • Rock Creek
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Rock Creek is located in McLennan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Creek
    • Bellmead
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Bosqueville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Bosqueville is located in McLennan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bosqueville
    • Elk
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Elk is located in McLennan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk
  • Bosque County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West, with the one closest to West listed first.
    • Greenock
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Greenock is located in Bosque County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenock
    • Laguna Park
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Cayote
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Cayote is located in Bosque County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cayote
    • Womack
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Womack is located in Bosque County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Womack
    • Valley Mills
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Lakeside Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Lakeside Village is located in Bosque County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeside Village
    • Clifton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Kopperl
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Ellis County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West, with the one closest to West listed first.
    • Milford
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Italy
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Falls County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West, with the one closest to West listed first.
    • Perry
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Golinda
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Golinda is located in Falls County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golinda
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 610 people
    • Otto
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Hill County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West, with the one closest to West listed first.
    • Abbott
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Aquilla
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Tyson
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Tyson is located in Hill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyson
    • Chatt
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Chatt is located in Hill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatt
    • Penelope
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Mount Calm
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Bynum
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Hillsboro
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Malone
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Peoria
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Peoria is located in Hill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peoria
    • Whitney
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Hubbard
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Brandon
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
  • Limestone County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West, with the one closest to West listed first.
    • Watt
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Watt is located in Limestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watt
    • Delia ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Delia is located in Limestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delia
    • Prairie Hill
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Coolidge
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Frosa
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Frosa is located in Limestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frosa
    • Kirk
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Kirk is located in Limestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirk
    • Ben Hur
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Ben Hur is located in Limestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ben Hur
  • Navarro County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West, with the one closest to West listed first.
    • Dawson
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Spring Hill
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Spring Hill is located in Navarro County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
    • Frost
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Navarro Mills
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Navarro Mills is located in Navarro County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Navarro Mills
    • Dresden
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Dresden is located in Navarro County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dresden
    • Purdon
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Blooming Grove
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Silver City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Silver City is located in Navarro County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver City

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

Cemeteries Near West ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West.

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 - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • St. Mary's Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Bold Springs Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Clausner Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • National Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Liberty Grove Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • St. Martins Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Martins Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Martins Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southwest of Tours.
    • The St. Martins Cemetery has also been known as:
    • St. Martin of Tours Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #6611 <2>
  • Scotts Chapel Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • White Rock Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Gerald Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Abbott Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Fatima Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fatima Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Fatima Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<3> to the northwest of Abbott.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #3561 <2>
  • Mesquite Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (152 more) ...
    • Prairie Grove Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Pleasant Grove Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Tabola Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, West had a post office and railroad service. In 2020, West had a population of 2,969 people.

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

  • Ross
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Ross is located in McLennan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ross
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 272 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ross <1>
  • Abbott
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Vaughan
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Vaughan is located in Hill County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vaughan
  • Aquilla
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Tyson
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Tyson is located in Hill County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyson
  • Elm Mott
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Gholson
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Gholson is located in McLennan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gholson
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,127 people
  • Patrick
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Patrick is located in McLennan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patrick
  • Axtell
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Mount Calm
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Bynum
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Bosqueville
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Bosqueville is located in McLennan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bosqueville
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Peoria
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Peoria is located in Hill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peoria
    • Hillsboro
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Greenock
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Greenock is located in Bosque County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenock

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of West ...

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 159 newspapers that have been published in the area around West.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of West. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of West and those printed in the larger area surrounding West.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<3> of West.

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 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:

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 '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- West) 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, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.