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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 Westways (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 Westways. 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 and hospitals 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.

Westways is located in Harris 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 Harris County: Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Liberty, Montgomery & Waller.

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

  • Harris County     (The home county of Westways)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westways, with the one closest to Westways listed first.
    • Concord Bridge
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Concord Bridge is located in Harris County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord Bridge
    • Jersey Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Buckner Haven
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Buckner Haven is located in Harris County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckner Haven
    • Bunker Hill Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Bunker Hill Village is located in Harris County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunker Hill Village
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,901 people
    • Hedwig Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Hedwig Village is located in Harris County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hedwig Village
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,600 people
    • Hilshire Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Hilshire Village is located in Harris County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilshire Village
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 806 people
    • City of Spring Valley Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Spring Valley
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Spring Valley is located in Harris County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
    • Candlelight Oaks Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Hudson
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Hudson is located in Harris County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudson
    • Hunters Creek Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Hunters Creek Village is located in Harris County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunters Creek Village
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,824 people
    • Bear Creek Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Bear Creek Village is located in Harris County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Creek Village
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 500 people
  • Austin County
    • Brazos Country
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Brazos Country is located in Austin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brazos Country
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 472 people
  • Brazoria County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westways, with the one closest to Westways listed first.
    • Brookside Village
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Fairway Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Fairway Village is located in Brazoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairway Village
    • Pearland
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • West Oaks Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • West Oaks Village is located in Brazoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Oaks Village
    • Westwood Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Westwood Village is located in Brazoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood Village
    • Iowa Colony
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Iowa Colony is located in Brazoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iowa Colony
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,888 people
    • Manvel
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Manvel is located in Brazoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manvel
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,867 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Manvel <1>
    • Woodcreek
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Woodcreek is located in Brazoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodcreek
  • Fort Bend County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westways, with the one closest to Westways listed first.
    • Mission Bend
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Mission Bend is located in Fort Bend County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mission Bend
    • Clodine
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Meadows Place
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Meadows Place is located in Fort Bend County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadows Place
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,813 people
    • Meadows
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Meadows is located in Fort Bend County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadows
    • Town West
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Town West is located in Fort Bend County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Town West
    • West Oaks Village
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • West Oaks Village is located in Fort Bend County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Oaks Village
    • Missouri City Estates
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Missouri City Estates is located in Fort Bend County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Missouri City Estates
    • Cinco Ranch
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Cinco Ranch is located in Fort Bend County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cinco Ranch
    • Stafford
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Pin Oak Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Pin Oak Village is located in Fort Bend County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pin Oak Village
    • Fifth Street
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Fifth Street is located in Fort Bend County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fifth Street
    • Katy
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Katy is located in Fort Bend County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Katy
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 23,889 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Katy <1>
  • Galveston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westways, with the one closest to Westways listed first.
    • Quaker Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Quaker Village is located in Galveston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quaker Village
    • Friendswood
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Montgomery County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westways, with the one closest to Westways listed first.
    • Oak Ridge North
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • The Woodlands
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Stagecoach
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Stagecoach is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stagecoach
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 604 people
    • Chateau Woods
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Chateau Woods is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chateau Woods
    • Pinehurst
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Shenandoah
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Sleepy Hollow
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Sleepy Hollow is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sleepy Hollow
    • Porter Heights
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Porter Heights is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter Heights
    • Porter
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Woodloch
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Woodloch is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodloch
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 207 people
    • Magnolia
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Karen
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Karen is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Karen
  • Waller County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westways, with the one closest to Westways listed first.
    • Brookshire
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Pattison
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Clemons
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Clemons is located in Waller County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clemons

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

Cemeteries Near Westways ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Westways.

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

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

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

  • Bear Creek Methodist Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Memorial Oaks Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Woodlawn Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Beth El Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Paradise North Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Forest Park - Westheimer Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Park - Westheimer Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Forest Park - Westheimer Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Houston.
    • The Forest Park - Westheimer Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Forest Park West Cemetery
    • Forest Park Cemetery
    • Forest Park West Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #162130 <2>
  • Addicks Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Czech Moravian Brethren Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Cemetery Beautiful
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cemetery Beautiful
    • The Cemetery Beautiful has also been known as:
    • Beautiful Cemetery
    • Paradise Beautiful Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2834 <2>
  • Restlawn Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Alief Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Dowdell Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (147 more) ...
    • Houston National Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houston National Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Houston National Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Houston.
      • The Houston National Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Veterans Memorial Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #109415 <2>
    • Knigge Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Perry Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 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 Westways in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Westways.

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

  • Piney Point Village
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Piney Point Village is located in Harris County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piney Point Village
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,416 people
    • Piney Point Village has also been known as:
    • Piney Point
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Piney Point Village <1>
  • Addicks
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Addicks is located in Harris County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Addicks
  • Jeanetta
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Jeanetta is located in Harris County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeanetta
  • Westfield
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Westfield is located in Harris County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westfield
  • Aldine
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Clodine
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Cypress
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Houston
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Pierce Junction
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Pierce Junction is located in Harris County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pierce Junction
  • Stafford
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
  • Sugar Land
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
  • Magnolia Park
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Magnolia Park is located in Harris County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia Park
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Harlem
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Harlem is located in Fort Bend County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlem
    • Harrisburg
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Harrisburg is located in Harris County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrisburg
    • Rose Hill
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Rose Hill is located in Harris County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Hill

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

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 Westways:

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 Westways, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.