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 Westwood (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 Westwood. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Westwood 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 Westwood. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Westwood:
- Harris County (The home county of Westwood)
- The following are listed by their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- Southside Place
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Southside Place is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southside Place
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,885 people
- Southside Place has also been known as:
- South Side Place
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Southside Place <1>
- Bellaire
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Cambridge Village
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Cambridge Village is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambridge Village
- West University Place
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Post Oak Village
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Post Oak Village is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Post Oak Village
- Canterbury Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Canterbury Village is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canterbury Village
- Houston
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Hunters Creek Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- 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
- Piney Point Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- 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>
- Hilshire Village
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Hilshire Village is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilshire Village
- Population from the 2020 Census: 806 people
- Bunker Hill Village
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- 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
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Hedwig Village is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hedwig Village
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,600 people
- Brays Village East
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Brays Village East is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brays Village East
- Brazoria County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- Brookside Village
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Fairway Village
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Fairway Village is located in Brazoria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairway Village
- Pearland
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- West Oaks Village
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- West Oaks Village is located in Brazoria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Oaks Village
- Westwood Village
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Westwood Village is located in Brazoria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood Village
- Iowa Colony
(14 miles [22.5 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
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Woodcreek
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Woodcreek is located in Brazoria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodcreek
- Sandy Point
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Sandy Point is located in Brazoria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Point
- Population from the 2020 Census: 238 people
- Alvin
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Lochridge
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Lochridge is located in Brazoria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lochridge
- Rosharon
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Hillcrest
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Hillcrest is located in Brazoria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillcrest
- Population from the 2020 Census: 706 people
- Chambers County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- Shoreacres
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Shoreacres is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shoreacres
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,578 people
- Seabrook
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Baytown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Fort Bend County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- Missouri City Estates
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Missouri City Estates is located in Fort Bend County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Missouri City Estates
- Stafford
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Fifth Street
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Fifth Street is located in Fort Bend County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fifth Street
- Meadows Place
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- 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
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Meadows is located in Fort Bend County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadows
- Fresno
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Missouri City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Dewalt
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Dewalt is located in Fort Bend County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dewalt
- Trammels
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Trammels is located in Fort Bend County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trammels
- Arcola
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- First Colony
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- First Colony is located in Fort Bend County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for First Colony
- Sugar Land
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Town West
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Town West is located in Fort Bend County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Town West
- Galveston County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- Quaker Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Quaker Village is located in Galveston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quaker Village
- Carmel Village
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Carmel Village is located in Galveston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carmel Village
- Friendswood
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Parkwood Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Parkwood Village is located in Galveston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkwood Village
- League City
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- South Shore Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- South Shore Village is located in Galveston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Shore Village
- Clear Lake Shores
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Kemah
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Arcadia
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Arcadia is located in Galveston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcadia
- Dickinson
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Santa Fe
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Bacliff
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Westwood, see our County-by-County Page for Westwood.
Cemeteries Near Westwood ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Westwood.
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 Westwood - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Westwood covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- Emanuel Memorial Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Beth Jacob Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Riceville Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Magnolia Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Adath Yeshurun Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- College Memorial Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Glenwood Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Glenwood Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Houston.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #3828 <2>
- Washington Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washington Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Washington Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Houston.
- The Washington Cemetery has also been known as:
- Deutsche Gesellschaft Friedof
- German Society Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #7491 <2>
- Olivewood Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olivewood Cemetery
- The Olivewood Cemetery has also been known as:
- Hollow Wood Cemetery
- Hollywood Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2136702 <2>
- Beth El Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- New Hope Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Woodlawn Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Continue List (131 more) ...
- Dagg Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Forest Park Lawndale Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Evergreen Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
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 Westwood in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Westwood.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- Pierce Junction
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Pierce Junction is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pierce Junction
- Jeanetta
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Jeanetta is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeanetta
- Stafford
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Houston
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Piney Point Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- 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>
- Magnolia Park
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Magnolia Park is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia Park
- Harrisburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Harrisburg is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrisburg
- Sugar Land
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Duke
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Duke is located in Fort Bend County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duke
- Arcola
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Arcola Junction
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Arcola Junction is located in Fort Bend County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcola Junction
- Addicks
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Addicks is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Addicks
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Clodine
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Genoa
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Genoa is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Genoa
- Red Bluff
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Red Bluff is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Bluff
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Westwood. See our List of 1890's Communities around Westwood.
Newspapers Published in Westwood ...
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 249 newspapers that have been published in the area around Westwood.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Westwood, there are papers which were published within 7 miles [11.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Westwood.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Westwood:
- Websites specific to Texas
- Pages specific to Harris County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Brazoria County
- Chambers County
- Fort Bend County
- Galveston 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 Westwood, 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 from Point A (ie- Westwood) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |