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 Wiggins (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 Wiggins. 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 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.
Wiggins 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 Wiggins. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Wiggins:
- McLennan County (The home county of Wiggins)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wiggins, with the one closest to Wiggins listed first.
- Ross
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- West
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Gholson
(5 miles [8 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
- Tours
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Tours is located in McLennan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tours
- Elm Mott
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Patrick
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Patrick is located in McLennan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patrick
- Leroy
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Rock Creek
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Rock Creek is located in McLennan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Creek
- Lacy - Lakeview
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Northcrest
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Northcrest is located in McLennan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northcrest
- Bosqueville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Bosqueville is located in McLennan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bosqueville
- Bellmead
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- China Spring
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bosque County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wiggins, with the one closest to Wiggins listed first.
- Greenock
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Greenock is located in Bosque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenock
- Laguna Park
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Cayote
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Cayote is located in Bosque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cayote
- Valley Mills
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Womack
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Womack is located in Bosque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Womack
- Clifton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Lakeside Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Lakeside Village is located in Bosque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeside Village
- Kopperl
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Kimball
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Kimball is located in Bosque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimball
- Meridian
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Norse
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Norse is located in Bosque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norse
- Coryell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wiggins, with the one closest to Wiggins listed first.
- McGregor
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Coryell
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Coryell is located in Coryell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coryell
- Ellis County
- Milford
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Falls County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wiggins, with the one closest to Wiggins listed first.
- Golinda
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Golinda is located in Falls County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golinda
- Population from the 2020 Census: 610 people
- Perry
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- North Prairie
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- North Prairie is located in Falls County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Prairie
- Satin
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Otto
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Hill County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wiggins, with the one closest to Wiggins listed first.
- Tyson
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Tyson is located in Hill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyson
- Aquilla
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Abbott
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Chatt
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Chatt is located in Hill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatt
- Peoria
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Peoria is located in Hill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peoria
- Penelope
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Calm
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Bynum
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Whitney
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Hillsboro
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Malone
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Hubbard
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Brandon
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Limestone County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wiggins, with the one closest to Wiggins listed first.
- Watt
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Watt is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watt
- Prairie Hill
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Delia ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Delia is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delia
- Kirk
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Kirk is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirk
- Frosa
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Frosa is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frosa
- Coolidge
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Ben Hur
(30 miles [48.3 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 Wiggins, with the one closest to Wiggins listed first.
- Dawson
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Spring Hill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Spring Hill is located in Navarro County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
- Frost
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Navarro Mills
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Navarro Mills is located in Navarro County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Navarro Mills
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Wiggins, see our County-by-County Page for Wiggins.
Cemeteries Near Wiggins ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wiggins.
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 Wiggins - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Wiggins covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Wiggins, with the one closest to Wiggins listed first.
- Bold Springs Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- White Rock Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Clausner Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- St. Mary's Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- National Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Prairie Grove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Pleasant Grove Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Gholson Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Scotts Chapel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Jenkins Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- St. Martins Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- 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>
- Patrick Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patrick Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Patrick Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 11 miles [17.7 km]<3> to the northwest of Waco.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #5907 <2>
- Continue List (154 more) ...
- Crump Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Gerald Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Liberty Grove Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 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.<4>
While we didn't find Wiggins in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Wiggins.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Wiggins, with the one closest to Wiggins listed first.
- Ross
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- West
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Gholson
(5 miles [8 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
- Tyson
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Tyson is located in Hill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyson
- Patrick
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Patrick is located in McLennan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patrick
- Elm Mott
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Aquilla
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Abbott
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Bosqueville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Bosqueville is located in McLennan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bosqueville
- Vaughan
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Vaughan is located in Hill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vaughan
- China Spring
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Greenock
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Greenock is located in Bosque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenock
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Axtell
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Speegleville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Speegleville is located in McLennan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speegleville
- Waco
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Waco is located in McLennan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waco
- Population from the 2020 Census: 141,377 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Waco <1>
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Wiggins. See our List of 1890's Communities around Wiggins.
Newspapers Published in Wiggins ...
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 172 newspapers that have been published in the area around Wiggins.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Wiggins, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Wiggins.
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 websites either 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 Wiggins:
- Websites specific to Texas
- Pages specific to McLennan County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bosque County
- Coryell County
- Ellis County
- Falls County
- Hill County
- Limestone County
- Navarro 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Wiggins) 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 Wiggins, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |