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 Williams (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 Williams. 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 and doctors 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.
Williams is located in Liberty 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 Liberty County: Chambers, Hardin, Harris, Montgomery, Polk & San Jacinto.
Below are the counties that are near Williams. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Williams:
- Liberty County (The home county of Williams)
- The following are listed by their distance from Williams, with the one closest to Williams listed first.
- Nimrod ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Nimrod is located in Liberty County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nimrod
- North Cleveland
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- North Cleveland is located in Liberty County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Cleveland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 313 people
- Cleveland
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Plum Grove
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Plum Grove is located in Liberty County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plum Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 756 people
- Rayburn
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Rayburn is located in Liberty County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rayburn
- Gum Grove
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Gum Grove is located in Liberty County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gum Grove
- Africa ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Africa is located in Liberty County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Africa
- Coushatta Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Coushatta Village is located in Liberty County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coushatta Village
- Romayor
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Dayton Lakes
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Dayton Lakes is located in Liberty County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dayton Lakes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
- Kenefick
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Kenefick is located in Liberty County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenefick
- Population from the 2020 Census: 722 people
- Dayton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Mariam
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Mariam is located in Liberty County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mariam
- Hardin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Williams, with the one closest to Williams listed first.
- Votaw
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Batson
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Thicket
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Harris County
- The following are listed by their distance from Williams, with the one closest to Williams listed first.
- Elm Grove Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Elm Grove Village is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elm Grove Village
- Bear Branch Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Bear Branch Village is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Branch Village
- Greentree Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Greentree Village is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greentree Village
- Sherwood Trails Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Woodland Hills Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Hunter Ridge Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Hunter Ridge Village is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunter Ridge Village
- Huffman
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Kingwood
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Atascocita
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Humble
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Intercontinental Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Sandpiper Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Sandpiper Village is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandpiper Village
- Spring
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Montgomery County
- The following are listed by their distance from Williams, with the one closest to Williams listed first.
- Splendora
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Roman Forest
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Roman Forest is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roman Forest
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,035 people
- Patton Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Patton Village is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patton Village
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,207 people
- Woodbranch
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Woodbranch is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbranch
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,498 people
- New Caney
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Grangerland
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Porter Heights
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Porter Heights is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter Heights
- Porter
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Cut and Shoot
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Sleepy Hollow
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Sleepy Hollow is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sleepy Hollow
- Woodloch
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Woodloch is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodloch
- Population from the 2020 Census: 207 people
- Chateau Woods
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Chateau Woods is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chateau Woods
- Conroe
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Polk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Williams, with the one closest to Williams listed first.
- Ace
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Goodrich
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Swartout ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Swartout is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swartout
- Lamont
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Lamont is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamont
- Schwab City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Schwab City is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schwab City
- West Livingston
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- West Livingston is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Livingston
- San Jacinto County
- The following are listed by their distance from Williams, with the one closest to Williams listed first.
- Magnolia
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Magnolia is located in San Jacinto County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia
- Shepherd
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Coldspring
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Evergreen
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Evergreen is located in San Jacinto County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen
- Laurel Hill
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Laurel Hill is located in San Jacinto County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Hill
- Walker County
- The following are listed by their distance from Williams, with the one closest to Williams listed first.
- New Waverly
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Elmina
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Elmina is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmina
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Williams, see our County-by-County Page for Williams.
Cemeteries Near Williams ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Williams.
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 Williams - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Williams covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Williams, with the one closest to Williams listed first.
- Pin Oak Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Wells Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Cleveland Memorial Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Hanson Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Morgan Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Mizell Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Splendora Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Squier Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Roark Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Montague Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- McGinnis Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Security Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Continue List (105 more) ...
- Boothe Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Ryan Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Vick Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
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 Williams in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Williams.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Williams, with the one closest to Williams listed first.
- Cleveland
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Keno
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Keno is located in Liberty County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keno
- New Caney
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Shepherd
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Huffman
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Coldspring
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Evergreen
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Evergreen is located in San Jacinto County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen
- Maynard
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Maynard is located in San Jacinto County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maynard
- Conroe
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Humble
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Dayton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Spring
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (8 more) ...
- Willis
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Goodrich
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Liberty
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Williams. See our List of 1890's Communities around Williams.
Newspapers Published in Williams ...
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 Williams.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Williams, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Williams.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Williams:
- Websites specific to Texas
- Pages specific to Liberty County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Hardin County
- Harris County
- Montgomery County
- Polk County
- San Jacinto County
- Walker 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 Williams, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Williams) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |