RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Texas >> Brown County >> Winchell >> Genealogy HelperIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
Texas

The Commemorative Quarter for Texas





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 Winchell (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 Winchell. 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 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.

Winchell is located in Brown County.

To see how the shape of Texas' counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Brown County: Callahan, Coleman, Comanche, Eastland, McCulloch, Mills & San Saba.

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

  • Brown County     (The home county of Winchell)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Winchell, with the one closest to Winchell listed first.
    • Brookesmith
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Keys Crossing
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keys Crossing
      • Keys Crossing is located in Brown County
    • Indian Creek
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Creek
      • Indian Creek is located in Brown County
    • Bangs
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bangs have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bangs
      • Bangs is located in Brown County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,504 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bangs <1>
    • Brownwood
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brownwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownwood
      • Brownwood is located in Brown County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 18,208 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brownwood <1>
    • Ricker ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ricker have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ricker
      • Ricker is located in Brown County
    • Early
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Fry ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Fry. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fry
      • Fry is located in Brown County
    • Zephyr
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Lake Brownwood
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Brownwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Brownwood
      • Lake Brownwood is located in Brown County
  • Coleman County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Winchell, with the one closest to Winchell listed first.
    • Whon ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whon
      • Whon is located in Coleman County
    • Trickham
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trickham
      • Trickham is located in Coleman County
      • Former name for Trickham:
      • Trick'em
    • Rockwood
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Gouldbusk
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Santa Anna
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Voss
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Voss. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Voss
      • Voss is located in Coleman County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Voss <1>
    • Coleman
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Valera
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Valera have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valera
      • Valera is located in Coleman County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Valera <1>
  • McCulloch County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Winchell, with the one closest to Winchell listed first.
    • Waldrip
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Waldrip. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldrip
      • Waldrip is located in McCulloch County
    • Rochelle
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rochelle have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochelle
      • Rochelle is located in McCulloch County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rochelle <1>
    • Lohn
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lohn have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lohn
      • Lohn is located in McCulloch County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lohn <1>
    • Pear Valley
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Brady
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brady have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brady
      • Brady is located in McCulloch County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,178 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brady <1>
    • Doole ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Doole have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doole
      • Doole is located in McCulloch County
    • Salt Gap ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salt Gap
      • Salt Gap is located in McCulloch County
  • Mills County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Winchell, with the one closest to Winchell listed first.
    • Buffalo
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buffalo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo
      • Buffalo is located in Mills County
    • Ebony ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ebony. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ebony
      • Ebony is located in Mills County
    • Regency ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Regency have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Regency
      • Regency is located in Mills County
    • Ridge
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridge
      • Ridge is located in Mills County
    • Mullin
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Williams Ranch ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Williams Ranch. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williams Ranch
      • Williams Ranch is located in Mills County
  • San Saba County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Winchell, with the one closest to Winchell listed first.
    • Holt ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holt
      • Holt is located in San Saba County
    • Locker ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locker
      • Locker is located in San Saba County
    • Richland Springs
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Richland Springs. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richland Springs
      • Richland Springs is located in San Saba County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 310 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Richland Springs <1>

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

Cemeteries Near Winchell ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Winchell.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

  • Winchell Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Winchell Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Winchell Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Cox Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cox Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cox Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Beasley Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Beasley Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Beasley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Rice Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rice Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Rice Cemetery is located 4 miles [6.4 km]<4> to the east of Brookesmith.
  • Smith Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Smith Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Smith Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • McCarty Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McCarty Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the McCarty Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lee Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lee Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lee Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Five Ashes Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Five Ashes Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Five Ashes Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Whon Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Whon Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Whon Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Cowboy Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cowboy Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cowboy Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Holt Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Vargy Chapel Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Vargy Chapel Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Vargy Chapel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (65 more) ...
    • Bowser Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bowser Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bowser Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Indian Creek Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Indian Creek Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Indian Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Fife Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fife Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fife Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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.<6>

While we didn't find Winchell in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Winchell.

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

  • Milburn
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Milburn have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milburn
    • Milburn is located in McCulloch County
  • Trickham
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trickham
    • Trickham is located in Coleman County
    • Former name for Trickham:
    • Trick'em
  • Indian Creek
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Creek
    • Indian Creek is located in Brown County
  • Rockwood
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Waldrip
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Waldrip. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldrip
    • Waldrip is located in McCulloch County
  • Bangs
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bangs have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bangs
    • Bangs is located in Brown County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,504 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bangs <1>
  • Rochelle
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rochelle have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochelle
    • Rochelle is located in McCulloch County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rochelle <1>
  • Richland Springs
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Richland Springs. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richland Springs
    • Richland Springs is located in San Saba County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 310 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Richland Springs <1>
  • Regency ‑ Historic
    (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Regency have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Regency
    • Regency is located in Mills County
  • Brownwood
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brownwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownwood
    • Brownwood is located in Brown County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 18,208 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brownwood <1>
  • Santa Anna
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Ricker ‑ Historic
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ricker have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ricker
    • Ricker is located in Brown County
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Thrifty
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thrifty have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thrifty
      • Thrifty is located in Brown County
    • Zephyr
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Brady
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brady have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brady
      • Brady is located in McCulloch County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,178 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brady <1>

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

Newspapers Published in Winchell ...

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 13 newspapers that have been published in the area around Winchell.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Winchell, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Winchell.

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 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 Winchell:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Winchell. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for State of Texas: https://texas.gov/

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 location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<3>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<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- Winchell) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Winchell. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.4721, Longitude: -99.1609       In this case, the coordinates for Winchell have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>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.
<6>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 Winchell, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

Copyright 2025
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025