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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 Wixon Valley (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 Wixon Valley. 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.

Name Variations for Wixon Valley ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Wixon Valley: Wixon Vly. (or less commonly used: Wixon Vally. or Wixon Vlly.)

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

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 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.

Wixon Valley is located in Brazos 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 Brazos County: Burleson, Grimes, Leon, Madison, Robertson & Washington.

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

  • Brazos County     (The home county of Wixon Valley)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wixon Valley, with the one closest to Wixon Valley listed first.
    • Kurten
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Tabor
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Tabor is located in Brazos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tabor
    • Boonville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Boonville is located in Brazos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boonville
    • Bryan
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Bryan is located in Brazos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryan
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 88,165 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bryan <1>
    • Edge
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Edge is located in Brazos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edge
    • College Station
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Rye ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Rye is located in Brazos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rye
    • Wellborn
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Stone City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Stone City is located in Brazos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone City
    • Millican
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Allen Farm
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Allen Farm is located in Brazos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allen Farm
    • Navasota
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Burleson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wixon Valley, with the one closest to Wixon Valley listed first.
    • Tunis
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Tunis is located in Burleson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunis
    • Cooks Point
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Cooks Point is located in Burleson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooks Point
    • Snook
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Merle ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Merle is located in Burleson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merle
    • Clay
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Caldwell
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Scofield ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Scofield is located in Burleson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scofield
    • Chriesman
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Lyons
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Grimes County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wixon Valley, with the one closest to Wixon Valley listed first.
    • Iola
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Bedias
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Roans Prairie
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Shiro
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Anderson
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Apolonia
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Apolonia is located in Grimes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apolonia
  • Leon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wixon Valley, with the one closest to Wixon Valley listed first.
    • Wealthy
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Wealthy is located in Leon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wealthy
    • Normangee
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Hilltop Lakes
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Flynn
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Madison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wixon Valley, with the one closest to Wixon Valley listed first.
    • Zulch ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Zulch is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zulch
    • North Zulch
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • George
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • George is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for George
    • Madisonville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Milam County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wixon Valley, with the one closest to Wixon Valley listed first.
    • Gause
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Port Sullivan ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Port Sullivan is located in Milam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Sullivan
    • Branchville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Branchville is located in Milam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branchville
  • Robertson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wixon Valley, with the one closest to Wixon Valley listed first.
    • Benchley
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Benchley is located in Robertson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benchley
    • Wheelock
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Mumford
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Hearne
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Hearne is located in Robertson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hearne
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,340 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hearne <1>
    • Elliot
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Elliot is located in Robertson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliot
    • New Baden
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Franklin
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Owensville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Owensville is located in Robertson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Owensville
    • Calvert
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Ridge
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Ridge is located in Robertson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridge
  • Washington County

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

Cemeteries Near Wixon Valley ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wixon Valley.

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 Wixon Valley - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Wixon Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Wesson Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • New Bethlehem Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Reed Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Mt. Olive Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Kizer Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • The Kizer Cemetery is located on private property - be sure to secure permission before visiting.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kizer Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Kizer Cemetery is located outside and to the northeast of Bryan.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #4653 <2>
  • Kurten Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Ebenezer Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Holuber Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Fridel Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Tryson Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Henry Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (186 more) ...

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 Wixon Valley in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Wixon Valley.

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

  • Kurten
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Tabor
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Tabor is located in Brazos County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tabor
  • Bryan
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Bryan is located in Brazos County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryan
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 88,165 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bryan <1>
  • Harvey
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Harvey is located in Brazos County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvey
  • Benchley
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Benchley is located in Robertson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benchley
  • College Station
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Wheelock
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Sutton
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Sutton is located in Robertson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sutton
  • Iola
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Mumford
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • Wellborn
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
  • Keith
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Keith is located in Grimes County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keith
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Zulch ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Zulch is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zulch
    • Hearne
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Hearne is located in Robertson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hearne
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,340 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hearne <1>
    • Tunis
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Tunis is located in Burleson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunis

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

Newspapers Published in Wixon Valley ...

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 75 newspapers that have been published in the area around Wixon Valley.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Wixon Valley, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Wixon Valley.

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 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 Wixon Valley:

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 Wixon Valley, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Wixon Valley) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.