Texas Gazetteers

Online Gazetteers

 * FamilySearch Places
 * The History and Geography of Texas as told in county names Zachary T Fulmore. The History and Geography of Texas as told in county names, 1935. Digital Publisher FamilySearch International
 * Adam's directory of points and landings on rivers and bayous in the states of Alabama, ....Texas and Wisconsin Louis A Adams. Adam's directory of points and landings on rivers and bayous in the states of Alabama, ....Texas and Wisconsin. New Orleans : W. L. Murray 1877
 * Texas State Gazetteer and Business Directory 1884-85 R L Polk. Texas State Gazetteer and Business Directory 1884-85. St. Louis, Mo. : R.L. Polk & Co. 1884
 * A Gazetteer of Texas Henry Gannett. A Gazetteer of Texas, 1904. Digital publication FamilySearch International
 * Texas State Gazetteer and Business Directory 1914-1915 R L Polk. Texas State Gazetteer and Business Directory 1914-1915. St. Louis, Mo. : R.L. Polk & Co. 1914

Print Only Gazetteers

 * 800 Texas ghost towns Ed Ellsworth Bartholomew. 800 Texas Ghost Towns. Fort Davis, Texas : Frontier Book Publishers, 1971
 * How come it's called that? : place names in the Big Bend country Virginia Madison and Hallie Stillwell. How Come It's Called That? : place names in the Big Bend country. [Albuquerque, New Mexico : University of New Mexico Press, 1958]
 * A Handbook of Texas Walter Prescott Webb. A Handbook of Texas. Austin, Texas : Texas State Historical Association, 1952-1976
 * Noticias de los poblados de que se componen el Nuevo Reino de León, provincia de Coahuila, Nueva-Extremadura, y la de Texas (1739) Don Antonio Ladrón de Guevara. Noticias de los poblados de que se componen el Nuevo Reino de León, provincia de Coahuila, Nueva-Extremadura, y la de Texas (1739). Monterrey, Mexico : Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, 1969
 * Texas geographic names : alphabetical listing U S Gealogical Survey. Texas Geographic Names : alphabetical listing. [Reston, Virginia : U.S. Geological Survey, 1985]
 * Texas Gazetteer Texas Gazetteer. Wilmington, Delaware : American Historical Publications, 1985
 * Lure of the land : Texas county maps and the history of settlement Joe B Frantz and Mike Cox. Lure of the Land : Texas county maps and the history of settlement. College Station, Texas : Texas A & M University Press, 1988
 * 1001 Texas Place Names Fred Tarpley. 1001 Texas Place Names. Austin, Texas : University of Texas Press, 1986
 * Texas : a historical atlas A. Ray Stephens. Texas : A Historical Atlas. Norman, Oklahoma : University of Oklahoma Press, c2010

Why Use Gazetteers
A gazetteer is a dictionary of place-names. Gazetteers list or describe towns and villages, parishes, states, populations, rivers and mountains, and other geographical features. They usually include only the names of places that existed at the time the gazetteer was published. Within a specific geographical area, the place-names are listed in alphabetical order, similar to a dictionary. You can use a gazetteer to locate the places where your family lived and to determine the civil and religious jurisdictions over those places.

There are many places within a state with similar or identical place-names. You will need to use a gazetteer to identify the specific town where your ancestor lived, the state the town was or is in, and the jurisdictions where records about the person was kept.

Gazetteer Contents
Gazetteers may also provide additional information about towns, such as:


 * Different religious denominations
 * Schools, colleges, and universities
 * Major manufacturers, canals, docks, and railroad stations
 * The population size.
 * Boundaries of civil jurisdiction.
 * Ecclesiastical jurisdiction(s)
 * Longitude and latitude.
 * Distances and direction from other from cities.
 * Schools, colleges, and universities.
 * Denominations and number of churches.
 * Historical and biographical information on some individuals (usually high-ranking or famous individuals)