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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 Afton (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 Afton. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Afton is located in Glenn County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Glenn County: Butte, Colusa, Lake, Mendocino & Tehama.

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

  • Glenn County     (The home county of Afton)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Afton, with the one closest to Afton listed first.
    • Butte City
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Glenn
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Willows
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Artois
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Hamilton City
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Orland
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Capay
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Capay have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capay
      • Capay is located in Glenn County
  • Butte County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Afton, with the one closest to Afton listed first.
    • Richvale
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Bigg's
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Gridley
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Nelson
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • East Biggs
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Biggs
      • East Biggs is located in Butte County
    • Peachton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peachton
      • Peachton is located in Butte County
    • Dayton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dayton
      • Dayton is located in Butte County
    • Lorraine ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lorraine have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lorraine
      • Lorraine is located in Butte County
    • Oroville Junction
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oroville Junction
      • Oroville Junction is located in Butte County
    • Durham
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Robinsons Corner
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinsons Corner
      • Robinsons Corner is located in Butte County
    • Thermalito
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thermalito
      • Thermalito is located in Butte County
    • Chico
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chico
      • Chico is located in Butte County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 102,867 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chico <1>
  • Colusa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Afton, with the one closest to Afton listed first.
    • Princeton
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Colusa Rancheria
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colusa Rancheria
      • Colusa Rancheria is located in Colusa County
    • Colusa
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Maxwell
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Williams
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Sites
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sites
      • Sites is located in Colusa County
    • Grimes
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Genevra
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Genevra have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Genevra
      • Genevra is located in Colusa County
    • Devils Elbow
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Devils Elbow have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Devils Elbow
      • Devils Elbow is located in Colusa County
    • Arbuckle
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • College City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Leesville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leesville
      • Leesville is located in Colusa County
    • Lodoga
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lodoga
      • Lodoga is located in Colusa County
  • Santa Cruz County
  • Sutter County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Afton, with the one closest to Afton listed first.
    • Pennington
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennington
      • Pennington is located in Sutter County
    • Meridian
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Tarke
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tarke
      • Tarke is located in Sutter County
    • Live Oak
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Live Oak
      • Live Oak is located in Sutter County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,048 people
    • Sutter
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Tierra Buena
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tierra Buena have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tierra Buena
      • Tierra Buena is located in Sutter County
    • Yuba City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • South Yuba City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Yuba City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Yuba City
      • South Yuba City is located in Sutter County
    • Bogue
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bogue
      • Bogue is located in Sutter County
  • Yuba County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Afton, with the one closest to Afton listed first.
    • Iowa City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Iowa City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iowa City
      • Iowa City is located in Yuba County
    • Binney Junction
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Binney Junction
      • Binney Junction is located in Yuba County
    • Marysville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Dantoni
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dantoni
      • Dantoni is located in Yuba County
    • Loma Rica
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loma Rica
      • Loma Rica is located in Yuba County
    • Alicia
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alicia
      • Alicia is located in Yuba County
    • Linda
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Afton ...

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 53 newspapers that have been published in the area around Afton.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Afton, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Afton.

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 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 Afton:

Cemeteries Near Afton ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Afton.

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 Afton covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Marvin Chapel Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Butte City Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Princeton Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Mound Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • North Butte Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the North Butte Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the North Butte Cemetery
  • Martin Family Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Martin Family Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<5>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Martin Family Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2447144 <4>
  • Catholic Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Catholic Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Catholic Cemetery
  • Willows Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Willows Cemetery is located outside and to the east of Willows.
    • The Willows Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Glenn County Willows Cemetery
    • Willows Catholic Cemetery
    • Willows IOOF Cemetery
    • Willows IOOF Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Willows Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #7888 <4>
  • Pugh Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pugh Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pugh Cemetery
  • Nelson Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Gridley - Biggs Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
  • Maxwell Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Maxwell Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Maxwell Cemetery
  • Continue List   (40 more) ...
    • Dayton Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Dayton Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the northeast of Dayton.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dayton Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2144284 <4>
    • Hamilton Cemetery
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Hamilton Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<5>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hamilton Cemetery
    • Monroeville Pioneer Cemetery
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Afton had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Butte City
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Jacinto
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jacinto have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacinto
    • Jacinto is located in Glenn County
  • Pennington
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennington
    • Pennington is located in Sutter County
  • Norman
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Norman have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norman
    • Norman is located in Glenn County
  • Bigg's
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Colusa
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
  • Gridley
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Nelson
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Willows
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Maxwell
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Durham
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Sycamore
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sycamore have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sycamore
    • Sycamore is located in Colusa County
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Meridian
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Live Oak
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Live Oak
      • Live Oak is located in Sutter County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,048 people
    • Lurline ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lurline have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lurline
      • Lurline is located in Colusa County

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

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

The official website for Glenn County: www.countyofglenn.net/

The official website for State of California: https://www.ca.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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Afton) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Afton. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.4201, Longitude: -121.9666    
<4>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.
<5>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.
<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 Afton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024