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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 Alton (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 Alton. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals 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.

Alton is located in Humboldt 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 Humboldt County: Del Norte, Mendocino, Siskiyou & Trinity.

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

  • Humboldt County     (The home county of Alton)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alton, with the one closest to Alton listed first.
    • Rohnerville
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rohnerville
      • Rohnerville is located in Humboldt County
    • Hydesville
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Fortuna
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Rio Dell
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Carlotta
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Scotia
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Ferndale
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Loleta
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Port Kenyon
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Kenyon
      • Port Kenyon is located in Humboldt County
    • Table Bluff
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Table Bluff
      • Table Bluff is located in Humboldt County
    • Falk ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Falk. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falk
      • Falk is located in Humboldt County
    • Hookton
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hookton
      • Hookton is located in Humboldt County
    • Pepperwood
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pepperwood have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pepperwood
      • Pepperwood is located in Humboldt County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Alton ...

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 69 newspapers that have been published in the area around Alton.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Alton. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Alton and those printed in the larger area surrounding Alton.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<4> of Alton.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Alton:

Cemeteries Near Alton ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Alton.

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

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

  • IOOF Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the IOOF Cemetery is located outside and to the southwest of Hydesville.
    • The IOOF Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Hydesville IOOF Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the IOOF Cemetery
  • Masons & IOOF Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Masons & IOOF Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Masons & IOOF Cemetery
  • Hydesville Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Town Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Town Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Town Cemetery
  • Atwell Family Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Ferndale Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Marys Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Marys Cemetery
  • Bull Creek Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
  • Spear Family Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
  • Oceanview Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oceanview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oceanview Cemetery
  • St. Bernard's Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
  • Sunset Memorial Park
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sunset Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sunset Memorial Park
  • Continue List   (7 more) ...
    • Petrolia Pioneer Cemetery
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Myrtle Grove Memorial
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Myrtle Grove Memorial have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Myrtle Grove Memorial
    • Bridgeville Cemetery
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bridgeville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Bridgeville Cemetery is located outside and to the northeast of Bridgeville.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bridgeville Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2310284 <5>

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.<7>

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

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

  • Rohnerville
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rohnerville
    • Rohnerville is located in Humboldt County
  • Hydesville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Fortuna
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Rio Dell
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Waddington
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Waddington have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waddington
    • Waddington is located in Humboldt County
  • Scotia
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Ferndale
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Beatrice
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beatrice have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beatrice
    • Beatrice is located in Humboldt County
  • Table Bluff
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Table Bluff
    • Table Bluff is located in Humboldt County
  • Port Kenyon
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Kenyon
    • Port Kenyon is located in Humboldt County
  • Pepperwood
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pepperwood have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pepperwood
    • Pepperwood is located in Humboldt County
  • Fields Landing
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Capetown
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Capetown have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capetown
      • Capetown is located in Humboldt County
    • Englewood
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Englewood have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Englewood
      • Englewood is located in Humboldt County
    • Freshwater
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freshwater
      • Freshwater is located in Humboldt County

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

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

The official website for Humboldt County: www.co.humboldt.ca.us/

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>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.
<3>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.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Alton) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Alton. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.5485, Longitude: -124.1407    
<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>To help visualize the location of the cemetery, we've drawn a straight line between the communities of Freshwater Corners and Freshwater. The cemetery can be found near that line and roughly halfway between the two communities. Remember that this is just an approximate location.
<7>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 Alton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024