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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 Cotati (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 Cotati. 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 Cotati ...

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.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

Another variation: Cotate.

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.

A Few Details for Cotati ...

While it's still very early in our research, we found that:

  • Cotati was established in 1963.
  • It was incorporated on July 16, 1963.

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 hospitals and 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.

Cotati is located in Sonoma 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 Sonoma County: Contra Costa, Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Napa & Solano.

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

  • Sonoma County     (The home county of Cotati)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cotati, with the one closest to Cotati listed first.
    • Rohnert Park
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Stony Point
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Point
      • Stony Point is located in Sonoma County
    • Penngrove
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Bellevue
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellevue
      • Bellevue is located in Sonoma County
    • South Santa Rosa
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Santa Rosa have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Santa Rosa
      • South Santa Rosa is located in Sonoma County
    • Roseland
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Roseland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseland
      • Roseland is located in Sonoma County
    • Santa Rosa
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Petaluma
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Bloomfield
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomfield
      • Bloomfield is located in Sonoma County
    • Montgomery Village
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Montgomery Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montgomery Village
      • Montgomery Village is located in Sonoma County
    • Sebastopol
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Melita
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melita
      • Melita is located in Sonoma County
    • Eldridge
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Contra Costa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cotati, with the one closest to Cotati listed first.
    • Bayview
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bayview have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayview
      • Bayview is located in Contra Costa County
    • Gateley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gateley
      • Gateley is located in Contra Costa County
  • Lake County
  • Marin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cotati, with the one closest to Cotati listed first.
    • Tomales
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Hamlet
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hamlet have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamlet
      • Hamlet is located in Marin County
    • Nicks Cove
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicks Cove
      • Nicks Cove is located in Marin County
    • Dillon Beach
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Marshall
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Millerton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerton
      • Millerton is located in Marin County
    • Novato
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Old Town
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Old Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Town
      • Old Town is located in Marin County
    • Inverness
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Nicasio
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Point Reyes Station
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Black Point - Green Point
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Rafael Village
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rafael Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rafael Village
      • Rafael Village is located in Marin County
  • Napa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cotati, with the one closest to Cotati listed first.
    • Rutherford
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Saint Helena
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Calistoga
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Woodleaf
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodleaf have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodleaf
      • Woodleaf is located in Napa County
    • Oakville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Merazo
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merazo
      • Merazo is located in Napa County
    • Yountville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Deer Park
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Union
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
      • Union is located in Napa County
    • Napa
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Napa
      • Napa is located in Napa County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 77,032 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Napa <1>
    • Angwin
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Suscol ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Suscol have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suscol
      • Suscol is located in Napa County
      • Suscol has also been known as:
      • Soscol
      • Susqual
    • Middleton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middleton
      • Middleton is located in Napa County
  • Solano County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cotati, with the one closest to Cotati listed first.
    • Guadalcanal Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Guadalcanal Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guadalcanal Village
      • Guadalcanal Village is located in Solano County
    • Mare Island ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Mare Island. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mare Island
      • Mare Island is located in Solano County
    • Vallejo
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Green Valley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Cotati ...

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 83 newspapers that have been published in the area around Cotati.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Cotati. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Cotati and those printed in the larger area surrounding Cotati.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<4> of Cotati.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start 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 Cotati:

Cemeteries Near Cotati ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Cotati.

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

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

  • Liberty Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Liberty Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Liberty Cemetery
  • Macedonia Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Macedonia Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Macedonia Cemetery
  • Two Rock Presbyterian Church Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Two Rock Presbyterian Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Two Rock Presbyterian Church Cemetery
  • Cypress Hill Memorial Park
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cypress Hill Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cypress Hill Memorial Park
  • B'nai Israel Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the B'nai Israel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the B'nai Israel Cemetery
  • Petaluma Calvary Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Chapel of the Chimes Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Chapel of the Chimes Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Chapel of the Chimes Cemetery
  • Bennett Valley Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bennett Valley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bennett Valley Cemetery
  • Canfield Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Canfield Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Canfield Cemetery
  • Calvary Catholic Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Santa Rosa Calvary Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Santa Rosa Calvary Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Santa Rosa Calvary Cemetery
  • Pleasant Hills Memorial Park
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Hills Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Hills Memorial Park
  • Continue List   (68 more) ...
    • Thompson Family Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Thompson Family Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Thompson Family Cemetery
    • Moke Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Moke Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Moke Cemetery
    • Santa Rosa Rural Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 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, Cotati had railroad service and no post office. In 2020, Cotati had a population of 7,453 people.

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

  • Stony Point
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Point
    • Stony Point is located in Sonoma County
  • Penngrove
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Ely ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ely have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ely
    • Ely is located in Sonoma County
  • Petaluma
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Santa Rosa
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Bloomfield
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomfield
    • Bloomfield is located in Sonoma County
  • Melita
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melita
    • Melita is located in Sonoma County
  • Glen Ellen
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Wildwood ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wildwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildwood
    • Wildwood is located in Sonoma County
  • Tomales
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Madrone ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Madrone have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madrone
    • Madrone is located in Sonoma County
  • Yulupa ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Yulupa have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yulupa
    • Yulupa is located in Sonoma County
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...

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

The official website for Cotati: www.ci.cotati.ca.us/

The official website for Sonoma County: www.sonoma-county.org/

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>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 '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- Cotati) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Cotati. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.3266, Longitude: -122.7090    
<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 Cotati, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024