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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 Delano (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 Delano. 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.

A Few Details for Delano ...

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

  • The naming (or the toponymy) of Delano: ocpn-1905:Named for Columbus Delano, Secretary of the Interior under President Grant.
  • Delano was established in 1873.
  • It was incorporated on April 13, 1915.

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 and 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.

Delano is located in Kern 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 Kern County: Inyo, Kings, Los Angeles, Monterey, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Tulare & Ventura.

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

  • Kern County     (The home county of Delano)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Delano, with the one closest to Delano listed first.
    • Vinland
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vinland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vinland
      • Vinland is located in Kern County
    • McFarland
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Famoso
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Famoso
      • Famoso is located in Kern County
    • Wasco
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Minter Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Minter Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minter Village
      • Minter Village is located in Kern County
    • Shafter
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Semitropic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Semitropic
      • Semitropic is located in Kern County
    • Cawelo
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cawelo
      • Cawelo is located in Kern County
    • Crome
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crome
      • Crome is located in Kern County
    • Woody
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Rosedale ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rosedale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosedale
      • Rosedale is located in Kern County
    • Oil Junction
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oil Junction
      • Oil Junction is located in Kern County
  • Kings County
    • Corcoran
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Tulare County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Delano, with the one closest to Delano listed first.
    • Earlimart
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Richgrove
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Allensworth ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Pixley
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Ducor
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Saucelito ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saucelito have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saucelito
      • Saucelito is located in Tulare County
    • Alpaugh
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Terra Bella
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Poplar
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar
      • Poplar is located in Tulare County
      • Poplar has also been known as:
      • Poplar - Cotton Center
    • Tipton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • White River ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White River
      • White River is located in Tulare County
    • Woodville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
      • Woodville is located in Tulare County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Delano ...

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 38 newspapers that have been published in the area around Delano.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Delano. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Delano and those printed in the larger area surrounding Delano.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3> of Delano.

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 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 Delano:

Cemeteries Near Delano ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Delano.

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

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

  • Delano - McFarland District Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Delano - McFarland District Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located outside and to the southwest of Delano.
    • The Delano - McFarland District Cemetery has also been known as:
    • North Kern Cemetery
    • North Kern Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Delano - McFarland District Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #640421 <4>
  • Pomfret Memorial Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Allensworth Historical Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Wasco Memorial Park
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Zion Lutheran Church Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
  • Tipton - Pixley Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
  • Shafter Memorial Park
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
  • Engle Family Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Tailholt Boot Hill Cemetery
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Tailholt Boot Hill Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<5>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Tailholt Boot Hill Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2312993 <4>
  • White River Cemetery
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
  • Vandalia Cemetery
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
  • St. Anne's Cemetery
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (10 more) ...
    • Woodville Cemetery
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Blue Mtn. Cemetery
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Weringer Cemetery
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)

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 Delano had a population of 401 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Delano had a population of 53,041 people.

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

  • Pixley
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Terra Bella
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Tipton
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
  • Lerdo
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lerdo have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lerdo
    • Lerdo is located in Kern County
  • Poplar
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar
    • Poplar is located in Tulare County
    • Poplar has also been known as:
    • Poplar - Cotton Center
  • White River ‑ Historic
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White River
    • White River is located in Tulare County
  • Woodville
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
    • Woodville is located in Tulare County
  • Woody
    (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
  • Plano
    (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plano have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plano
    • Plano is located in Tulare County
  • Porterville
    (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
  • Rosedale ‑ Historic
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rosedale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosedale
    • Rosedale is located in Kern County

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

The official website for Delano: www.delano-ca.org/

The official website for Kern County: www.co.kern.ca.us/

The official website for State of California: https://www.ca.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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- Delano) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Delano. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.7702, Longitude: -119.2473    
<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 Delano, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024