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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 El Granada (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 El Granada. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals 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.

El Granada is located in San Mateo 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 San Mateo County: Alameda, San Francisco, Santa Clara & Santa Cruz.

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

  • San Mateo County     (The home county of El Granada)
    • The following are listed by their distance from El Granada, with the one closest to El Granada listed first.
    • Moss Beach
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Montara
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Half Moon Bay
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Highlands
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Highlands have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highlands
      • Highlands is located in San Mateo County
    • Hillsborough
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Highlands - Baywood Park
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Millbrae
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Laurel
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel
      • Laurel is located in San Mateo County
    • Fairway Park
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairway Park
      • Fairway Park is located in San Mateo County
    • Pacifica
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Burlingame
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • San Mateo
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Belmont
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Alameda County
    • The following are listed by their distance from El Granada, with the one closest to El Granada listed first.
    • Alameda
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Mount Eden
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Russell City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Russell City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell City
      • Russell City is located in Alameda County
    • Alvarado ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Alvarado. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alvarado
      • Alvarado is located in Alameda County
    • Brookfield Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brookfield Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookfield Village
      • Brookfield Village is located in Alameda County
    • Campbell Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Campbell Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell Village
      • Campbell Village is located in Alameda County
    • San Leandro
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • San Lorenzo
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Ashland
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Brooklyn ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brooklyn have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklyn
      • Brooklyn is located in Alameda County
      • Former names for Brooklyn:
      • Antonio
      • Clinton
    • Cherryland
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cherryland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherryland
      • Cherryland is located in Alameda County
    • East Oakland ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for East Oakland. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Oakland
      • East Oakland is located in Alameda County
    • Fruitvale
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruitvale
      • Fruitvale is located in Alameda County
      • Former names for Fruitvale:
      • Brays
      • Fruit Vale
  • Contra Costa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from El Granada, with the one closest to El Granada listed first.
    • Easter Hill Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Easter Hill Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easter Hill Village
      • Easter Hill Village is located in Contra Costa County
    • El Cerrito
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Kensington
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Nystrom Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nystrom Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nystrom Village
      • Nystrom Village is located in Contra Costa County
    • Point Richmond
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Moraga
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moraga
      • Moraga is located in Contra Costa County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 16,967 people
      • Former name for Moraga:
      • Willow Springs
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moraga <1>
    • Atchison Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Atchison Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atchison Village
      • Atchison Village is located in Contra Costa County
    • Richmond
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmond
      • Richmond is located in Contra Costa County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 110,038 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Richmond <1>
    • Orinda Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Orinda Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orinda Village
      • Orinda Village is located in Contra Costa County
    • Orinda
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orinda
      • Orinda is located in Contra Costa County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 19,557 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Orinda <1>
  • Marin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from El Granada, with the one closest to El Granada listed first.
    • Fort McDowell
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fort McDowell have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort McDowell
      • Fort McDowell is located in Marin County
    • Sausalito
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Belvedere
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Marin City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marin City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marin City
      • Marin City is located in Marin County
    • Muir Beach
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Tiburon
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Manzanita
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manzanita
      • Manzanita is located in Marin County
    • Tamalpais - Homestead Valley
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Tamalpais - Homestead Valley. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tamalpais - Homestead Valley
      • Tamalpais - Homestead Valley is located in Marin County
    • Bel Aire
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bel Aire
      • Bel Aire is located in Marin County
    • Strawberry
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Strawberry have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strawberry
      • Strawberry is located in Marin County
    • Mill Valley
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Paradise Cay
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise Cay
      • Paradise Cay is located in Marin County
    • Stinson Beach
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
  • San Francisco County
    • The following are listed by their distance from El Granada, with the one closest to El Granada listed first.
    • Stonestown
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonestown
      • Stonestown is located in San Francisco County
    • Doelger City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Doelger City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doelger City
      • Doelger City is located in San Francisco County
    • Golden Gate Heights
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golden Gate Heights
      • Golden Gate Heights is located in San Francisco County
    • San Francisco
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Amanico Ergina Village
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Amanico Ergina Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amanico Ergina Village
      • Amanico Ergina Village is located in San Francisco County
    • Friendship Village
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Friendship Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship Village
      • Friendship Village is located in San Francisco County
    • Chinatown
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chinatown
      • Chinatown is located in San Francisco County
    • Sydney Town ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sydney Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sydney Town
      • Sydney Town is located in San Francisco County
  • Santa Clara County
    • The following are listed by their distance from El Granada, with the one closest to El Granada listed first.
    • Escondido Village
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Escondido Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Escondido Village
      • Escondido Village is located in Santa Clara County
    • Stanford
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Palo Alto
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Ventura
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ventura
      • Ventura is located in Santa Clara County
    • Los Altos Hills
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Castro City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Castro City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castro City
      • Castro City is located in Santa Clara County
    • Los Altos
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Mountain View
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Loyola
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Loyola have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loyola
      • Loyola is located in Santa Clara County
    • Sunnyvale
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Alviso
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Cupertino
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Agnew
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agnew
      • Agnew is located in Santa Clara County

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

Newspapers Published in El Granada ...

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 El Granada.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of El Granada, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for El Granada.

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 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 El Granada:

Cemeteries Near El Granada ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of El Granada.

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

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

  • Pilarcitos Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pilarcitos Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pilarcitos Cemetery
  • IOOF Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the IOOF Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the IOOF Cemetery
  • Skylawn Memorial Park
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Johns Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Johns Cemetery
  • Golden Gate National Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Golden Gate National Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Golden Gate National Cemetery
  • Orange Memorial Park
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Orange Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Orange Memorial Park
  • Chinese Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Chinese Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Chinese Cemetery
  • Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Colma.
    • The Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Holy Cross Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #8038 <5>
  • Hills of Eternity Memorial Park
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Cypress Lawn Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Cypress Lawn Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Colma.
    • The Cypress Lawn Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Cypress Lawn Memorial Park
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cypress Lawn Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #7927 <5>
  • Chinese Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Chinese Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Chinese Cemetery
  • Greenlawn Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Greenlawn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Greenlawn Cemetery
  • Continue List   (46 more) ...
    • Russian Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Russian Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Russian Cemetery
    • Hoy Sun Memorial Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Golden Hill Memorial Park
      (12 miles [19.3 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>

While we didn't find El Granada in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of El Granada.

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

  • Half Moon Bay
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Millbrae
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • San Mateo
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Belmont
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • San Bruno
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Baden
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Baden have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baden
    • Baden is located in San Mateo County
  • San Carlos
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Woodside
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Redwood City
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • San Gregorio
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Searsville ‑ Historic
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Searsville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Searsville
    • Searsville is located in San Mateo County
  • Fair Oaks
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fair Oaks have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fair Oaks
    • Fair Oaks is located in San Mateo County
  • Continue List   (18 more) ...
    • Menlo Park
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Pescadero
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Mayfield
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mayfield have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayfield
      • Mayfield is located in Santa Clara County

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

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

The official website for San Mateo County: www.co.sanmateo.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>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 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- El Granada) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in El Granada. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.5041, Longitude: -122.4687    
<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 El Granada, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024