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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 Gonzales (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 Gonzales. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Gonzales is located in Monterey 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 Monterey County: Fresno, Kings, San Benito, San Luis Obispo & Santa Cruz.

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

  • Monterey County     (The home county of Gonzales)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gonzales, with the one closest to Gonzales listed first.
    • Chualar
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Soledad
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Spreckels
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Serra Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Serra Village
      • Serra Village is located in Monterey County
    • Salinas
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Greenfield
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Ambler Park
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ambler Park
      • Ambler Park is located in Monterey County
    • Carmel Valley Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Boronda
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boronda
      • Boronda is located in Monterey County
    • Santa Rita
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Santa Rita have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santa Rita
      • Santa Rita is located in Monterey County
    • Prattco ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Prattco. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prattco
      • Prattco is located in Monterey County
    • Del Rey Oaks
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Del Rey Oaks
      • Del Rey Oaks is located in Monterey County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,645 people
  • San Benito County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gonzales, with the one closest to Gonzales listed first.
    • Pinnacles
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pinnacles have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinnacles
      • Pinnacles is located in San Benito County
    • Paicines
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • San Benito
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Benito
      • San Benito is located in San Benito County
    • Tres Pinos
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Ridgemark
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgemark
      • Ridgemark is located in San Benito County
    • Hollister
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • San Juan Bautista
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Bitterwater
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bitterwater
      • Bitterwater is located in San Benito County
    • River Oaks
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Oaks
      • River Oaks is located in San Benito County
    • Dunneville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunneville
      • Dunneville is located in San Benito County
  • Santa Clara County
    • Sargent ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sargent
      • Sargent is located in Santa Clara County

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

Newspapers Published in Gonzales ...

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 91 newspapers that have been published in the area around Gonzales.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Gonzales, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Gonzales.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Gonzales:

Cemeteries Near Gonzales ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Gonzales.

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

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

  • Gonzales Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Soledad Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Soledad Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Soledad Cemetery
  • Yamat Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Yamat Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Yamat Cemetery
  • IOOF Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • 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
  • Willow Creek Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Chinese Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • 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.
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Chinese Cemetery is located in Salinas.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Chinese Cemetery
  • Monterey County Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Monterey County Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Monterey County Cemetery
  • Greenfield Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Greenfield Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Greenfield Cemetery
  • Paicines Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Queen of Heaven Cemetery
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Queen of Heaven Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Queen of Heaven Cemetery
  • Mission Memorial Park
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mission Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mission Memorial Park
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Calvary Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Calvary Cemetery
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Calvary Sacred Heart Cemetery
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • San Juan Bautista Cemetery
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • IOOF Cemetery
      (24 miles [38.6 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 Gonzales had a population of 359 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Gonzales had a population of 8,237 people.

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

  • Chualar
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Soledad
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Spence
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spence have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spence
    • Spence is located in Monterey County
  • Metz
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Metz have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Metz
    • Metz is located in Monterey County
  • Salinas
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Natividad
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Natividad have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Natividad
    • Natividad is located in Monterey County
  • Paicines
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
  • San Benito
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Benito
    • San Benito is located in San Benito County
  • Santa Rita
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Santa Rita have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santa Rita
    • Santa Rita is located in Monterey County
  • Tres Pinos
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
  • Blanco
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blanco have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blanco
    • Blanco is located in Monterey County
  • Hollister
    (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (11 more) ...
    • Seaside
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Castroville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Bitterwater
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bitterwater
      • Bitterwater is located in San Benito County

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

The official website for Gonzales: www.ci.gonzales.ca.us/

The official website for Monterey County: www.co.monterey.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 drawn from Point A (ie- Gonzales) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Gonzales. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.5089, Longitude: -121.4420    
<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 Gonzales, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024