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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 Mountain View (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 Mountain View. 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 Mountain View ...

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: Mountainview.

  • A typical abbreviation for Mountain View: Mountain Vw.

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.

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.

Mountain View is located in Santa Clara 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 Santa Clara County: Alameda, Merced, San Benito, San Mateo, Santa Cruz & Stanislaus.

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

  • Santa Clara County     (The home county of Mountain View)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mountain View, with the one closest to Mountain View listed first.
    • Castro City
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Castro City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Loyola
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Loyola have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loyola
      • Loyola is located in Santa Clara County
    • Sunnyvale
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Los Altos Hills
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Escondido Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Escondido Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Escondido Village
      • Escondido Village is located in Santa Clara County
    • Ventura
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ventura
      • Ventura is located in Santa Clara County
    • Palo Alto
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Stanford
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Cupertino
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Agnew
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agnew
      • Agnew is located in Santa Clara County
    • Alviso
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Alameda County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mountain View, with the one closest to Mountain View listed first.
    • Drawbridge ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drawbridge
      • Drawbridge is located in Alameda County
      • Former name for Drawbridge:
      • Saline City
    • Larkins Landing ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Larkins Landing. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larkins Landing
      • Larkins Landing is located in Alameda County
    • Albrae ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Albrae have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albrae
      • Albrae is located in Alameda County
    • Newark
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Fremont
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fremont
      • Fremont is located in Alameda County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 234,569 people
      • Former names for Fremont:
      • Centerville
      • Irvington
      • Mission San Jose
      • Niles
      • Warm Springs
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fremont <2>
    • Alvarado ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • 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
    • Union City
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union City
      • Union City is located in Alameda County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 74,501 people
      • Former name for Union City:
      • Decoto
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Union City <2>
    • Mount Eden
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Sunol
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Russell City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Russell City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell City
      • Russell City is located in Alameda County
    • Scotts Corner
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotts Corner
      • Scotts Corner is located in Alameda County
    • Hayward
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
  • Contra Costa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mountain View, with the one closest to Mountain View listed first.
    • San Ramon
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Blackhawk - Camino Tassajara
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • Danville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danville
      • Danville is located in Contra Costa County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 44,883 people
      • Former name for Danville:
      • Inmanville
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Danville <2>
    • Tassajara
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tassajara
      • Tassajara is located in Contra Costa County
  • San Mateo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mountain View, with the one closest to Mountain View listed first.
    • East Palo Alto
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • The Willows
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Willows
      • The Willows is located in San Mateo County
    • Ladera
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ladera
      • Ladera is located in San Mateo County
    • Menlo Park
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • West Menlo Park
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Atherton
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • North Fair Oaks
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Fair Oaks have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Fair Oaks
      • North Fair Oaks is located in San Mateo County
    • Portola Valley
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Searsville ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Searsville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Searsville
      • Searsville is located in San Mateo County
    • Woodside
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Redwood City
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Adobe Corner
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adobe Corner
      • Adobe Corner is located in San Mateo County
  • Santa Cruz County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mountain View, with the one closest to Mountain View listed first.
    • Alma ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alma have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alma
      • Alma is located in Santa Cruz County
    • Summit
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
      • Summit is located in Santa Cruz County
      • Summit has also been known as:
      • Loma Prieta
    • Boulder Creek
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Brookdale
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Glenwood
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood
      • Glenwood is located in Santa Cruz County
    • Laurel
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel
      • Laurel is located in Santa Cruz County
    • Lompico
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lompico
      • Lompico is located in Santa Cruz County
    • Ben Lomond
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Zayante
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zayante
      • Zayante is located in Santa Cruz County
    • Eccles ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Eccles. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eccles
      • Eccles is located in Santa Cruz County
    • The Willows
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Willows
      • The Willows is located in Santa Cruz County
    • Felton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Mountain View ...

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 168 newspapers that have been published in the area around Mountain View.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Mountain View. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Mountain View and those printed in the larger area surrounding Mountain View.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<4> of Mountain View.

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 Mountain View:

Cemeteries Near Mountain View ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Mountain View.

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

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

  • Alta Mesa Memorial Park
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Gates of Heaven Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gates of Heaven Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gates of Heaven Cemetery
  • Oakwood Community Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • The Oakwood Community Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Convent Of The Sacred Heart Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oakwood Community Cemetery
  • Holy Cross Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Mission City Memorial Park
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mission City Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mission City Memorial Park
  • Santa Clara Mission Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Madronia Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Madronia Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Madronia Cemetery
  • Union Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Union Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Union Cemetery
  • Cedar Lawn Memorial Park
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Holy Ghost Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Holy Ghost Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Holy Ghost Cemetery
  • Los Gatos Memorial Park
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • St. Johns Catholic Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Johns Catholic Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Johns Catholic Cemetery
  • Continue List   (63 more) ...
    • St. Josephs Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Ohlone Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Ohlones Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ohlones Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ohlones Cemetery

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 Mountain View had a population of 921 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Mountain View had a population of 80,030 people.

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

  • Lawrence
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lawrence have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawrence
    • Lawrence is located in Santa Clara County
  • Mayfield
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mayfield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayfield
    • Mayfield is located in Santa Clara County
  • Palo Alto
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Agnew
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agnew
    • Agnew is located in Santa Clara County
  • Alviso
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Santa Clara
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Menlo Park
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Fair Oaks
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fair Oaks have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fair Oaks
    • Fair Oaks is located in San Mateo County
  • Searsville ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Searsville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Searsville
    • Searsville is located in San Mateo County
  • Saratoga
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Woodside
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Campbell
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (19 more) ...
    • San Jose
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Jose
      • San Jose is located in Santa Clara County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,013,616 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for San Jose <2>
    • College Park
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for College Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for College Park
      • College Park is located in Santa Clara County
    • Milpitas
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)

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

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

The official website for Santa Clara County: www.sccgov.org/

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>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- Mountain View) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Mountain View. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.3857, Longitude: -122.0839    
<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 Mountain View, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024