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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 San Juan Bautista (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 San Juan Bautista. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

San Juan Bautista is located in San Benito 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 Benito County: Fresno, Merced, Monterey, Santa Clara & Santa Cruz.

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

  • San Benito County     (The home county of San Juan Bautista)
    • The following are listed by their distance from San Juan Bautista, with the one closest to San Juan Bautista listed first.
    • River Oaks
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Oaks
      • River Oaks is located in San Benito County
    • Hollister
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Ridgemark
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgemark
      • Ridgemark is located in San Benito County
    • Dunneville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunneville
      • Dunneville is located in San Benito County
    • Tres Pinos
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Paicines
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Pinnacles
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • 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
  • Monterey County
    • The following are listed by their distance from San Juan Bautista, with the one closest to San Juan Bautista listed first.
    • Aromas
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Prunedale
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Santa Rita
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • 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
    • Elkhorn
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhorn
      • Elkhorn is located in Monterey County
    • Las Lomas
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Las Lomas
      • Las Lomas is located in Monterey County
    • Boronda
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boronda
      • Boronda is located in Monterey County
    • Salinas
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Pajaro
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pajaro
      • Pajaro is located in Monterey County
    • Castroville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Moss Landing
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Spreckels
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Marina
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marina
      • Marina is located in Monterey County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 21,836 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marina <1>
    • Serra Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Serra Village
      • Serra Village is located in Monterey County
  • Santa Clara County
    • The following are listed by their distance from San Juan Bautista, with the one closest to San Juan Bautista listed first.
    • Sargent ‑ Historic
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sargent
      • Sargent is located in Santa Clara County
    • Gilroy
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilroy
      • Gilroy is located in Santa Clara County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 54,831 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gilroy <1>
    • Rucker
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rucker
      • Rucker is located in Santa Clara County
    • San Martin
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Bell Station
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell Station
      • Bell Station is located in Santa Clara County
      • Bell Station has also been known as:
      • Bell's Station
    • Morgan Hill
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Sveadal
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sveadal
      • Sveadal is located in Santa Clara County
    • Madrone
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madrone
      • Madrone is located in Santa Clara County
    • Coyote
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • New Almaden
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • English Town
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for English Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for English Town
      • English Town is located in Santa Clara County
  • Santa Cruz County
    • The following are listed by their distance from San Juan Bautista, with the one closest to San Juan Bautista listed first.
    • Interlaken
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Interlaken
      • Interlaken is located in Santa Cruz County
    • Watsonville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Colache Town
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Colache Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colache Town
      • Colache Town is located in Santa Cruz County
    • Freedom
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Strongs Mobile Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Strongs Mobile Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strongs Mobile Village
      • Strongs Mobile Village is located in Santa Cruz County
    • Amesti
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amesti
      • Amesti is located in Santa Cruz County
    • Corralitos
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Aptos Hills - Larkin Valley
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • La Selva Beach
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Day Valley
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Day Valley
      • Day Valley is located in Santa Cruz County
    • Rio del Mar
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Aptos
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Capitola
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of San Juan Bautista ...

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 89 newspapers that have been published in the area around San Juan Bautista.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of San Juan Bautista. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of San Juan Bautista and those printed in the larger area surrounding San Juan Bautista.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 23 miles [37 km]<3> of San Juan Bautista.

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 San Juan Bautista:

Cemeteries Near San Juan Bautista ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of San Juan Bautista.

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 San Juan Bautista covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • San Juan Bautista Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • IOOF Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Hambey Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hambey Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hambey Cemetery
  • Queen of Heaven Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • 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
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • 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
  • Calvary Sacred Heart Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • IOOF Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • 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
  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Marys Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Marys Cemetery
  • Chinese Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • 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
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • 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
  • Pajaro Valley Memorial Park
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pajaro Valley Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pajaro Valley Memorial Park
  • St. Francis Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Francis Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Francis Cemetery
  • Continue List   (27 more) ...
    • IOOF Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 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
    • Pioneer Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pioneer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pioneer Cemetery
    • Castroville Public Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Castroville Public Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the south of Moss Landing.
      • The Castroville Public Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Castroville Cemetery
      • Castroville / Moss Landing Cemetery
      • Moss Landing Cemetery
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Castroville Public Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #7885 <4>

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.<5>

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

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

  • Sargent ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sargent
    • Sargent is located in Santa Clara County
  • Hollister
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Natividad
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • 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
  • Carnadero
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carnadero have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carnadero
    • Carnadero is located in Santa Clara County
  • Vega ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vega have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vega
    • Vega is located in Monterey County
  • Santa Rita
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • 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
  • Elkhorn
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhorn
    • Elkhorn is located in Monterey County
  • Gilroy
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilroy
    • Gilroy is located in Santa Clara County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 54,831 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gilroy <1>
  • Salinas
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Tres Pinos
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Watsonville
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Pajaro
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pajaro
    • Pajaro is located in Monterey County
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Castroville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Blanco
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • 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
    • Spence
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • 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

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

The official website for San Juan Bautista: www.san-juan-bautista.ca.us/

The official website for San Benito County: www.san-benito.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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- San Juan Bautista) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in San Juan Bautista. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.8450, Longitude: -121.5392    
<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>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 San Juan Bautista, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024