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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 Santa Ana (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 Santa Ana. 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 hospitals 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.

Santa Ana is located in Orange County and is the County Seat.

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 Orange County: Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino & San Diego.

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

  • Orange County     (The home county of Santa Ana)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Santa Ana, with the one closest to Santa Ana listed first.
    • Tustin
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Orange
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • North Tustin
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Tustin have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Tustin
      • North Tustin is located in Orange County
    • Panorama Heights
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panorama Heights
      • Panorama Heights is located in Orange County
    • Garden Grove
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Cowan Heights
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowan Heights
      • Cowan Heights is located in Orange County
    • Villa Park
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Fountain Valley
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Anaheim
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Irvine
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Green Lantern Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Lantern Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Lantern Village
      • Green Lantern Village is located in Orange County
    • Midway City
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Los Angeles County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Santa Ana, with the one closest to Santa Ana listed first.
    • Cerritos
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Hawaiian Gardens
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Artesia
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Artesia
      • Artesia is located in Los Angeles County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 16,168 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Artesia <1>
    • Carmenita
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carmenita have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carmenita
      • Carmenita is located in Los Angeles County
    • East La Mirada
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East La Mirada have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East La Mirada
      • East La Mirada is located in Los Angeles County
    • La Mirada
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Naples
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naples
      • Naples is located in Los Angeles County
    • La Habra Heights
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for La Habra Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Habra Heights
      • La Habra Heights is located in Los Angeles County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,212 people
    • Belmont Shore
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Rowland Heights
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Norwalk
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwalk
      • Norwalk is located in Los Angeles County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 102,635 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Norwalk <1>
    • Bellflower
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Riverside County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Santa Ana, with the one closest to Santa Ana listed first.
    • Corona
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corona
      • Corona is located in Riverside County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 170,996 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Corona <1>
    • El Cerrito
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for El Cerrito have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for El Cerrito
      • El Cerrito is located in Riverside County
    • Temescal
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Temescal
      • Temescal is located in Riverside County
    • Home Gardens
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Home Gardens
      • Home Gardens is located in Riverside County
    • Porphyry ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Porphyry have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porphyry
      • Porphyry is located in Riverside County
    • Norco
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norco
      • Norco is located in Riverside County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 27,892 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Norco <1>
    • Eastvale
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Mira Loma
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Arlington
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arlington have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington
      • Arlington is located in Riverside County
    • Pedley
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pedley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pedley
      • Pedley is located in Riverside County
    • Glen Avon
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Avon
      • Glen Avon is located in Riverside County
    • Jurupa Valley
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jurupa Valley
      • Jurupa Valley is located in Riverside County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 109,745 people
  • San Bernardino County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Santa Ana, with the one closest to Santa Ana listed first.
    • Chino Hills
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Los Serranos
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Los Serranos have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Los Serranos
      • Los Serranos is located in San Bernardino County
    • Chino
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chino
      • Chino is located in San Bernardino County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 92,290 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chino <1>
    • Montclair
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montclair
      • Montclair is located in San Bernardino County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 40,600 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Montclair <1>
    • Ontario
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ontario
      • Ontario is located in San Bernardino County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 183,393 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ontario <1>
    • Racimo
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Racimo
      • Racimo is located in San Bernardino County
    • Guasti
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Upland
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upland
      • Upland is located in San Bernardino County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 77,850 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Upland <1>
    • Southridge Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southridge Village
      • Southridge Village is located in San Bernardino County
    • Alta Loma
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Rancho Cucamonga
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
    • San Antonio Heights
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for San Antonio Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Antonio Heights
      • San Antonio Heights is located in San Bernardino County
  • San Diego County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Santa Ana ...

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 184 newspapers that have been published in the area around Santa Ana.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Santa Ana. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Santa Ana and those printed in the larger area surrounding Santa Ana.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<3> of Santa Ana.

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 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 Santa Ana:

Cemeteries Near Santa Ana ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Santa Ana.

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

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

  • Santa Ana Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Santa Ana Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Santa Ana.
    • The Santa Ana Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Santa Ana Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #8351 <4>
  • St. John's Lutheran Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the St. John's Lutheran Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Santa Ana.
    • The St. John's Lutheran Cemetery has also been known as:
    • New St. John Lutheran Cemetery
    • New St. John's Lutheran Cemetery
    • St. Johns Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. John's Lutheran Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #8324 <4>
  • Fairhaven Memorial Park
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Melrose Abbey Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Melrose Abbey Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Melrose Abbey Cemetery
  • Harbor Lawn - Mt. Olive Memorial Park
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Anaheim Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Cemetery of the Holy Sepulchre
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cemetery of the Holy Sepulchre have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cemetery of the Holy Sepulchre
  • Holy Cross Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Holy Cross Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Holy Cross Cemetery
  • Magnolia Memorial Park
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Magnolia Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Magnolia Memorial Park
  • Good Shepherd Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • The Good Shepherd Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Huntington Beach Cemetery
    • Roselawn Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Good Shepherd Cemetery
  • The Good Shepherd Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the The Good Shepherd Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the The Good Shepherd Cemetery
  • Westminster Memorial Park
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (62 more) ...
    • Pacific View Memorial Park
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pacific View Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pacific View Memorial Park
    • Yorba Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Yorba Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Yorba Cemetery
    • Loma Vista Memorial Park
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Loma Vista Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Loma Vista Memorial Park

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Santa Ana had a population of 3,628 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Santa Ana had a population of 331,301 people.

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

  • McPherson
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McPherson have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McPherson
    • McPherson is located in Orange County
  • Orange
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Miraflores
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Miraflores have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miraflores
    • Miraflores is located in Orange County
  • El Modena
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for El Modena have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for El Modena
    • El Modena is located in Orange County
  • Marlboro
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marlboro have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlboro
    • Marlboro is located in Orange County
  • Garden Grove
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Villa Park
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Wanda ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wanda have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wanda
    • Wanda is located in Orange County
  • Bolsa
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bolsa have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolsa
    • Bolsa is located in Orange County
  • Irvine
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Anaheim
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Olive
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Olive have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olive
    • Olive is located in Orange County
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Westminster
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Yorba
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Yorba have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorba
      • Yorba is located in Orange County
    • Brookhurst
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brookhurst have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookhurst
      • Brookhurst is located in Orange County

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

The official website for Santa Ana: www.ci.santa-ana.ca.us/

The official website for Orange County: www.oc.ca.gov/

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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Santa Ana) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Santa Ana. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.7455, Longitude: -117.8677    
<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 Santa Ana, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024