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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 Union City (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 Union City. 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 hospitals 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.

Union City is located in Alameda 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 Alameda County: Contra Costa, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara & Stanislaus.

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

  • Alameda County     (The home county of Union City)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Union City, with the one closest to Union City listed first.
    • Alvarado ‑ Historic
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • 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.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alvarado
      • Alvarado is located in Alameda County
    • Newark
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Fremont
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • 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>
    • Fairview
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fairview have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
      • Fairview is located in Alameda County
    • Hayward
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Mount Eden
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Cherryland
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cherryland have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherryland
      • Cherryland is located in Alameda County
    • Russell City
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Russell City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell City
      • Russell City is located in Alameda County
    • Larkins Landing ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • 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.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larkins Landing
      • Larkins Landing is located in Alameda County
    • Castro Valley
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • San Lorenzo
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Albrae ‑ Historic
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Albrae have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albrae
      • Albrae is located in Alameda County
  • Contra Costa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Union City, with the one closest to Union City listed first.
    • San Ramon
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Danville
      (15 miles [24.1 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>
    • Blackhawk - Camino Tassajara
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Alamo
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Diablo
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Moraga
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • 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 <2>
    • Blackhawk
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blackhawk have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackhawk
      • Blackhawk is located in Contra Costa County
    • Tassajara
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tassajara
      • Tassajara is located in Contra Costa County
    • Rock City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rock City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock City
      • Rock City is located in Contra Costa County
    • Lafayette
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Orinda
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • 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 <2>
    • Walnut Creek
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
  • Marin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Union City, with the one closest to Union City listed first.
    • Fort McDowell
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fort McDowell have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort McDowell
      • Fort McDowell is located in Marin County
    • Belvedere
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Sausalito
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Tiburon
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • San Francisco County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Union City, with the one closest to Union City listed first.
    • Chinatown
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chinatown
      • Chinatown is located in San Francisco County
    • Friendship Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Friendship Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship Village
      • Friendship Village is located in San Francisco County
    • San Francisco
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Sydney Town ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sydney Town have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sydney Town
      • Sydney Town is located in San Francisco County
    • Amanico Ergina Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Amanico Ergina Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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
    • Stonestown
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonestown
      • Stonestown is located in San Francisco County
    • Golden Gate Heights
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golden Gate Heights
      • Golden Gate Heights is located in San Francisco County
    • Doelger City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Doelger City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doelger City
      • Doelger City is located in San Francisco County
  • San Joaquin County
    • Carnegie ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Carnegie. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carnegie
      • Carnegie is located in San Joaquin County
  • San Mateo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Union City, with the one closest to Union City listed first.
    • East Palo Alto
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • North Fair Oaks
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Fair Oaks have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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
    • The Willows
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Willows
      • The Willows is located in San Mateo County
    • Atherton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Menlo Park
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Redwood City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Foster City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • San Carlos
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • West Menlo Park
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Belmont
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Emerald Lake Hills
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Emerald Lake Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerald Lake Hills
      • Emerald Lake Hills is located in San Mateo County
    • Ladera
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ladera
      • Ladera is located in San Mateo County
  • Santa Clara County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Union City, with the one closest to Union City listed first.
    • Alviso
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Palo Alto
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Ventura
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ventura
      • Ventura is located in Santa Clara County
    • Castro City
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Castro City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castro City
      • Castro City is located in Santa Clara County
    • Milpitas
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Escondido Village
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Escondido Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Escondido Village
      • Escondido Village is located in Santa Clara County
    • Stanford
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Agnew
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agnew
      • Agnew is located in Santa Clara County
    • Los Altos
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Mountain View
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Los Altos Hills
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Sunnyvale
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
  • Santa Cruz County
    • Alma ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alma have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alma
      • Alma is located in Santa Cruz County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Union City ...

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 101 newspapers that have been published in the area around Union City.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Union City. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Union City and those printed in the larger area surrounding Union City.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<4> of Union City.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 Union City:

Cemeteries Near Union City ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Union City.

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

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

  • Chapel of the Chimes Memorial Park
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Chapel of the Chimes Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Chapel of the Chimes Memorial Park
  • Chapel of the Chimes Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Chapel of the Chimes Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Chapel of the Chimes Cemetery
  • Presbyterian Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Presbyterian Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Presbyterian Cemetery
  • Holy Ghost Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Holy Ghost Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Holy Ghost Cemetery
  • Holy Sepulchre Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Holy Sepulchre Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Holy Sepulchre Cemetery
  • All Saints Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the All Saints Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the All Saints Cemetery
  • Irvington Memorial Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Mt. Eden Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Eden Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Eden Cemetery
  • Lone Tree Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Ohlone Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Ohlones Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ohlones Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ohlones Cemetery
  • Mission San Jose Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mission San Jose Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mission San Jose Cemetery
  • Continue List   (68 more) ...
    • St. Josephs Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • San Lorenzo Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the San Lorenzo Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the San Lorenzo Cemetery
    • Mt. Calvary Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Calvary Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Calvary 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>

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

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

  • Alvarado ‑ Historic
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • 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.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alvarado
    • Alvarado is located in Alameda County
  • Newark
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Mount Eden
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • San Lorenzo
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Sunol
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Pleasanton
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Fair Oaks
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fair Oaks have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fair Oaks
    • Fair Oaks is located in San Mateo County
  • Palo Alto
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Alviso
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • San Leandro
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Redwood City
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Menlo Park
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (19 more) ...
    • Mayfield
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mayfield have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayfield
      • Mayfield is located in Santa Clara County
    • San Carlos
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Milpitas
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)

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

The official website for Union City: www.ci.union-city.ca.us/

The official website for Alameda County: www.acgov.org/

The official website for State of California: https://www.ca.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Union City) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Union City. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.5923, Longitude: -122.0398    
<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 Union City, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024