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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 Alla (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 Alla. 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 southeast 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 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.

Alla is located in Los Angeles County.

To see how the shape of California's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Los Angeles County: Kern, Orange, San Bernardino & Ventura.

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

  • Los Angeles County     (The home county of Alla)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alla, with the one closest to Alla listed first.
    • Playa Vista
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Playa Vista is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Playa Vista
    • Playa del Rey
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Playa del Rey is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Playa del Rey
    • Marina del Rey
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Mar Vista
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Mar Vista is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mar Vista
    • Surfridge ‑ Historic
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Surfridge is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Surfridge
    • Westchester
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Westchester is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westchester
    • Venice
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Venice is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Venice
    • Ladera Heights
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Ladera Heights is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ladera Heights
    • Culver City
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Sawtelle
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Sawtelle is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sawtelle
    • Inglewood
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Baldwin Hills
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Baldwin Hills is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baldwin Hills
    • El Segundo
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Orange County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alla, with the one closest to Alla listed first.
    • La Palma
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Los Alamitos
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Rossmoor
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Rossmoor is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rossmoor
    • Seal Beach
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Buena Park
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Cypress
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Surfside
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • La Habra
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Barber City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Barber City is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barber City
    • Stanton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Sunset Beach
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Fullerton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Green Lantern Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Ventura County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alla, with the one closest to Alla listed first.
    • Oak Park
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Thousand Oaks
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Simi Valley
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Greenwich Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Greenwich Village is located in Ventura County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwich Village
    • Newbury Park
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Alla ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Alla.

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.

Although we don't have the information ourselves, if you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our list of websites on our Genealogy Helper Page for Alla - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Alla covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Hillside Memorial Park
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Holy Cross Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Woodlawn Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Los Angeles National Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Inglewood Park Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Westwood Memorial Park
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood Memorial Park
    • The Westwood Memorial Park has also been known as:
    • Westwood Village Memorial Park
  • Pacific Crest Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Angelus Rosedale Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angelus Rosedale Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Angelus Rosedale Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Los Angeles.
    • The Angelus Rosedale Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Rosedale Cemetery
    • Rosedale Memorial Park
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #8309 <2>
  • Hollywood Forever Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollywood Forever Cemetery
    • The Hollywood Forever Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Beth Olam Cemetery
    • Beth Olam Mausoleum
    • Hollywood Memorial Cemetery
    • Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #8033 <2>
  • Roosevelt Memorial Park
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Lincoln Memorial Park
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Woodlawn Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (63 more) ...
    • Will Geer Estate
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Will Geer Estate
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Will Geer Estate is located less than 2 miles<3> to the northeast of Topanga.
      • The Will Geer Estate has also been known as:
      • Will Geer Shakespeare Garden
      • Will Geer's Theatricum Botanicum
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #640478 <2>
    • IOOF Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Los Angeles Odd Fellows Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)

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.<4>

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

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

  • Palms
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Palms is located in Los Angeles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palms
  • Inglewood
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Santa Monica
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Hyde Park
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Hyde Park is located in Los Angeles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hyde Park
  • Redondo Beach
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Moneta
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Moneta is located in Los Angeles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moneta
  • Gardena
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Gardena is located in Los Angeles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gardena
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 58,498 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gardena <1>
  • South Los Angeles
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • South Los Angeles is located in Los Angeles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Los Angeles
  • Florence
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Florence is located in Los Angeles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
  • Clement Junction
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Clement Junction is located in Los Angeles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clement Junction
  • Los Angeles
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Lynwood
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Lynwood is located in Los Angeles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynwood
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 68,508 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lynwood <1>
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Mission Junction
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Mission Junction is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mission Junction
    • Naud Junction
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Naud Junction is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naud Junction
    • Las Flores
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Las Flores is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Las Flores

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

Newspapers Published in Alla ...

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 611 newspapers that have been published in the area around Alla.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Alla, there are papers which were published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Alla.

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 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 Alla:

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 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.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Alla) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<4>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 Alla, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.