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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

So far, we found very little information about Alvarado. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>

We've added Alvarado to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Alvarado, please Contact Us.

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 Alvarado (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 Alvarado. 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 Alvarado ...

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.

Alvarado was originally named New Haven

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.

A Few Details for Alvarado ...

While it's still very early in our research, we found that:

  • Alvarado was established in 1851.

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.

Although our information shows that the community of Alvarado is historic, it would have been located within present day 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 Alvarado. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Alvarado:

  • Alameda County     (The home county of Alvarado)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alvarado, with the one closest to Alvarado listed first.
    • Union City
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • 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
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Hayward
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Russell City
      (4 miles [6.4 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
    • Cherryland
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • 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
    • 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
    • Fremont
      (5 miles [8 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>
    • Newark
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Castro Valley
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • San Lorenzo
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Ashland
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Larkins Landing ‑ Historic
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • 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.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larkins Landing
      • Larkins Landing is located in Alameda County
  • Contra Costa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alvarado, with the one closest to Alvarado listed first.
    • San Ramon
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Danville
      (16 miles [25.7 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>
    • Moraga
      (16 miles [25.7 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>
    • Alamo
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Diablo
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Blackhawk - Camino Tassajara
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Blackhawk
      (18 miles [29 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
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tassajara
      • Tassajara is located in Contra Costa County
    • Rock City
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • 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
      (20 miles [32.2 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>
    • Orinda Village
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Orinda Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orinda Village
      • Orinda Village is located in Contra Costa County
  • Marin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alvarado, with the one closest to Alvarado listed first.
    • Fort McDowell
      (26 miles [41.8 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
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Sausalito
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Tiburon
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Marin City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marin City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marin City
      • Marin City is located in Marin County
    • Paradise Cay
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise Cay
      • Paradise Cay is located in Marin County
  • San Francisco County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alvarado, with the one closest to Alvarado listed first.
    • Chinatown
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chinatown
      • Chinatown is located in San Francisco County
    • Friendship Village
      (22 miles [35.4 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
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Sydney Town ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 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
      (23 miles [37 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
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonestown
      • Stonestown is located in San Francisco County
    • Golden Gate Heights
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golden Gate Heights
      • Golden Gate Heights is located in San Francisco County
    • Doelger City
      (25 miles [40.2 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
      (30 miles [48.3 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.<4>
      • 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 Alvarado, with the one closest to Alvarado listed first.
    • East Palo Alto
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • North Fair Oaks
      (10 miles [16.1 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
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Willows
      • The Willows is located in San Mateo County
    • Foster City
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Atherton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Menlo Park
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Redwood City
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • San Carlos
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Belmont
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Emerald Lake Hills
      (13 miles [20.9 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
    • Laurel
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel
      • Laurel is located in San Mateo County
    • San Mateo
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Santa Clara County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alvarado, with the one closest to Alvarado listed first.
    • Palo Alto
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Escondido Village
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • 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
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Ventura
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ventura
      • Ventura is located in Santa Clara County
    • Alviso
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • 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
    • Los Altos
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Mountain View
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Milpitas
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Los Altos Hills
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Sunnyvale
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Agnew
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agnew
      • Agnew is located in Santa Clara County
  • 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 Alvarado, see our County-by-County Page for Alvarado.

Newspapers Published in Alvarado ...

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 108 newspapers that have been published in the area around Alvarado.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Alvarado, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Alvarado.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Alvarado:

Cemeteries Near Alvarado ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Alvarado.

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

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

  • Chapel of the Chimes Memorial Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • 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
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • 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
  • Mt. Eden Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 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
  • Holy Sepulchre Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 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
  • Presbyterian Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 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
  • All Saints Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 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
  • Holy Ghost Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • 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
  • Lone Tree Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Irvington Memorial Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • San Lorenzo Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 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
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • 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
  • Ohlone Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (66 more) ...
    • Ohlones Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 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
      (9 miles [14.5 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
    • St. Josephs Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)

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.

Alvarado itself is historic and was described in the Rand McNally Atlas as having a population of 642 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Mount Eden
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Newark
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • San Lorenzo
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • San Leandro
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Fair Oaks
    (10 miles [16.1 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
  • Sunol
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • San Carlos
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Redwood City
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Menlo Park
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Palo Alto
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Mayfield
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • 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
  • Alviso
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Pleasanton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Belmont
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Seminary Park
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seminary Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seminary Park
      • Seminary Park is located in Alameda County

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

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

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Alvarado, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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>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.
<5>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- Alvarado) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Alvarado. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.5965, Longitude: -122.0779    
<6>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.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024