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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 Aspen Valley (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 Aspen Valley. 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 Aspen Valley ...

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.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Aspen Valley: Aspen Vly. (or less commonly used: Aspen Vally. or Aspen Vlly.)

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.

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.

Aspen Valley is located in Tuolumne 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 Tuolumne County: Alpine, Calaveras, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Mono & Stanislaus.

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

  • Tuolumne County     (The home county of Aspen Valley)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Aspen Valley, with the one closest to Aspen Valley listed first.
    • Mather
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mather have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mather
      • Mather is located in Tuolumne County
    • Groveland
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Long Barn
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Big Oak Flat
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Cold Springs
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Mi-Wuk Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Pinecrest
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Sierra Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sierra Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sierra Village
      • Sierra Village is located in Tuolumne County
    • Tuolumne City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tuolumne City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuolumne City
      • Tuolumne City is located in Tuolumne County
    • Tuolumne Rancheria
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuolumne Rancheria
      • Tuolumne Rancheria is located in Tuolumne County
    • Tuolumne
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Moccasin
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Soulsbyville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
  • Madera County
    • Nipinnawasee ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nipinnawasee
      • Nipinnawasee is located in Madera County
  • Mariposa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Aspen Valley, with the one closest to Aspen Valley listed first.
    • El Portal
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Yosemite Valley
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yosemite Valley
      • Yosemite Valley is located in Mariposa County
    • Yosemite Village
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yosemite Village
      • Yosemite Village is located in Mariposa County
    • Yosemite West
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yosemite West
      • Yosemite West is located in Mariposa County
    • Curry Village
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Curry Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curry Village
      • Curry Village is located in Mariposa County
    • Jerseydale
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerseydale
      • Jerseydale is located in Mariposa County
    • Wawona
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Darrah
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darrah
      • Darrah is located in Mariposa County
    • Midpines
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Dogtown
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dogtown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dogtown
      • Dogtown is located in Mariposa County
    • Bagby ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bagby. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bagby
      • Bagby is located in Mariposa County
    • Coulterville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Bootjack
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bootjack
      • Bootjack is located in Mariposa County
  • Mono County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Aspen Valley, with the one closest to Aspen Valley listed first.
    • Bennettville ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bennettville
      • Bennettville is located in Mono County
      • Former names for Bennettville:
      • Bennett City
      • Tioga
    • Dana City ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dana City
      • Dana City is located in Mono County

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

Newspapers Published in Aspen Valley ...

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 32 newspapers that have been published in the area around Aspen Valley.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Aspen Valley, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Aspen Valley.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start 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 Aspen Valley:

Cemeteries Near Aspen Valley ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Aspen Valley.

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

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

  • Coulterville Public Cemetery
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
  • Mariposa Masonic Cemetery
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Mariposa Masonic Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Mariposa.
    • The Mariposa Masonic Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Masonic Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mariposa Masonic Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2205021 <5>
  • St. Joseph Cemetery
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Joseph Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Joseph Cemetery
  • Carter's Cemetery
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Carter's Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the north of Tuolumne.
    • The Carter's Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Tuolumne City Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Carter's Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1103592 <5>
  • Cherokee Memorial Park
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
  • Tuolumne Cemetery
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Tuolumne Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Tuolumne Cemetery
  • Sturdevant Ranch Cemetery
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Sturdevant Ranch Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sturdevant Ranch Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2528702 <5>

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 Aspen Valley in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Aspen Valley.

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

  • Sequoia
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sequoia have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sequoia
    • Sequoia is located in Tuolumne County
  • Jerseydale
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerseydale
    • Jerseydale is located in Mariposa County
  • Wawona
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
  • Coulterville
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
  • Mariposa
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Groveland
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
  • Bear Valley
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Valley
    • Bear Valley is located in Mariposa County
  • Mount Bullion
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Bullion
    • Mount Bullion is located in Mariposa County
  • Big Oak Flat
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
  • Tuolumne
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
  • Soulsbyville
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)

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

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Aspen Valley. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Tuolumne County: www.tuolumnecounty.ca.gov

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<4>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 from Point A (ie- Aspen Valley) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Aspen Valley. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.8274, Longitude: -119.7713       In this case, the coordinates for Aspen Valley have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Aspen Valley, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024