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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 Ben Hur (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 Ben Hur. 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 and doctors 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.

Ben Hur is located in Mariposa 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 Mariposa County: Madera, Merced, Mono, Stanislaus & Tuolumne.

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

  • Mariposa County     (The home county of Ben Hur)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ben Hur, with the one closest to Ben Hur listed first.
    • Bootjack
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Bootjack is located in Mariposa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bootjack
    • Mariposa
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Catheys Valley
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Mount Bullion
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Mount Bullion is located in Mariposa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Bullion
    • Midpines
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Darrah
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Darrah is located in Mariposa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darrah
    • Jerseydale
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Jerseydale is located in Mariposa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerseydale
    • Bear Valley
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Bear Valley is located in Mariposa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Valley
    • Hornitos
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Fish Camp
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Wawona
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Bagby ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Bagby is located in Mariposa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bagby
    • El Portal
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
  • Fresno County
  • Madera County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ben Hur, with the one closest to Ben Hur listed first.
    • Raymond
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Raymond is located in Madera County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raymond
    • Knowles Junction
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Knowles Junction is located in Madera County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knowles Junction
    • Knowles ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Knowles is located in Madera County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knowles
    • Ahwahnee
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Nipinnawasee ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Nipinnawasee is located in Madera County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nipinnawasee
    • Coarsegold
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Yosemite Lakes Park
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Yosemite Lakes Park is located in Madera County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yosemite Lakes Park
      • Yosemite Lakes Park has also been known as:
      • Yosemite Lakes
    • Oakhurst
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Yosemite Forks
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Yosemite Forks is located in Madera County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yosemite Forks
    • Bass Lake
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • O'Neals
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • The Pines
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • The Pines is located in Madera County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Pines
    • Chowchilla
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
  • Merced County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ben Hur, with the one closest to Ben Hur listed first.
    • Le Grand
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Planada
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Plainsburg
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Plainsburg is located in Merced County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainsburg
    • Merced Falls
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Merced Falls is located in Merced County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merced Falls
    • Tuttle
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Tuttle is located in Merced County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuttle
    • Athlone
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Athlone is located in Merced County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athlone
    • Snelling
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Merced
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)

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

Cemeteries Near Ben Hur ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ben Hur.

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 Ben Hur - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • White Rock Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • St. Joseph Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Mariposa Masonic Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mariposa Masonic Cemetery
    • 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 Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2205021 <2>
  • Catheys Valley Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Raymond Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Pate Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Gwin Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Santa Cruz Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Oakhill Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
  • Picayune Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Helm - Turner Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
  • Fine Gold Cemetery
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (12 more) ...
    • Walker Cemetery
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Chowchilla Cemetery
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chowchilla Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Chowchilla Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<3> to the southwest of Chowchilla.
      • The Chowchilla Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Chowchilla District Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #7906 <2>
    • North Fork Cemetery
      (26 miles [41.8 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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Ben Hur had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Raymond
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Raymond is located in Madera County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raymond
  • Mariposa
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Knowles ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Knowles is located in Madera County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knowles
  • Grub Gulch ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Grub Gulch is located in Madera County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grub Gulch
  • Mount Bullion
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Mount Bullion is located in Mariposa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Bullion
  • Jerseydale
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Jerseydale is located in Mariposa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerseydale
  • Bear Valley
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Bear Valley is located in Mariposa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Valley
  • Hornitos
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
  • Wawona
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Plainsburg
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Plainsburg is located in Merced County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainsburg
  • Merced Falls
    (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Merced Falls is located in Merced County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merced Falls
  • Athlone
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Athlone is located in Merced County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athlone
  • Continue List   (4 more) ...
    • Coulterville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Snelling
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Merced
      (29 miles [46.7 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 Ben Hur. See our List of 1890's Communities around Ben Hur.

Newspapers Published in Ben Hur ...

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 69 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ben Hur.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ben Hur, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Ben Hur.

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 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 Ben Hur:

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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Ben Hur) 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 Ben Hur, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.