RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of California >> Madera County >> Berenda >> Genealogy HelperIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
California

The Commemorative Quarter for California





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 Berenda (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 Berenda. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Berenda is located in Madera 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 Madera County: Fresno, Mariposa, Merced & Mono.

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

  • Madera County     (The home county of Berenda)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Berenda, with the one closest to Berenda listed first.
    • Madera Acres
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madera Acres
      • Madera Acres is located in Madera County
    • Madera
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Chowchilla
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Parksdale
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parksdale
      • Parksdale is located in Madera County
    • Parkwood
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkwood
      • Parkwood is located in Madera County
    • Lincoln ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lincoln have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln
      • Lincoln is located in Madera County
    • La Vina
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Vina
      • La Vina is located in Madera County
    • Bonadelle Ranchos - Madera Ranchos
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Knowles Junction
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knowles Junction
      • Knowles Junction is located in Madera County
    • Raymond
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raymond
      • Raymond is located in Madera County
    • Knowles ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Knowles have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knowles
      • Knowles is located in Madera County
    • Yosemite Lakes Park
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yosemite Lakes Park
      • Yosemite Lakes Park is located in Madera County
      • Yosemite Lakes Park has also been known as:
      • Yosemite Lakes
  • Fresno County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Berenda, with the one closest to Berenda listed first.
    • Biola
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Barstow
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Barstow have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barstow
      • Barstow is located in Fresno County
    • Herndon
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herndon
      • Herndon is located in Fresno County
    • Raco
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raco
      • Raco is located in Fresno County
    • Firebaugh
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Highway City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Highway City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highway City
      • Highway City is located in Fresno County
    • Benito
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benito
      • Benito is located in Fresno County
    • Kerman
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Floyd
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Floyd
      • Floyd is located in Fresno County
    • Muscatel
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muscatel
      • Muscatel is located in Fresno County
    • Rolinda
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rolinda
      • Rolinda is located in Fresno County
    • Mendota
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
  • Mariposa County
  • Merced County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Berenda, with the one closest to Berenda listed first.
    • Le Grand
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Athlone
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Athlone have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athlone
      • Athlone is located in Merced County
    • Plainsburg
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plainsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainsburg
      • Plainsburg is located in Merced County
    • Planada
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • El Nido
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Tuttle
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuttle
      • Tuttle is located in Merced County
    • Santa Rita Park
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Merced
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Dos Palos
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • South Dos Palos
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)

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

Newspapers Published in Berenda ...

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 63 newspapers that have been published in the area around Berenda.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Berenda, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Berenda.

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 Berenda:

Cemeteries Near Berenda ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Berenda.

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

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

  • Arbor Vitae Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Chowchilla Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • 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 northeast of Chowchilla.
    • The Chowchilla Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Chowchilla District Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Chowchilla Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #7906 <4>
  • New Hope Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Borden's Chinese Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Helm - Turner Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Helm - Turner Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Helm - Turner Cemetery
  • Raymond Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Bethany Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bethany Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bethany Cemetery
  • White Rock Cemetery
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the White Rock Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the White Rock Cemetery
  • Pate Cemetery
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pate Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pate Cemetery
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Evergreen Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Evergreen Cemetery
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Calvary Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Calvary Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Merced.
    • The Calvary Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Calvary Catholic Cemetery
    • Calvary Merced Cemetery District
    • Be careful not to confuse this cemetery with another one that is also named Calvary Cemetery (located 56 miles to the north).
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Calvary Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #7873 <4>
  • Fresno Memorial Gardens
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fresno Memorial Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fresno Memorial Gardens
  • Continue List   (19 more) ...
    • St. Peters Cemetery
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Peters Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Peters Cemetery
    • Ararat Cemetery
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Beth Israel Cemetery
      (26 miles [41.8 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.<5>

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

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

  • La Vina
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Vina
    • La Vina is located in Madera County
  • Athlone
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Athlone have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athlone
    • Athlone is located in Merced County
  • Plainsburg
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plainsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainsburg
    • Plainsburg is located in Merced County
  • Raymond
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raymond
    • Raymond is located in Madera County
  • Herndon
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herndon
    • Herndon is located in Fresno County
  • Knowles ‑ Historic
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Knowles have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knowles
    • Knowles is located in Madera County
  • Firebaugh
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Muscatel
    (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muscatel
    • Muscatel is located in Fresno County
  • Ben Hur
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ben Hur have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ben Hur
    • Ben Hur is located in Mariposa County
  • Merced
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Dos Palos
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
  • Fresno
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Grub Gulch ‑ Historic
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grub Gulch have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grub Gulch
    • Grub Gulch is located in Madera County

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

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

The official website for Madera County: www.madera-county.com/

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

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 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.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Berenda) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Berenda. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.0408, Longitude: -120.1545    
<4>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.
<5>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 Berenda, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

Copyright 2024
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

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.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024