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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 Bethel Island (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 Bethel Island. 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 Bethel Island ...

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 Bethel Island: Bethel Is. (in Canada, 'Isld.' is the more common abbreviation.)

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.

Bethel Island is located in Contra Costa 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 Contra Costa County: Alameda, Marin, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Joaquin & Solano.

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

  • Contra Costa County     (The home county of Bethel Island)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bethel Island, with the one closest to Bethel Island listed first.
    • Knightsen
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Oakley
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakley
      • Oakley is located in Contra Costa County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 42,710 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oakley <1>
    • Bixler
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bixler
      • Bixler is located in Contra Costa County
    • Brentwood
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Discovery Bay
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Antioch
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antioch
      • Antioch is located in Contra Costa County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 111,605 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Antioch <1>
    • Empire ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Empire have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Empire
      • Empire is located in Contra Costa County
    • Byron
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Pittsburg
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Marsh Creek Springs
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marsh Creek Springs
      • Marsh Creek Springs is located in Contra Costa County
    • Clayton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clayton
      • Clayton is located in Contra Costa County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,527 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clayton <1>
    • West Pittsburg
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Pittsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Pittsburg
      • West Pittsburg is located in Contra Costa County
    • Bay Point
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
  • Alameda County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bethel Island, with the one closest to Bethel Island listed first.
    • Altamont
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Altamont have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altamont
      • Altamont is located in Alameda County
    • Laddville ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Laddville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laddville
      • Laddville is located in Alameda County
    • Livermore
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Tesla ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Tesla. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tesla
      • Tesla is located in Alameda County
    • Komandorski Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Komandorski Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Komandorski Village
      • Komandorski Village is located in Alameda County
    • San Ramon Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for San Ramon Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Ramon Village
      • San Ramon Village is located in Alameda County
    • Dublin
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Pleasanton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Sacramento County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bethel Island, with the one closest to Bethel Island listed first.
    • Isleton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Ryde
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Locke
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locke
      • Locke is located in Sacramento County
    • Walnut Grove
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Vorden
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vorden
      • Vorden is located in Sacramento County
    • Courtland
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Galt
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galt
      • Galt is located in Sacramento County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 26,551 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Galt <1>
    • Hood
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Franklin
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
      • Franklin is located in Sacramento County
    • Arno ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arno have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arno
      • Arno is located in Sacramento County
    • Herald
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • McConnel
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McConnel have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McConnel
      • McConnel is located in Sacramento County
    • Laguna West - Lakeside
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • San Joaquin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bethel Island, with the one closest to Bethel Island listed first.
    • Terminous
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terminous
      • Terminous is located in San Joaquin County
    • Holt
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Country Club
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Country Club have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Club
      • Country Club is located in San Joaquin County
    • Lincoln Village
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lincoln Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln Village
      • Lincoln Village is located in San Joaquin County
    • Taison
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Taison have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taison
      • Taison is located in San Joaquin County
    • Thornton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Henderson Village
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Henderson Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henderson Village
      • Henderson Village is located in San Joaquin County
    • Stockton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stockton
      • Stockton is located in San Joaquin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 312,716 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Stockton <1>
    • Mokelumne City ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mokelumne City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mokelumne City
      • Mokelumne City is located in San Joaquin County
    • August
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for August have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for August
      • August is located in San Joaquin County
    • Taft Mosswood
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taft Mosswood
      • Taft Mosswood is located in San Joaquin County
    • North Woodbridge
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Woodbridge
      • North Woodbridge is located in San Joaquin County
    • South Woodbridge
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Woodbridge
      • South Woodbridge is located in San Joaquin County
  • Solano County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bethel Island, with the one closest to Bethel Island listed first.
    • Rio Vista
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Birds Landing
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Solano City ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Solano City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Solano City
      • Solano City is located in Solano County
    • Oxford
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oxford have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxford
      • Oxford is located in Solano County
    • Denverton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Denverton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denverton
      • Denverton is located in Solano County
    • Travis Field
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Travis Field have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Travis Field
      • Travis Field is located in Solano County
    • Cannon ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cannon have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannon
      • Cannon is located in Solano County
    • Suisun City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suisun City
      • Suisun City is located in Solano County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 29,305 people
      • Suisun City has also been known as:
      • Suisun
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Suisun City <1>
    • Elmira
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Fairfield
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Benicia
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Leisure Town
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Leisure Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leisure Town
      • Leisure Town is located in Solano County
    • Vacaville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Yolo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bethel Island, with the one closest to Bethel Island listed first.
    • Greendale
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greendale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greendale
      • Greendale is located in Yolo County
    • Clarksburg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Bethel Island ...

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 137 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bethel Island.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Bethel Island. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Bethel Island and those printed in the larger area surrounding Bethel Island.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<4> of Bethel Island.

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 Bethel Island:

Cemeteries Near Bethel Island ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bethel Island.

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

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

  • Byron Brentwood Knightson Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Byron Brentwood Knightson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Byron Brentwood Knightson Cemetery
  • Holy Cross Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • The Holy Cross Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Holly Cross Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Holy Cross Cemetery
  • New Holy Cross Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the New Holy Cross Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the New Holy Cross Cemetery
  • Oak View Memorial Park
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oak View Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak View Memorial Park
  • Rose Hill Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rose Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rose Hill Cemetery
  • Live Oak Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Live Oak Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Live Oak Cemetery
  • San Joaquin Catholic Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
  • Stockton Rural Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Stockton Rural Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Stockton.
    • The Stockton Rural Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Rural Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Stockton Rural Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #8382 <5>
  • Hebrew Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hebrew Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hebrew Cemetery
  • Temple Israel Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
  • Chinese Cemetery
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Cherokee Memorial Park
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (41 more) ...
    • Islamic Cemetery of California
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Memory Gardens Cemetery
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • St. Stephen Cemetery
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Stephen Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Stephen Cemetery

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

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

  • Brentwood
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Antioch
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antioch
    • Antioch is located in Contra Costa County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 111,605 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Antioch <1>
  • Rio Vista
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Byron
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Isleton
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Somersville ‑ Historic
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Somersville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somersville
    • Somersville is located in Contra Costa County
  • Stewartville ‑ Historic
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stewartville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stewartville
    • Stewartville is located in Contra Costa County
  • Collinsville ‑ Historic
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Collinsville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collinsville
    • Collinsville is located in Solano County
  • Cornwall
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cornwall have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornwall
    • Cornwall is located in Contra Costa County
  • Nortonville ‑ Historic
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nortonville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nortonville
    • Nortonville is located in Contra Costa County
  • Birds Landing
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Clayton
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clayton
    • Clayton is located in Contra Costa County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,527 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clayton <1>
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Walnut Grove
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • McAvoy
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McAvoy have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McAvoy
      • McAvoy is located in Contra Costa County
    • Bay Point
      (17 miles [27.4 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 Bethel Island. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bethel Island.

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

The official website for Contra Costa County: www.co.contra-costa.ca.us/

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>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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Bethel Island) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Bethel Island. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.0149, Longitude: -121.6405    
<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 Bethel Island, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024