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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 Big Oak 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 Big Oak 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.

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 and hospitals 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.

Big Oak Valley is located in Nevada 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 Nevada County: Placer, Sierra, Yuba & Washoe (NV).

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

  • Nevada County     (The home county of Big Oak Valley)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Oak Valley, with the one closest to Big Oak Valley listed first.
    • Penn Valley
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Lake Wildwood
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Lake Wildwood is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Wildwood
    • Rough and Ready
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Bridgeport
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Bridgeport is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeport
    • Bitney Corner
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Bitney Corner is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bitney Corner
    • The Oaks
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • The Oaks is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Oaks
    • Newtown
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Newtown is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newtown
    • Grass Valley
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Alta Sierra
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Alta Sierra is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alta Sierra
    • Spring Hill
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Spring Hill is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
    • Union Hill
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Union Hill is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Hill
    • Birchville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Birchville is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birchville
    • Cedar Ridge
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Butte County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Oak Valley, with the one closest to Big Oak Valley listed first.
    • Bangor
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Honcut
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Robinson Mill
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Robinson Mill is located in Butte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinson Mill
    • Wyandotte
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Wyandotte is located in Butte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyandotte
    • Evansville ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Evansville is located in Butte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evansville
    • Forbestown
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Palermo
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Robinsons Corner
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Robinsons Corner is located in Butte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinsons Corner
    • Oroleve
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Oroleve is located in Butte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oroleve
    • Clipper Mills
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • South Fork ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • South Fork is located in Butte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Fork
    • Peachton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Peachton is located in Butte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peachton
    • East Biggs
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • East Biggs is located in Butte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Biggs
  • El Dorado County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Oak Valley, with the one closest to Big Oak Valley listed first.
    • Cool
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Greenwood
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Pilot Hill
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Fornis
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Fornis is located in El Dorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fornis
    • Georgetown
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Placer County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Oak Valley, with the one closest to Big Oak Valley listed first.
    • Sheridan
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Chicago Park ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Chicago Park is located in Placer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chicago Park
    • Colfax
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Meadow Vista
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Weimar
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Clayton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Clayton is located in Placer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clayton
    • Applegate
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Clipper Gap
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Clipper Gap is located in Placer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clipper Gap
    • Secret Town
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Secret Town is located in Placer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Secret Town
    • Lincoln
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Virginiatown
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Virginiatown is located in Placer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virginiatown
    • Bowman
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • North Auburn
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • North Auburn is located in Placer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Auburn
  • Santa Cruz County
  • Sierra County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Oak Valley, with the one closest to Big Oak Valley listed first.
    • Brandy City ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Brandy City is located in Sierra County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandy City
    • Alleghany
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Forest
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Forest is located in Sierra County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest
  • Sutter County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Oak Valley, with the one closest to Big Oak Valley listed first.
    • Yuba City
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Bogue
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Bogue is located in Sutter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bogue
    • South Yuba City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • South Yuba City is located in Sutter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Yuba City
    • Rio Oso
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Live Oak
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Live Oak is located in Sutter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Live Oak
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,048 people
    • Tierra Buena
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Tierra Buena is located in Sutter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tierra Buena
    • Marcuse ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Marcuse is located in Sutter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcuse
    • Nicolas
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Nicolaus
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Sutter
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Pleasant Grove
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Pennington
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Pennington is located in Sutter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennington
  • Yuba County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Oak Valley, with the one closest to Big Oak Valley listed first.
    • Smartville
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Timbuctoo ‑ Historic
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Timbuctoo is located in Yuba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timbuctoo
    • Browns Valley
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Oregon House
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Loma Rica
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Loma Rica is located in Yuba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loma Rica
    • Dobbins
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Iowa City
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Iowa City is located in Yuba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iowa City
    • Dantoni
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Dantoni is located in Yuba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dantoni
    • Wheatland
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Ostrom ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Ostrom is located in Yuba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ostrom
    • Linda
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Bullards Bar ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Bullards Bar is located in Yuba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bullards Bar
    • Binney Junction
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Binney Junction is located in Yuba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Binney Junction

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

Cemeteries Near Big Oak Valley ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Big Oak 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.

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 Big Oak Valley - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Immaculate Conception Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Immaculate Conception Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Immaculate Conception Cemetery is located outside of Smartsville
    • The Immaculate Conception Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Smartsville Catholic Cemetery
    • Smartville Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2189988 <2>
  • Smartsville Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smartsville Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Smartsville Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located
    • The Smartsville Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Good Templars Cemetery
    • Mason Cemetery
    • McGanney Cemetery
    • Odd Fellows Cemetery
    • Smartsville Fraternal Cemetery
    • Smartville Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #8377 <2>
  • Kneebone Family Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Rough & Ready Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Browns Valley Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Lofton Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Greenwood Memorial Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Peoria Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Peoria Memorial Park
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Catholic Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • St. Patricks Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Camp Far West Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camp Far West Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Camp Far West Cemetery is located 4 miles [6.4 km]<3> to the northeast of Wheatland.
    • The Camp Far West Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Cantonment Far West Cemetery
    • Far West Graveyard
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2255638 <2>
  • Continue List   (63 more) ...

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>

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

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

  • Smartville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Rough and Ready
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Browns Valley
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Oregon House
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Wolf
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Wolf is located in Nevada County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf
  • Union Hill
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Union Hill is located in Nevada County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Hill
  • Glenbrook
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Glenbrook is located in Nevada County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenbrook
  • Sweetland
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Sweetland is located in Nevada County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweetland
  • Dobbins
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Kres
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Kres is located in Nevada County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kres
  • Nevada City
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • North San Juan
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Wheatland
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Sheridan
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Chicago Park
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)

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

Newspapers Published in Big Oak 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 53 newspapers that have been published in the area around Big Oak Valley.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Big Oak Valley, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Big Oak Valley.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Big Oak Valley:

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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Big Oak Valley) 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 Big Oak Valley, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.