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 Blackhawk (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 Blackhawk. 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 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.
Blackhawk is located in Contra Costa 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 Contra Costa County: Alameda, Marin, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Joaquin & Solano.
Below are the counties that are near Blackhawk. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Blackhawk:
- Contra Costa County (The home county of Blackhawk)
- The following are listed by their distance from Blackhawk, with the one closest to Blackhawk listed first.
- Blackhawk - Camino Tassajara
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Rock City
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Rock City is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock City
- Diablo
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Tassajara
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Tassajara is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tassajara
- San Ramon
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Marsh Creek Springs
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Marsh Creek Springs is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marsh Creek Springs
- Danville
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Danville is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 44,883 people
- Former name for Danville:
- Inmanville
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Danville <1>
- Alamo
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Clayton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Waldon
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Waldon is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldon
- Walnut Creek
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Lafayette
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Alameda County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blackhawk, with the one closest to Blackhawk listed first.
- San Ramon Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- San Ramon Village is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Ramon Village
- Komandorski Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Komandorski Village is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Komandorski Village
- Dublin
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Pleasanton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Laddville ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Laddville is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laddville
- Livermore
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Fairview
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Fairview is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Castro Valley
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Altamont
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Altamont is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altamont
- Ashland
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Cherryland
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Cherryland is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherryland
- Canyon
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Marin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blackhawk, with the one closest to Blackhawk listed first.
- Fort McDowell
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Fort McDowell is located in Marin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort McDowell
- Belvedere
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Tiburon
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Sacramento County
- Isleton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- San Francisco County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blackhawk, with the one closest to Blackhawk listed first.
- Chinatown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Chinatown is located in San Francisco County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chinatown
- Sydney Town ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Sydney Town is located in San Francisco County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sydney Town
- Amanico Ergina Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Amanico Ergina Village is located in San Francisco County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amanico Ergina Village
- Friendship Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Friendship Village is located in San Francisco County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship Village
- Mission District
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Mission District is located in San Francisco County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mission District
- San Francisco
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- San Joaquin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blackhawk, with the one closest to Blackhawk listed first.
- Carnegie ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Carnegie is located in San Joaquin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carnegie
- Ellis ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Ellis is located in San Joaquin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellis
- Tracy
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Tracy is located in San Joaquin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tracy
- Population from the 2020 Census: 95,025 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tracy <1>
- Holt
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Wainwright Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Wainwright Village is located in San Joaquin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wainwright Village
- Banta
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Lyoth
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Lyoth is located in San Joaquin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyoth
- Terminous
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Terminous is located in San Joaquin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terminous
- San Mateo County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blackhawk, with the one closest to Blackhawk listed first.
- Foster City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- East Palo Alto
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- North Fair Oaks
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- North Fair Oaks is located in San Mateo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Fair Oaks
- San Carlos
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- San Mateo
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- The Willows
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- The Willows is located in San Mateo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Willows
- Brisbane
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Atherton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Belmont
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Burlingame
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Laurel
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Laurel is located in San Mateo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel
- Menlo Park
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Santa Clara County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blackhawk, with the one closest to Blackhawk listed first.
- Milpitas
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Alviso
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Agnew
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Agnew is located in Santa Clara County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agnew
- Palo Alto
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Castro City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Castro City is located in Santa Clara County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castro City
- East Foothills
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- East Foothills is located in Santa Clara County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Foothills
- Escondido Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Escondido Village is located in Santa Clara County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Escondido Village
- Stanford
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Ventura
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Ventura is located in Santa Clara County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ventura
- Solano County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blackhawk, with the one closest to Blackhawk listed first.
- Benicia
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Birds Landing
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Rio Vista
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Denverton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Denverton is located in Solano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denverton
- Mare Island ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Mare Island is located in Solano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mare Island
- Vallejo
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Solano City ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Solano City is located in Solano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Solano City
- Suisun City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Suisun City is located in Solano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suisun City
- 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>
- Guadalcanal Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Guadalcanal Village is located in Solano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guadalcanal Village
- Fairfield
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Blackhawk, see our County-by-County Page for Blackhawk.
Cemeteries Near Blackhawk ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Blackhawk.
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 Blackhawk - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Blackhawk covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Blackhawk, with the one closest to Blackhawk listed first.
- Dublin Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Live Oak Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Rose Hill Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Oak Knoll Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Roselawn Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- St. Stephen Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Lafayette Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Lone Tree Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Pleasanton Memorial Gardens Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Mt. Calvary Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- All Saints Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- St. Michaels Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (53 more) ...
- Oakmont Memorial Park
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakmont Memorial Park
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Oakmont Memorial Park is a very large cemetery that is located outside and to the west of Pleasant Hill.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #8221 <2>
- Oakmount Memorial Park
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Queen of Haven Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
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.<3>
While we didn't find Blackhawk in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Blackhawk.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Blackhawk, with the one closest to Blackhawk listed first.
- San Ramon
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Danville
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Danville is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 44,883 people
- Former name for Danville:
- Inmanville
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Danville <1>
- Alamo
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Clayton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Stewartville ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Stewartville is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stewartville
- Somersville ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Somersville is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somersville
- Nortonville ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Nortonville is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nortonville
- Walnut Creek
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Pleasanton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Livermore
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Lafayette
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Brentwood
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Antioch
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Concord
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Cornwall
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Cornwall is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornwall
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Blackhawk. See our List of 1890's Communities around Blackhawk.
Newspapers Published in Blackhawk ...
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 40 newspapers that have been published in the area around Blackhawk.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Blackhawk, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Blackhawk.
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 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 Blackhawk:
- Websites specific to California
- Pages specific to Contra Costa County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alameda County
- Marin County
- Sacramento County
- San Francisco County
- San Joaquin County
- San Mateo County
- Santa Clara County
- Solano County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for California
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> | 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 Blackhawk, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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 from Point A (ie- Blackhawk) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |