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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 Blanco (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 Blanco. 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 southeast 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 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 east 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.

Blanco is located in Monterey 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 Monterey County: Fresno, Kings, San Benito, San Luis Obispo & Santa Cruz.

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

  • Monterey County     (The home county of Blanco)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blanco, with the one closest to Blanco listed first.
    • Marina
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Marina is located in Monterey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marina
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 21,836 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marina <1>
    • Boronda
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Boronda is located in Monterey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boronda
    • Prattco ‑ Historic
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Prattco is located in Monterey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prattco
    • Salinas
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Santa Rita
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Santa Rita is located in Monterey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santa Rita
    • Serra Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Serra Village is located in Monterey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Serra Village
    • Castroville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Spreckels
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Fort Ord Village ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Fort Ord Village is located in Monterey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Ord Village
    • Prunedale
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Ambler Park
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Ambler Park is located in Monterey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ambler Park
    • Del Rey Oaks
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Del Rey Oaks is located in Monterey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Del Rey Oaks
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,645 people
  • San Benito County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blanco, with the one closest to Blanco listed first.
    • San Juan Bautista
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • River Oaks
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • River Oaks is located in San Benito County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Oaks
    • Hollister
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Ridgemark
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Ridgemark is located in San Benito County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgemark
    • Tres Pinos
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Paicines
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Dunneville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Dunneville is located in San Benito County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunneville
  • Santa Clara County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blanco, with the one closest to Blanco listed first.
    • Sargent ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Sargent is located in Santa Clara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sargent
    • Gilroy
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Gilroy is located in Santa Clara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilroy
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 54,831 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gilroy <1>
    • Rucker
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Rucker is located in Santa Clara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rucker
    • Sveadal
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Sveadal is located in Santa Clara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sveadal
    • San Martin
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Santa Cruz County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blanco, with the one closest to Blanco listed first.
    • Colache Town
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Colache Town is located in Santa Cruz County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colache Town
    • Watsonville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Freedom
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Interlaken
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Interlaken is located in Santa Cruz County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Interlaken
    • Amesti
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Amesti is located in Santa Cruz County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amesti
    • La Selva Beach
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Strongs Mobile Village
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Aptos Hills - Larkin Valley
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Rio del Mar
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Corralitos
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Day Valley
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Day Valley is located in Santa Cruz County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Day Valley
    • Aptos
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Blanco ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Blanco.

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 Blanco - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Mission Memorial Park
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Chinese Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chinese Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Chinese Cemetery is located in Salinas.
  • Monterey County Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • IOOF Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Yamat Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Queen of Heaven Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Castroville Public Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castroville Public Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Castroville Public Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the south of Moss Landing.
    • The Castroville Public Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Castroville Cemetery
    • Castroville / Moss Landing Cemetery
    • Moss Landing Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #7885 <2>
  • San Carlos Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • El Encinal Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • El Carmeto Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Hambey Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (25 more) ...
    • Carmel Mission Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carmel Mission Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Carmel Mission Cemetery is located in Carmel-by-the-Sea.
      • The Carmel Mission Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Mission Carmel Cemetery
      • Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmel Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #640417 <2>
    • San Juan Bautista Cemetery
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • IOOF Cemetery
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Blanco had a population of 63 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Salinas
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Santa Rita
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Santa Rita is located in Monterey County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santa Rita
  • Castroville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Seaside
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Natividad
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Natividad is located in Monterey County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Natividad
  • Pacific Grove
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Monterey
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Spence
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Spence is located in Monterey County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spence
  • Elkhorn
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Elkhorn is located in Monterey County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhorn
  • Chualar
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Pajaro
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Pajaro is located in Monterey County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pajaro
  • Vega ‑ Historic
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Vega is located in Monterey County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vega
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Watsonville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Sargent ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Sargent is located in Santa Clara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sargent
    • Gonzales
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Blanco ...

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 26 newspapers that have been published in the area around Blanco.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Blanco, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Blanco.

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 professional and volunteer 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 Blanco:

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 Blanco, 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- Blanco) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.