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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 Brentwood (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 Brentwood. 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 and 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.

Brentwood 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 Brentwood. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Brentwood:

  • Contra Costa County     (The home county of Brentwood)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brentwood, with the one closest to Brentwood listed first.
    • Knightsen
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Bixler
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bixler
      • Bixler is located in Contra Costa County
    • Oakley
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • 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>
    • Byron
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Discovery Bay
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Bethel Island
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Antioch
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • 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
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • 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
    • Marsh Creek Springs
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marsh Creek Springs
      • Marsh Creek Springs is located in Contra Costa County
    • Pittsburg
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Tassajara
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tassajara
      • Tassajara is located in Contra Costa County
    • Clayton
      (12 miles [19.3 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>
  • Alameda County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brentwood, with the one closest to Brentwood listed first.
    • Altamont
      (13 miles [20.9 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
      (17 miles [27.4 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
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Komandorski Village
      (18 miles [29 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
      (19 miles [30.6 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
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Tesla ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 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
    • Pleasanton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Scotts Corner
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotts Corner
      • Scotts Corner is located in Alameda County
    • Fairview
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fairview have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
      • Fairview is located in Alameda County
    • Sunol
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Canyon
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
  • Sacramento County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brentwood, with the one closest to Brentwood listed first.
    • Isleton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Ryde
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Walnut Grove
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Locke
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locke
      • Locke is located in Sacramento County
    • Vorden
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vorden
      • Vorden is located in Sacramento County
    • Courtland
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Galt
      (30 miles [48.3 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>
  • San Joaquin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brentwood, with the one closest to Brentwood listed first.
    • Holt
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Terminous
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terminous
      • Terminous is located in San Joaquin County
    • Country Club
      (19 miles [30.6 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
    • Tracy
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tracy
      • Tracy is located in San Joaquin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 95,025 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tracy <1>
    • Lincoln Village
      (20 miles [32.2 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
    • Wainwright Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wainwright Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wainwright Village
      • Wainwright Village is located in San Joaquin County
    • Banta
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Stockton
      (22 miles [35.4 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>
    • Taft Mosswood
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taft Mosswood
      • Taft Mosswood is located in San Joaquin County
    • August
      (23 miles [37 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
    • French Camp
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Carnegie ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Carnegie. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carnegie
      • Carnegie is located in San Joaquin County
  • Solano County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brentwood, with the one closest to Brentwood listed first.
    • Rio Vista
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Birds Landing
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Denverton
      (22 miles [35.4 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
    • Solano City ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 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
      (25 miles [40.2 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
    • Travis Field
      (26 miles [41.8 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
    • Benicia
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Cannon ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 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
    • Fairfield
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Suisun City
      (28 miles [45.1 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
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)

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

Newspapers Published in Brentwood ...

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 117 newspapers that have been published in the area around Brentwood.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Brentwood, 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 Brentwood.

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 helpful 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 Brentwood:

Cemeteries Near Brentwood ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Brentwood.

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

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

  • Byron Brentwood Knightson Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • 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
  • Oak View Memorial Park
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • 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
  • Holy Cross Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • 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
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • 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
  • Rose Hill Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 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
    (14 miles [22.5 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
  • Roselawn Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Roselawn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Roselawn Cemetery
  • St. Michaels Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Michaels Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Michaels Cemetery
  • Oak Knoll Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oak Knoll Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak Knoll Cemetery
  • St. Stephen Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 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
  • Memory Gardens Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
  • Dublin Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dublin Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dublin Cemetery
  • Continue List   (50 more) ...
    • Tracy Public Cemetery
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Oakmont Memorial Park
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oakmont Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oakmont Memorial Park
    • Pleasanton Memorial Gardens Cemetery
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasanton Memorial Gardens Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasanton Memorial Gardens 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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Brentwood had a population of 369 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Brentwood had a population of 65,017 people.

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

  • Byron
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Antioch
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • 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>
  • Stewartville ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • 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
  • Somersville ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 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
  • Nortonville ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 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
  • Cornwall
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • 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
  • Collinsville ‑ Historic
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • 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
  • Clayton
    (12 miles [19.3 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>
  • Rio Vista
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
  • McAvoy
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • 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
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Isleton
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Birds Landing
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Livermore
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Midway
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Midway have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
      • Midway is located in Alameda County

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

The official website for Brentwood: www.ci.brentwood.ca.us/

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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Brentwood) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Brentwood. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.9354, Longitude: -121.6988    
<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 Brentwood, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024