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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 Browns 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 Browns 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.

Name Variations for Browns Valley ...

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.

  • A typical abbreviation for Browns Valley: Browns Vly. (or less commonly used: Browns Vally. or Browns Vlly.)
  • While the name of this community is Browns Valley, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Browns Valley may originally have been Brown's Valley.

    Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Browns Valley might be written as Brown Valley.

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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Browns Valley is located in Yuba 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 Yuba County: Butte, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sierra & Sutter.

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

  • Yuba County     (The home county of Browns Valley)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Browns Valley, with the one closest to Browns Valley listed first.
    • Loma Rica
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loma Rica
      • Loma Rica is located in Yuba County
    • Timbuctoo ‑ Historic
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timbuctoo
      • Timbuctoo is located in Yuba County
    • Iowa City
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Iowa City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iowa City
      • Iowa City is located in Yuba County
    • Smartville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Dantoni
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dantoni
      • Dantoni is located in Yuba County
    • Oregon House
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Linda
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Binney Junction
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Binney Junction
      • Binney Junction is located in Yuba County
    • Marysville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Olivehurst
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Alicia
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alicia
      • Alicia is located in Yuba County
    • Ostrom ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ostrom
      • Ostrom is located in Yuba County
    • Dobbins
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Butte County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Browns Valley, with the one closest to Browns Valley listed first.
    • Honcut
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Bangor
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Robinsons Corner
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinsons Corner
      • Robinsons Corner is located in Butte County
    • Palermo
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Peachton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peachton
      • Peachton is located in Butte County
    • East Biggs
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Biggs
      • East Biggs is located in Butte County
    • Gridley
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Robinson Mill
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinson Mill
      • Robinson Mill is located in Butte County
    • Lynchburg ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lynchburg. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynchburg
      • Lynchburg is located in Butte County
    • South Oroville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Oroville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Oroville
      • South Oroville is located in Butte County
    • Evansville ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Evansville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evansville
      • Evansville is located in Butte County
    • Forbestown
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Bigg's
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Colusa County
  • Nevada County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Browns Valley, with the one closest to Browns Valley listed first.
    • Lake Wildwood
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Wildwood
      • Lake Wildwood is located in Nevada County
    • Penn Valley
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Bridgeport
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeport
      • Bridgeport is located in Nevada County
    • Rough and Ready
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Birchville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birchville
      • Birchville is located in Nevada County
    • Bitney Corner
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bitney Corner
      • Bitney Corner is located in Nevada County
    • Newtown
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newtown
      • Newtown is located in Nevada County
    • The Oaks
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Oaks
      • The Oaks is located in Nevada County
    • Grass Valley
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • North San Juan
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Glenbrook
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenbrook
      • Glenbrook is located in Nevada County
    • Nevada City Rancheria
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nevada City Rancheria have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nevada City Rancheria
      • Nevada City Rancheria is located in Nevada County
    • Spring Hill
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
      • Spring Hill is located in Nevada County
  • Placer County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Browns Valley, with the one closest to Browns Valley listed first.
    • Sheridan
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Clayton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clayton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clayton
      • Clayton is located in Placer County
    • Lincoln
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Virginiatown
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virginiatown
      • Virginiatown is located in Placer County
    • Chicago Park ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Chicago Park. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chicago Park
      • Chicago Park is located in Placer County
    • Colfax
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Meadow Vista
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Applegate
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • North Auburn
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Auburn have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Auburn
      • North Auburn is located in Placer County
    • Weimar
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Bowman
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Clipper Gap
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clipper Gap
      • Clipper Gap is located in Placer County
    • Ophir
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ophir
      • Ophir is located in Placer County
  • Santa Cruz County
  • Sierra County
    • Brandy City ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brandy City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandy City
      • Brandy City is located in Sierra County
  • Sutter County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Browns Valley, with the one closest to Browns Valley listed first.
    • Yuba City
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Live Oak
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Live Oak
      • Live Oak is located in Sutter County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,048 people
    • Bogue
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bogue
      • Bogue is located in Sutter County
    • South Yuba City
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Yuba City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Yuba City
      • South Yuba City is located in Sutter County
    • Tierra Buena
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tierra Buena have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tierra Buena
      • Tierra Buena is located in Sutter County
    • Sutter
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Rio Oso
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Pennington
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennington
      • Pennington is located in Sutter County
    • Marcuse ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marcuse have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcuse
      • Marcuse is located in Sutter County
    • Nicolas
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Nicolaus
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Tarke
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tarke
      • Tarke is located in Sutter County
    • Meridian
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)

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

Newspapers Published in Browns 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 114 newspapers that have been published in the area around Browns Valley.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Browns Valley, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Browns Valley.

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 Browns Valley:

Cemeteries Near Browns Valley ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Browns 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.

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

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

  • Browns Valley Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Browns Valley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Browns Valley Cemetery
  • Peoria Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Peoria Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Peoria Cemetery
  • McGanney Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Smartville Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Smartville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Smartville Cemetery
  • Honcut Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Bangor Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Bangor Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southwest of Bangor.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bangor Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2220275 <6>
  • Marysville Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Marysville Jewish Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Joseph's Catholic Historical Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Lofton Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lofton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lofton Cemetery
  • Sierra View Memorial Park
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sierra View Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sierra View Memorial Park
  • Kneebone Family Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (55 more) ...
    • Yuba City Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Yuba City Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Yuba City Cemetery
    • Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Upham Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Upham Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Upham 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.<7>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Browns Valley had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Smartville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Ramirez
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ramirez have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ramirez
    • Ramirez is located in Yuba County
  • Honcut
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Honcut have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honcut
    • Honcut is located in Yuba County
  • Honcut
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Oregon House
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Bangor
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Binney Junction
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Binney Junction
    • Binney Junction is located in Yuba County
  • Marysville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Lomo
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lomo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lomo
    • Lomo is located in Sutter County
  • Yuba City
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Live Oak
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Live Oak
    • Live Oak is located in Sutter County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,048 people
  • Rough and Ready
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Dobbins
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Wyandotte
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wyandotte have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyandotte
      • Wyandotte is located in Butte County
    • Wheatland
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)

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

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

The official website for Yuba County: www.co.yuba.ca.us/

The official website for State of California: https://www.ca.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties).
<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>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>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.
<5>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Browns Valley) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Browns Valley. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.2414, Longitude: -121.4092    
<6>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.
<7>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 Browns Valley, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024