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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 Bryants (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 Bryants. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals 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.

Bryants is located in El Dorado 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 El Dorado County: Alpine, Amador, Placer, Sacramento & Douglas (NV).

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

  • El Dorado County     (The home county of Bryants)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bryants, with the one closest to Bryants listed first.
    • Riverton
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Riverton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverton
      • Riverton is located in El Dorado County
    • Pacific
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pacific have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pacific
      • Pacific is located in El Dorado County
    • Fresh Pond
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fresh Pond have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fresh Pond
      • Fresh Pond is located in El Dorado County
    • White Hall
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for White Hall have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Hall
      • White Hall is located in El Dorado County
    • Pollock Pines
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Grizzly Flatx
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Sportsman Hall ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sportsman Hall
      • Sportsman Hall is located in El Dorado County
    • Kyburz
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Camino
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Newtown
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newtown
      • Newtown is located in El Dorado County
    • Pleasant Valley
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Valley
      • Pleasant Valley is located in El Dorado County
    • Somerset
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Fair Play
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Alpine County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bryants, with the one closest to Bryants listed first.
    • Kirkwood
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Bear Valley
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Lake Alpine
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Alpine
      • Lake Alpine is located in Alpine County
  • Amador County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bryants, with the one closest to Bryants listed first.
    • River Pines
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Kit Carson
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Pioneer
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Volcano
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Fiddletown
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Pine Grove
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Plymouth
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Amador City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Electra ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Electra. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Electra
      • Electra is located in Amador County
    • Drytown
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Sutter Creek
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Martell
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jackson
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Calaveras County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bryants, with the one closest to Bryants listed first.
    • Bummerville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bummerville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bummerville
      • Bummerville is located in Calaveras County
    • West Point
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Sandy Gulch
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Gulch
      • Sandy Gulch is located in Calaveras County
    • Wilseyville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Glencoe
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Rail Road Flat
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Big Meadow
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Meadow
      • Big Meadow is located in Calaveras County
    • Camp Connell
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Big Trees Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Trees Village
      • Big Trees Village is located in Calaveras County
  • Placer County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bryants, with the one closest to Bryants listed first.
    • Greekstore
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greekstore
      • Greekstore is located in Placer County
    • Michigan Bluff
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Michigan Bluff
      • Michigan Bluff is located in Placer County
    • Foresthill
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Last Chance ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Last Chance. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Last Chance
      • Last Chance is located in Placer County
    • Tahoma Meadows
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tahoma Meadows have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tahoma Meadows
      • Tahoma Meadows is located in Placer County
    • Yankee Jims
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Yankee Jims have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yankee Jims
      • Yankee Jims is located in Placer County
    • Homewood
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Bryants ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bryants.

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

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

  • Indian Diggings Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Indian Diggings Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Indian Diggings Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Oak Hill Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oak Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Andreason Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Andreason Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Andreason Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #7839 <4>
  • Smith Flat Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Smith Flat Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Smith Flat Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Maidens Gravesite
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
  • Catholic Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Catholic Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Catholic Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Placerville Union Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
  • Pioneer Grave
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pioneer Grave
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pioneer Grave have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bennett Memorial Park
    (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bennett Memorial Park
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bennett Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Middletown Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Middletown Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Middletown Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Westwood Hills Memorial Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Westwood Hills Memorial Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Westwood Hills Memorial Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Catholic Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Catholic Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Catholic Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (34 more) ...
    • Protestant Cemetery
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Protestant Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Protestant Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Shenandoah Valley Cemetery
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Fiddletown Cemetery
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)

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.<5>

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

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

  • Pacific
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pacific have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pacific
    • Pacific is located in El Dorado County
  • Grizzly Flatx
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Pleasant Valley
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Valley
    • Pleasant Valley is located in El Dorado County
  • Omo Ranch
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Omo Ranch have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Omo Ranch
    • Omo Ranch is located in El Dorado County
  • Fair Play
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Placerville
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
  • Kelsey
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelsey
    • Kelsey is located in El Dorado County
  • Volcano
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
  • El Dorado
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
  • Fiddletown
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Nashville
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nashville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nashville
    • Nashville is located in El Dorado County
  • West Point
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in Bryants ...

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 60 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bryants.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bryants, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bryants.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Bryants:

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

The official website for El Dorado County: www.co.el-dorado.ca.us/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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>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.
<5>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 Bryants, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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 from Point A (ie- Bryants) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Bryants. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.7188, Longitude: -120.4766       In this case, the coordinates for Bryants have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025