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 Buena Vista (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 Buena Vista. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.
Buena Vista is located in Sonoma 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 Sonoma County: Contra Costa, Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Napa & Solano.
Below are the counties that are near Buena Vista. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Buena Vista:
- Sonoma County (The home county of Buena Vista)
- The following are listed by their distance from Buena Vista, with the one closest to Buena Vista listed first.
- Vineburg
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Sonoma
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Boyes Hot Springs
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Fetters Hot Springs - Agua Caliente
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Temelec
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Temelec is located in Sonoma County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Temelec
- El Verano
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Eldridge
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Wingo ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Wingo is located in Sonoma County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wingo
- McGill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- McGill is located in Sonoma County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGill
- Glen Ellen
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Lakeville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Lakeville is located in Sonoma County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeville
- Sears Point
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Sears Point is located in Sonoma County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sears Point
- Kenwood
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Alameda County
- The following are listed by their distance from Buena Vista, with the one closest to Buena Vista listed first.
- Albany
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- University Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- University Village is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University Village
- Berkeley
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Normandy Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Normandy Village is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Normandy Village
- Rochedale Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Rochedale Village is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochedale Village
- Contra Costa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Buena Vista, with the one closest to Buena Vista listed first.
- Rodeo
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Tormey
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Tormey is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tormey
- Valona
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Valona is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valona
- Bayview
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Bayview is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayview
- Gateley
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Gateley is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gateley
- Sobrante
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Sobrante is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sobrante
- Crockett
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Hercules
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Pinole
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Tara Hills
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Tara Hills is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tara Hills
- Port Costa
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- El Sobrante
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Rollingwood
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Rollingwood is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rollingwood
- Marin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Buena Vista, with the one closest to Buena Vista listed first.
- Black Point - Green Point
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Novato
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Old Town
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Old Town is located in Marin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Town
- Ignacio
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Ignacio is located in Marin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ignacio
- Rafael Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Rafael Village is located in Marin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rafael Village
- Santa Venetia
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Santa Venetia is located in Marin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santa Venetia
- Terra Linda
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Terra Linda is located in Marin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terra Linda
- Cerro
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Cerro is located in Marin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cerro
- Nicasio
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Fairfax
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- San Anselmo
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- San Rafael
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- San Geronimo
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Napa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Buena Vista, with the one closest to Buena Vista listed first.
- Merazo
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Merazo is located in Napa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merazo
- Napa
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Union
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Union is located in Napa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
- Suscol ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Suscol is located in Napa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suscol
- Suscol has also been known as:
- Soscol
- Susqual
- Yountville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Oakville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Middleton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Middleton is located in Napa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middleton
- Rutherford
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Lombard
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Lombard is located in Napa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lombard
- American Canyon
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Saint Helena
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Deer Park
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Angwin
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Solano County
- The following are listed by their distance from Buena Vista, with the one closest to Buena Vista listed first.
- Guadalcanal Village
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Guadalcanal Village is located in Solano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guadalcanal Village
- Green Valley
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Mare Island ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Mare Island is located in Solano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mare Island
- Vallejo
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Mankas Corner
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Mankas Corner is located in Solano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mankas Corner
- Fairfield
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Suisun City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- 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>
- Benicia
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Vacaville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Cannon ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Cannon is located in Solano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannon
- Hartley
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Hartley is located in Solano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartley
- Leisure Town
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Leisure Town is located in Solano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leisure Town
- Travis Field
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Travis Field is located in Solano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Travis Field
- Yolo County
- Winters
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Buena Vista, see our County-by-County Page for Buena Vista.
Cemeteries Near Buena Vista ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Buena Vista.
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 Buena Vista - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Buena Vista covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Buena Vista, with the one closest to Buena Vista listed first.
- Valley Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- St. Francis Solano Catholic Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Mountain Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Partrick Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Partrick Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Partrick Cemetery is located 6 miles [9.7 km]<2> to the northwest of Napa.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2433832 <3>
- Brothers of the Christian Schools Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Dry Creek Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Creek Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Dry Creek Cemetery is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<2> to the northwest of Union.
- The Dry Creek Cemetery has also been known as:
- Broadhurst - Gridley Cemetery
- Stephen Broadhust Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2238593 <3>
- Napa Redwood Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Napa Redwood Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Napa Redwood Cemetery is located 8 miles [12.9 km]<2> to the northwest of Napa.
- The Napa Redwood Cemetery has also been known as:
- Redwood Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #8299 <3>
- Eldridge Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eldridge Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Eldridge Cemetery is located outside and to the west of Eldridge.
- Veterans Home Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Veterans Home Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Veterans Home Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southwest of Yountville.
- The Veterans Home Cemetery has also been known as:
- California State Veterans Home Cemetery
- Veterans Memorial Grove Cemetery
- Yountville Veterans Home Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1962430 <3>
- Tulocay Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tulocay Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Tulocay Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Napa.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #8411 <3>
- Thompson Family Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Napa Valley Memorial Park
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Napa Valley Memorial Park
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Napa Valley Memorial Park is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southeast of Napa.
- The Napa Valley Memorial Park has also been known as:
- Chapel of the Chimes Cemetery
- Napa Valley Memorial Gardens
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #169978 <3>
- Continue List (81 more) ...
- Napa State Hospital Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- George C. Yount Pioneer Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for George C. Yount Pioneer Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the George C. Yount Pioneer Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the northwest of Yountville.
- The George C. Yount Pioneer Cemetery has also been known as:
- Ancient Indian Burial Grounds
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1978829 <3>
- Petaluma Calvary Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
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.<4>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Buena Vista had railroad service and no post office.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Buena Vista, with the one closest to Buena Vista listed first.
- Sonoma
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Schellville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Schellville is located in Sonoma County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schellville
- Yulupa ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Yulupa is located in Sonoma County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yulupa
- Madrone ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Madrone is located in Sonoma County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madrone
- McGill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- McGill is located in Sonoma County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGill
- Merazo
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Merazo is located in Napa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merazo
- Napa
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Oak Knoll
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Oak Knoll is located in Napa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Knoll
- Glen Ellen
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Lakeville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Lakeville is located in Sonoma County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeville
- Yountville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Donahue ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Donahue is located in Sonoma County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donahue
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Sears Point
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Sears Point is located in Sonoma County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sears Point
- Wildwood ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Wildwood is located in Sonoma County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildwood
- Napa Soda Springs
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Napa Soda Springs is located in Napa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Napa Soda Springs
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Buena Vista. See our List of 1890's Communities around Buena Vista.
Newspapers Published in Buena Vista ...
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 38 newspapers that have been published in the area around Buena Vista.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Buena Vista, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Buena Vista.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to 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 Buena Vista:
- Websites specific to California
- Pages specific to Sonoma County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alameda County
- Contra Costa County
- Marin County
- Napa County
- Solano County
- Yolo 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Buena Vista) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 Buena Vista, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |