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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 Cal-Ida (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 Cal-Ida. 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 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 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.

Cal-Ida is located in Sierra 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 Sierra County: Lassen, Nevada, Plumas, Yuba & Washoe (NV).

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

  • Sierra County     (The home county of Cal-Ida)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cal-Ida, with the one closest to Cal-Ida listed first.
    • Brandy City ‑ Historic
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Brandy City is located in Sierra County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandy City
    • Goodyears Bar
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Forest
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Forest is located in Sierra County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest
    • Alleghany
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Downieville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Queen City
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Queen City is located in Sierra County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Queen City
    • Poker Flat
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Poker Flat is located in Sierra County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poker Flat
    • Gibsonville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Gibsonville is located in Sierra County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibsonville
    • Loganville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Loganville is located in Sierra County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loganville
    • Sierra City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
  • Butte County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cal-Ida, with the one closest to Cal-Ida listed first.
    • Clipper Mills
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Oroleve
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Oroleve is located in Butte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oroleve
    • Lumpkin ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Lumpkin is located in Butte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lumpkin
    • Evansville ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Evansville is located in Butte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evansville
    • Feather Falls
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Forbestown
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Robinson Mill
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Robinson Mill is located in Butte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinson Mill
    • Brush Creek
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Brush Creek is located in Butte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brush Creek
    • South Fork ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • South Fork is located in Butte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Fork
    • Merrimac
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Merrimac is located in Butte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrimac
    • Bangor
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Berry Creek
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Bidwell Bar ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Bidwell Bar is located in Butte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bidwell Bar
  • Nevada County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cal-Ida, with the one closest to Cal-Ida listed first.
    • North Columbia
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • North Columbia is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Columbia
    • North San Juan
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Lake City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Lake City is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake City
    • North Bloomfield ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • North Bloomfield is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Bloomfield
    • Graniteville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Graniteville is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graniteville
    • Blue Tent
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Blue Tent is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Tent
    • Birchville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Birchville is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birchville
    • Washington
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Marsh Mill
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Marsh Mill is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marsh Mill
    • Nevada City Rancheria
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Scotts Flat
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Scotts Flat is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotts Flat
    • Nevada City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Bridgeport
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Bridgeport is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeport
  • Placer County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cal-Ida, with the one closest to Cal-Ida listed first.
    • Alta
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Dutch Flat
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Emigrant Gap
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Gold Run
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Secret Town
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Secret Town is located in Placer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Secret Town
    • Casa Loma
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Casa Loma is located in Placer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casa Loma
    • Chicago Park ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Chicago Park is located in Placer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chicago Park
    • Colfax
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Iowa Hill
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Big Bend
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Big Bend is located in Placer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Bend
  • Plumas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cal-Ida, with the one closest to Cal-Ida listed first.
    • La Porte
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Little Grass Valley
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Little Grass Valley is located in Plumas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Grass Valley
    • Plumas Eureka
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Plumas Eureka is located in Plumas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plumas Eureka
    • Johnsville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Bucks Lake
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Bucks Lake is located in Plumas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bucks Lake
    • Graeagle
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Mohawk
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Mohawk is located in Plumas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mohawk
    • Meadow Valley
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Blairsden
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Clio
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • East Quincy
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • East Quincy is located in Plumas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Quincy
    • C-Road
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • C-Road is located in Plumas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for C-Road
    • Cromberg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Shasta County
    • Bear Valley ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Bear Valley is located in Shasta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Valley
  • Yuba County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cal-Ida, with the one closest to Cal-Ida listed first.
    • Depot Hill ‑ Historic
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Depot Hill is located in Yuba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Depot Hill
    • Strawberry Valley
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Camptonville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Garden Valley ‑ Historic
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Garden Valley is located in Yuba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Valley
    • Foster Bar ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Foster Bar is located in Yuba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foster Bar
    • Bullards Bar ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Bullards Bar is located in Yuba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bullards Bar
    • Challenge
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Brownsville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Dobbins
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Oregon House
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Rackerby
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Loma Rica
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Loma Rica is located in Yuba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loma Rica
    • Smartville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Cal-Ida ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Cal-Ida.

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 Cal-Ida - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

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>

While we didn't find Cal-Ida in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Cal-Ida.

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

  • Camptonville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Scales ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Scales is located in Sierra County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scales
  • Strawberry Valley
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Pike
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Pike is located in Sierra County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pike
    • Pike has also been known as:
    • Pike City
  • Goodyears Bar
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Clipper Mills
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Bullards Bar ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Bullards Bar is located in Yuba County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bullards Bar
  • Alleghany
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • North Columbia
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • North Columbia is located in Nevada County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Columbia
  • Downieville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • La Porte
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • North San Juan
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Moore's Flat
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Moore's Flat is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moore's Flat
    • Lumpkin ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Lumpkin is located in Butte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lumpkin
    • North Bloomfield ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • North Bloomfield is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Bloomfield

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

Newspapers Published in Cal-Ida ...

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 34 newspapers that have been published in the area around Cal-Ida.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Cal-Ida, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Cal-Ida.

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 Cal-Ida:

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Cal-Ida) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Cal-Ida, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.