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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

So far, we found very little information about Califa. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>

We've added Califa to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Califa, please Contact Us.

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 Califa (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 Califa. 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 and doctors 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.

Although our information shows that the community of Califa is historic, it would have been located within present day Madera 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 Madera County: Fresno, Mariposa, Merced & Mono.

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

  • Madera County     (The home county of Califa)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Califa, with the one closest to Califa listed first.
    • Chowchilla
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Berenda
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Berenda is located in Madera County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berenda
    • Lincoln ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Lincoln is located in Madera County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln
    • Madera Acres
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Madera Acres is located in Madera County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madera Acres
    • Madera
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Parksdale
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Parksdale is located in Madera County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parksdale
    • Parkwood
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Parkwood is located in Madera County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkwood
    • La Vina
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • La Vina is located in Madera County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Vina
    • Knowles Junction
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Knowles Junction is located in Madera County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knowles Junction
    • Raymond
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Raymond is located in Madera County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raymond
    • Bonadelle Ranchos - Madera Ranchos
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Knowles ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Knowles is located in Madera County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knowles
  • Fresno County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Califa, with the one closest to Califa listed first.
    • Firebaugh
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Barstow
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Barstow is located in Fresno County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barstow
    • Biola
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Benito
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Benito is located in Fresno County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benito
    • Herndon
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Herndon is located in Fresno County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herndon
    • Raco
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Raco is located in Fresno County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raco
    • Mendota
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Kerman
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Highway City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Highway City is located in Fresno County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highway City
    • Floyd
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Floyd is located in Fresno County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Floyd
    • Muscatel
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Muscatel is located in Fresno County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muscatel
    • Rolinda
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Rolinda is located in Fresno County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rolinda
  • Mariposa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Califa, with the one closest to Califa listed first.
    • Catheys Valley
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Hornitos
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Mount Bullion
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Mount Bullion is located in Mariposa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Bullion
  • Merced County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Califa, with the one closest to Califa listed first.
    • Le Grand
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Athlone
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Athlone is located in Merced County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athlone
    • Plainsburg
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Plainsburg is located in Merced County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainsburg
    • Planada
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • El Nido
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Tuttle
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Tuttle is located in Merced County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuttle
    • Merced
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Santa Rita Park
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Dos Palos
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • South Dos Palos
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Fluhr
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Fluhr is located in Merced County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fluhr
    • Atwater
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Califa ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Califa.

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 Califa - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Chowchilla Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chowchilla Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Chowchilla Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<3> to the southwest of Chowchilla.
    • The Chowchilla Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Chowchilla District Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #7906 <4>
  • Helm - Turner Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Arbor Vitae Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • New Hope Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Gwin Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Borden's Chinese Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Raymond Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Pate Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
  • Bethany Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
  • White Rock Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvary Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Calvary Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Merced.
    • The Calvary Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Calvary Catholic Cemetery
    • Calvary Merced Cemetery District
    • Be careful not to confuse this cemetery with another one that is also named Calvary Cemetery (located 56 miles to the north).
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #7873 <4>
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Dos Palos Cemetery
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Santa Cruz Cemetery
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Catheys Valley Cemetery
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)

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.

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

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

  • Athlone
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Athlone is located in Merced County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athlone
  • Plainsburg
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Plainsburg is located in Merced County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainsburg
  • La Vina
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • La Vina is located in Madera County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Vina
  • Raymond
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Raymond is located in Madera County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raymond
  • Firebaugh
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Knowles ‑ Historic
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Knowles is located in Madera County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knowles
  • Merced
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Herndon
    (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Herndon is located in Fresno County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herndon
  • Ben Hur
    (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Ben Hur is located in Mariposa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ben Hur
  • Dos Palos
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
  • Muscatel
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Muscatel is located in Fresno County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muscatel
  • Hornitos
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
  • Atwater
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Grub Gulch ‑ Historic
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Grub Gulch is located in Madera County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grub Gulch

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

Newspapers Published in Califa ...

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 64 newspapers that have been published in the area around Califa.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Califa, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Califa.

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 professional and volunteer 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 Califa:

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Califa, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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- Califa) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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.