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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 Castro City (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 Castro City. 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 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.

Castro City is located in Santa Clara 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 Santa Clara County: Alameda, Merced, San Benito, San Mateo, Santa Cruz & Stanislaus.

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

  • Santa Clara County     (The home county of Castro City)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Castro City, with the one closest to Castro City listed first.
    • Mountain View
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Los Altos
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Ventura
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Ventura is located in Santa Clara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ventura
    • Los Altos Hills
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Escondido Village
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Escondido Village is located in Santa Clara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Escondido Village
    • Palo Alto
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Stanford
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Loyola
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Loyola is located in Santa Clara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loyola
    • Sunnyvale
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Cupertino
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Agnew
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Agnew is located in Santa Clara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agnew
    • Alviso
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Alameda County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Castro City, with the one closest to Castro City listed first.
    • Albrae ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Albrae is located in Alameda County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albrae
    • Drawbridge ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Drawbridge is located in Alameda County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drawbridge
      • Former name for Drawbridge:
      • Saline City
    • Larkins Landing ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Larkins Landing is located in Alameda County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larkins Landing
    • Newark
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Fremont
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Fremont is located in Alameda County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fremont
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 234,569 people
      • Former names for Fremont:
      • Centerville
      • Irvington
      • Mission San Jose
      • Niles
      • Warm Springs
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fremont <1>
    • Alvarado ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Alvarado is located in Alameda County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alvarado
    • Union City
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Union City is located in Alameda County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 74,501 people
      • Former name for Union City:
      • Decoto
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Union City <1>
    • Mount Eden
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Russell City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Russell City is located in Alameda County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell City
    • Sunol
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Hayward
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Scotts Corner
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Scotts Corner is located in Alameda County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotts Corner
  • Contra Costa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Castro City, with the one closest to Castro City listed first.
    • San Ramon
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Blackhawk - Camino Tassajara
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Danville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Danville is located in Contra Costa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 44,883 people
      • Former name for Danville:
      • Inmanville
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Danville <1>
    • Moraga
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Moraga is located in Contra Costa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moraga
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 16,967 people
      • Former name for Moraga:
      • Willow Springs
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moraga <1>
    • Blackhawk
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Blackhawk is located in Contra Costa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackhawk
    • Tassajara
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Tassajara is located in Contra Costa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tassajara
  • San Francisco County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Castro City, with the one closest to Castro City listed first.
    • Mission District
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Mission District is located in San Francisco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mission District
    • San Francisco
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Stonestown
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Stonestown is located in San Francisco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonestown
  • San Mateo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Castro City, with the one closest to Castro City listed first.
    • The Willows
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • The Willows is located in San Mateo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Willows
    • East Palo Alto
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Menlo Park
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Ladera
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Ladera is located in San Mateo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ladera
    • West Menlo Park
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Atherton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • North Fair Oaks
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • North Fair Oaks is located in San Mateo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Fair Oaks
    • Portola Valley
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Searsville ‑ Historic
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Searsville is located in San Mateo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Searsville
    • Woodside
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Emerald Lake Hills
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Emerald Lake Hills is located in San Mateo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerald Lake Hills
    • Adobe Corner
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Adobe Corner is located in San Mateo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adobe Corner
  • Santa Cruz County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Castro City, with the one closest to Castro City listed first.
    • Alma ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Alma is located in Santa Cruz County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alma
    • Summit
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Summit is located in Santa Cruz County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
      • Summit has also been known as:
      • Loma Prieta
    • Boulder Creek
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Brookdale
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Lompico
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Lompico is located in Santa Cruz County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lompico
    • Ben Lomond
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Glenwood
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Glenwood is located in Santa Cruz County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood
    • Laurel
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Laurel is located in Santa Cruz County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel
    • Zayante
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Zayante is located in Santa Cruz County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zayante
    • Eccles ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Eccles is located in Santa Cruz County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eccles
    • The Willows
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • The Willows is located in Santa Cruz County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Willows
    • Felton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)

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

Cemeteries Near Castro City ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Castro City.

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 Castro City - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Alta Mesa Memorial Park
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Gates of Heaven Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Holy Cross Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Oakwood Community Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood Community Cemetery
    • The Oakwood Community Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Convent Of The Sacred Heart Cemetery
  • Union Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Mission City Memorial Park
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Santa Clara Mission Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Madronia Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Holy Ghost Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Cedar Lawn Memorial Park
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Lawn Memorial Park
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Cedar Lawn Memorial Park is a large cemetery that is located in Fremont.
    • The Cedar Lawn Memorial Park has also been known as:
    • Cedar Lawn Memorial Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #7892 <2>
  • Irvington Memorial Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • St. Josephs Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (62 more) ...
    • Ohlone Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Ohlones Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Presbyterian Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)

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.<3>

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

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

  • Mountain View
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Mayfield
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Mayfield is located in Santa Clara County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayfield
  • Palo Alto
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Menlo Park
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Lawrence
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Lawrence is located in Santa Clara County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawrence
  • Agnew
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Agnew is located in Santa Clara County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agnew
  • Alviso
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Fair Oaks
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Fair Oaks is located in San Mateo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fair Oaks
  • Searsville ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Searsville is located in San Mateo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Searsville
  • Santa Clara
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Woodside
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Newark
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Redwood City
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Saratoga
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Campbell
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Castro City ...

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 121 newspapers that have been published in the area around Castro City.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Castro City, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Castro City.

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 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 Castro City:

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>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 Castro City, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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 from Point A (ie- Castro City) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.