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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 Central (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 Central. 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.

Central is located in Yolo 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 Yolo County: Colusa, Lake, Napa, Sacramento, Solano & Sutter.

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

  • Yolo County     (The home county of Central)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Central, with the one closest to Central listed first.
    • Greendale
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Greendale. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greendale
      • Greendale is located in Yolo County
    • Clarksburg
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • El Macero
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Swingle
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Swingle. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swingle
      • Swingle is located in Yolo County
    • West Sacramento
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Davis
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Broderick
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Bryte
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Plainfield
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Plainfield. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainfield
      • Plainfield is located in Yolo County
    • Woodland
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Winters
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Yolo
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Amador County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Central, with the one closest to Central listed first.
    • Carbondale ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Carbondale. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbondale
      • Carbondale is located in Amador County
    • May ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for May have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for May
      • May is located in Amador County
  • Contra Costa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Central, with the one closest to Central listed first.
    • Bethel Island
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Oakley
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakley
      • Oakley is located in Contra Costa County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 42,710 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oakley <2>
    • Knightsen
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Antioch
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antioch
      • Antioch is located in Contra Costa County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 111,605 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Antioch <2>
    • Empire ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Empire have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Empire
      • Empire is located in Contra Costa County
    • Pittsburg
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Placer County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Central, with the one closest to Central listed first.
    • Riego
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Riego have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riego
      • Riego is located in Placer County
    • Roseville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Sacramento County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Central, with the one closest to Central listed first.
    • Hood
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Courtland
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Laguna West - Lakeside
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Franklin
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
      • Franklin is located in Sacramento County
    • Freeport
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeport
      • Freeport is located in Sacramento County
    • Laguna
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Laguna have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laguna
      • Laguna is located in Sacramento County
    • Vorden
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vorden
      • Vorden is located in Sacramento County
    • Parkway - South Sacramento
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Parkway - South Sacramento. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkway - South Sacramento
      • Parkway - South Sacramento is located in Sacramento County
    • Elk Grove
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Locke
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locke
      • Locke is located in Sacramento County
    • Ryde
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Walnut Grove
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • San Joaquin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Central, with the one closest to Central listed first.
    • Mokelumne City ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mokelumne City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mokelumne City
      • Mokelumne City is located in San Joaquin County
    • Thornton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Taison
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Taison. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taison
      • Taison is located in San Joaquin County
    • Terminous
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terminous
      • Terminous is located in San Joaquin County
    • Acampo
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • North Woodbridge
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Woodbridge
      • North Woodbridge is located in San Joaquin County
    • South Woodbridge
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Woodbridge
      • South Woodbridge is located in San Joaquin County
    • Woodbridge
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Henderson Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Henderson Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henderson Village
      • Henderson Village is located in San Joaquin County
    • Lodi
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lodi
      • Lodi is located in San Joaquin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 68,186 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lodi <2>
    • Victor
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Lockeford
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Solano County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Central, with the one closest to Central listed first.
    • Oxford
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Oxford. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxford
      • Oxford is located in Solano County
    • Dixon
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixon
      • Dixon is located in Solano County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 20,440 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dixon <2>
    • Batavia
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Batavia. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Batavia
      • Batavia is located in Solano County
    • Rio Vista
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Elmira
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Solano City ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Solano City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Solano City
      • Solano City is located in Solano County
    • Allendale
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allendale
      • Allendale is located in Solano County
    • Hartley
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartley
      • Hartley is located in Solano County
    • Leisure Town
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Leisure Town have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leisure Town
      • Leisure Town is located in Solano County
    • Denverton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Denverton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denverton
      • Denverton is located in Solano County
    • Travis Field
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Travis Field have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Travis Field
      • Travis Field is located in Solano County
    • Cannon ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cannon. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannon
      • Cannon is located in Solano County
  • Sutter County

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

Cemeteries Near Central ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Central.

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

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

  • Franklin Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Franklin Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Franklin Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • South East Lawn Memorial Park
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the South East Lawn Memorial Park
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the South East Lawn Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • San Joaquin Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Tremont Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Tremont Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Tremont Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Masonic Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Masonic Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Masonic Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Rose Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Rose Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Rose Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Elder Creek Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Elder Creek Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Elder Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Home of Peace Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Home of Peace Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Home of Peace Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sacramento Memorial Lawn Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sacramento Memorial Lawn Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sacramento Memorial Lawn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sacramento County Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Marys Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Marys Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Josephs Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (50 more) ...
    • City Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the City Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the City Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Masonic Lawn Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Odd Fellows Lawn Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Odd Fellows Lawn Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Odd Fellows Lawn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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>

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

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

  • Courtland
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Franklin
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
    • Franklin is located in Sacramento County
  • Freeport
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeport
    • Freeport is located in Sacramento County
  • Walnut Grove
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Elk Grove
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Maine Prairie
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maine Prairie have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maine Prairie
    • Maine Prairie is located in Solano County
  • Florin
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florin
    • Florin is located in Sacramento County
  • Webster
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Webster have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
    • Webster is located in Yolo County
  • Swingle
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Swingle. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swingle
    • Swingle is located in Yolo County
  • McConnel
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McConnel have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McConnel
    • McConnel is located in Sacramento County
  • Binghamton
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Binghamton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Binghamton
    • Binghamton is located in Solano County
  • Arno ‑ Historic
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arno have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arno
    • Arno is located in Sacramento County
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Brighton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brighton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brighton
      • Brighton is located in Sacramento County
    • Sacramento
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Davis
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Central ...

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 187 newspapers that have been published in the area around Central.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Central, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Central.

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 Central:

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

The official website for Yolo County: www.yolocounty.org/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<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 Central, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Central) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Central. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.3927, Longitude: -121.5730       In this case, the coordinates for Central have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025