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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 Chapman (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 Chapman. 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 doctors and 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.

Chapman is located in Los Angeles 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 Los Angeles County: Kern, Orange, San Bernardino & Ventura.

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

  • Los Angeles County     (The home county of Chapman)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Chapman, with the one closest to Chapman listed first.
    • East Pasadena
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • East Pasadena is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Pasadena
    • Lamanda Park
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Lamanda Park is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamanda Park
    • Santa Anita
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Santa Anita is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santa Anita
    • Sierra Madre
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • San Marino
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Arcadia
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Arcadia is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcadia
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 56,323 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Arcadia <1>
    • Altadena
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • East San Gabriel
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • East San Gabriel is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East San Gabriel
    • San Gabriel
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Temple City
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Pasadena
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Pasadena is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pasadena
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 141,045 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pasadena <1>
    • Alhambra
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Orange County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Chapman, with the one closest to Chapman listed first.
    • La Habra
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Brea
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Brea is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brea
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 44,484 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brea <1>
    • Buena Park
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • La Palma
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Fullerton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Placentia
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Cypress
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Los Alamitos
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Anaheim
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Yorba Linda
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Stanton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Atwood
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
  • San Bernardino County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Chapman, with the one closest to Chapman listed first.
    • Montclair
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Montclair is located in San Bernardino County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montclair
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 40,600 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Montclair <1>
    • Chino Hills
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Chino
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Chino is located in San Bernardino County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chino
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 92,290 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chino <1>
    • San Antonio Heights
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • San Antonio Heights is located in San Bernardino County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Antonio Heights
    • Upland
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Upland is located in San Bernardino County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 77,850 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Upland <1>
    • Los Serranos
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Los Serranos is located in San Bernardino County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Los Serranos
    • Ontario
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Ontario is located in San Bernardino County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ontario
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 183,393 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ontario <1>
    • Racimo
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Racimo is located in San Bernardino County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Racimo
    • Alta Loma
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Guasti
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Rancho Cucamonga
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Wrightwood
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Chapman ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Chapman.

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

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

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

  • San Gabriel Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Sierra Madre Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Savannah Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Mountain View Mausoleum
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Mountain View Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Live Oak Memorial Park
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Resurrection Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Chinese Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Mausoleum of the Golden West
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Serbian Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (78 more) ...
    • Rose Hills Memorial Park
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Hills Memorial Park
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Rose Hills Memorial Park is a very large cemetery that is located in Whittier.
      • The Rose Hills Memorial Park has also been known as:
      • Whittier Heights Memorial Park
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #8308 <2>
    • Forest Lawn Memorial Park - Glendale
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Lawn Memorial Park - Glendale
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Forest Lawn Memorial Park - Glendale is a very large cemetery that is located in Glendale.
      • The Forest Lawn Memorial Park - Glendale has also been known as:
      • Forest Lawn Memorial Cemetery - Glendale
      • Forest Lawn Memorial Park - Glendale
      • Glendale Forest Lawn Memorial Cemetery
      • Glendale Forest Lawn Memorial Park
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #7974 <2>
    • IOOF Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Chapman had railroad service and no post office.

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

  • East Pasadena
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • East Pasadena is located in Los Angeles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Pasadena
  • Lamanda Park
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Lamanda Park is located in Los Angeles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamanda Park
  • Santa Anita
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Santa Anita is located in Los Angeles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santa Anita
  • Sierra Madre
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • San Gabriel
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • East San Gabriel
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • East San Gabriel is located in Los Angeles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East San Gabriel
  • Altadena
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Pasadena
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Pasadena is located in Los Angeles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pasadena
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 141,045 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pasadena <1>
  • South Pasadena
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Alhambra
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Monrovia
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Garvanza
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Garvanza is located in Los Angeles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garvanza
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Savannah ‑ Historic
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Savannah is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savannah
    • Highland Park
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Aurant
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Aurant is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurant

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

Newspapers Published in Chapman ...

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 37 newspapers that have been published in the area around Chapman.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Chapman, 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 Chapman.

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 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 Chapman:

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 Chapman, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Chapman) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.