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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 Cherokee (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 Cherokee. 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 southwest 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 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 west 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.

Cherokee is located in San Joaquin 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 San Joaquin County: Alameda, Amador, Calaveras, Contra Costa, Sacramento, Santa Clara & Stanislaus.

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

  • San Joaquin County     (The home county of Cherokee)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cherokee, with the one closest to Cherokee listed first.
    • Acampo
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Victor
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Lodi
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Lodi is located in San Joaquin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lodi
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 68,186 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lodi <1>
    • North Woodbridge
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • North Woodbridge is located in San Joaquin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Woodbridge
    • South Woodbridge
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • South Woodbridge is located in San Joaquin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Woodbridge
    • Woodbridge
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Lockeford
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Henderson Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Henderson Village is located in San Joaquin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henderson Village
    • Clements
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Morada
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Morada is located in San Joaquin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morada
    • Taison
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Taison is located in San Joaquin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taison
    • Thornton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Lincoln Village
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Lincoln Village is located in San Joaquin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln Village
  • Amador County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cherokee, with the one closest to Cherokee listed first.
    • Camanche Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Camanche Village is located in Amador County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camanche Village
    • Carbondale ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Carbondale is located in Amador County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbondale
    • Ione
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Ione is located in Amador County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ione
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,326 people
      • Former names for Ione:
      • Bedbug
      • Freeze Out
      • Hardscrabble
      • Ione City
      • Ione Valley
      • Jone City
      • Jone Valley
      • Rickeyville
      • Woosterville
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ione <1>
    • May ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • May is located in Amador County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for May
    • Amador City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Drytown
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Jackson
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Martell
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Sutter Creek
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Plymouth
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Calaveras County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cherokee, with the one closest to Cherokee listed first.
    • Wallace
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Oregon Bar ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Oregon Bar is located in Calaveras County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oregon Bar
    • Burson
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Jenny Lind
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Jenny Lind is located in Calaveras County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jenny Lind
    • Campo Seco
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Rancho Calaveras
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Rancho Calaveras is located in Calaveras County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rancho Calaveras
    • Milton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Milton is located in Calaveras County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milton
    • Valley Springs
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Petersburg ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Petersburg is located in Calaveras County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersburg
      • Petersburg has also been known as:
      • Greasertown
    • Lost City ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Lost City is located in Calaveras County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lost City
    • Big Bar
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Big Bar is located in Calaveras County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Bar
    • Carmen City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Carmen City is located in Calaveras County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carmen City
    • Mokelumne Hill
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Contra Costa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cherokee, with the one closest to Cherokee listed first.
    • Bethel Island
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Bixler
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Bixler is located in Contra Costa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bixler
    • Discovery Bay
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Knightsen
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Oakley
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Oakley is located in Contra Costa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 42,710 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oakley <1>
    • Brentwood
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Byron
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Sacramento County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cherokee, with the one closest to Cherokee listed first.
    • Galt
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Galt is located in Sacramento County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galt
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 26,551 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Galt <1>
    • Herald
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Arno ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Arno is located in Sacramento County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arno
    • McConnel
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • McConnel is located in Sacramento County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McConnel
    • Locke
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Locke is located in Sacramento County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locke
    • Walnut Grove
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Wilton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Elk Grove
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Franklin
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Franklin is located in Sacramento County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
    • Vorden
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Vorden is located in Sacramento County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vorden
    • Ryde
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Isleton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Hood
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Solano County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cherokee, with the one closest to Cherokee listed first.
    • Oxford
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Oxford is located in Solano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxford
    • Rio Vista
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
  • Yolo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cherokee, with the one closest to Cherokee listed first.
    • Clarksburg
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Greendale
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Greendale is located in Yolo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greendale

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

Cemeteries Near Cherokee ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Cherokee.

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

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

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

  • Lodi Memorial Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Islamic Cemetery of California
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Islamic Cemetery of California
    • The Islamic Cemetery of California has also been known as:
    • California Islamic Cemetery
  • Cherokee Memorial Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Harmony Grove Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Locke Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Liberty Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Galt - Arno Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Elliott Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Clements Glen View Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Stockton Rural Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stockton Rural Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Stockton Rural Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Stockton.
    • The Stockton Rural Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Rural Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #8382 <2>
  • Hicksville Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • San Joaquin Catholic Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (57 more) ...
    • Hebrew Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Temple Israel Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Collegeville Cemetery
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)

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 Cherokee in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Cherokee.

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

  • Pope
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Pope is located in San Joaquin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pope
  • Lodi
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Lodi is located in San Joaquin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lodi
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 68,186 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lodi <1>
  • Acampo
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Woodbridge
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Lockeford
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Elliott ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Elliott is located in San Joaquin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliott
  • Galt
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Galt is located in Sacramento County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galt
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 26,551 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Galt <1>
  • Clements
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Taison
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Taison is located in San Joaquin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taison
  • New Hope
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • New Hope is located in San Joaquin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hope
  • Charleston ‑ Historic
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Charleston is located in San Joaquin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charleston
  • Linden
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Cicero ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Cicero is located in Sacramento County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cicero
    • Walthal
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Walthal is located in San Joaquin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walthal
    • Arno ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Arno is located in Sacramento County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arno

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

Newspapers Published in Cherokee ...

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 120 newspapers that have been published in the area around Cherokee.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Cherokee, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Cherokee.

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 Cherokee:

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 Cherokee, 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- Cherokee) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.