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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 doctors and hospitals 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 Tuolumne 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 Tuolumne County: Alpine, Calaveras, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Mono & 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:

  • Tuolumne County     (The home county of Cherokee)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cherokee, with the one closest to Cherokee listed first.
    • Tuolumne Rancheria
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuolumne Rancheria
      • Tuolumne Rancheria is located in Tuolumne County
    • Soulsbyville
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Mono Vista
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mono Vista
      • Mono Vista is located in Tuolumne County
    • Tuolumne City
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tuolumne City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuolumne City
      • Tuolumne City is located in Tuolumne County
    • Tuolumne
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Cedar Rock Lodge
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Rock Lodge
      • Cedar Rock Lodge is located in Tuolumne County
    • Peaceful Valley
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaceful Valley
      • Peaceful Valley is located in Tuolumne County
    • Standard
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Twain Harte
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Mono Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mono Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mono Village
      • Mono Village is located in Tuolumne County
    • Cedar Ridge
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Ridge
      • Cedar Ridge is located in Tuolumne County
    • Phoenix Lake - Cedar Ridge
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Phoenix Lake - Cedar Ridge. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phoenix Lake - Cedar Ridge
      • Phoenix Lake - Cedar Ridge is located in Tuolumne County
  • Calaveras County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cherokee, with the one closest to Cherokee listed first.
    • Melones ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Melones. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melones
      • Melones is located in Calaveras County
    • Douglas Flat
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Vallecito
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Cedar Vista
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Vista
      • Cedar Vista is located in Calaveras County
    • Forest Meadows
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Forest Meadows have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Meadows
      • Forest Meadows is located in Calaveras County
    • Hathaway Pines
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Murphys
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Avery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Angels Camp
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Angels City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Angels City came from an uncertain source and they still need to be verified:<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angels City
      • Angels City is located in Calaveras County
    • Angels
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Angels have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angels
      • Angels is located in Calaveras County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,963 people
    • Altaville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
  • Mariposa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cherokee, with the one closest to Cherokee listed first.
    • Coulterville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Dogtown
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Dogtown. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dogtown
      • Dogtown is located in Mariposa County
    • Bagby ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bagby. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bagby
      • Bagby is located in Mariposa County
    • Bear Valley
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Valley
      • Bear Valley is located in Mariposa County
  • Stanislaus County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cherokee, with the one closest to Cherokee listed first.
    • La Grange
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Knights Ferry
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)

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.

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 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.

  • Cherokee Memorial Park
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Carter's Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Carter's Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Carter's Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the north of Tuolumne.
    • The Carter's Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Tuolumne City Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1103592 <5>
  • Tuolumne Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Tuolumne Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Tuolumne Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Catholic Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Catholic Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Catholic Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mountain Shadow Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Jewish Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Jewish Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Jewish Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sonora Hebrew Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sonora Hebrew Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Sonora Hebrew Cemetery is located in Sonora.
    • The Sonora Hebrew Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Pioneer Jewish Cemetery
  • Sonora City Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sonora City Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sonora City Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Masonic Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • 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.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • IOOF Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the IOOF Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the IOOF Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Shaws Flat Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Shaws Flat Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Shaws Flat Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jamestown Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Jamestown Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Jamestown Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (22 more) ...
    • Stent Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Stent Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Stent Cemetery is located in the vicinity of Stent
      • The Stent Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Poverty Hill Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2229117 <5>
    • Public Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Public Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Public Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Catholic Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Catholic Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Catholic Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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.<6>

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.

  • Soulsbyville
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Tuolumne
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Sonora
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Jamestown
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Groveland
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Columbia
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Big Oak Flat
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Tuttletown
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuttletown
    • Tuttletown is located in Tuolumne County
  • Chinese Camp
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Douglas Flat
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Murphys
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Avery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Angels Camp
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Coulterville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Sheep Ranch
      (19 miles [30.6 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 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 46 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 18 miles [29 km]<7>. 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 first turn to 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 Cherokee:

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

The official website for Tuolumne County: www.tuolumnecounty.ca.gov

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

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 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.
<3>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.
<4>If we found a location and have questions about the accuracy of our information, we will simply say that the marker is 'in the vicinity'. We are not confident about the location and the position of our marker is only a rough guide. If we have too many doubts about the location, we will not include it in our database.
<5>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.
<6>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.
<7>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Cherokee) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Cherokee. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.9816, Longitude: -120.2477       In this case, the coordinates for Cherokee have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025