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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 Coloma (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 Coloma. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.

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 north 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.

Coloma is located in El Dorado 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 El Dorado County: Alpine, Amador, Placer, Sacramento & Douglas (NV).

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

  • El Dorado County     (The home county of Coloma)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Coloma, with the one closest to Coloma listed first.
    • Lotus
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Garden Valley
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Fornis
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fornis
      • Fornis is located in El Dorado County
    • Greenwood
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Placerville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jayhawk
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jayhawk
      • Jayhawk is located in El Dorado County
    • Georgetown
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Pilot Hill
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • El Dorado
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Diamond Springs
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Skinners
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skinners
      • Skinners is located in El Dorado County
    • Cool
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Amador County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Coloma, with the one closest to Coloma listed first.
    • River Pines
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Fiddletown
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Plymouth
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Drytown
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Amador City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • May ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for May have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for May
      • May is located in Amador County
    • Carbondale ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carbondale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbondale
      • Carbondale is located in Amador County
    • Sutter Creek
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Volcano
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Pine Grove
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Ione
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ione
      • Ione is located in Amador County
      • 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>
    • Martell
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Nevada County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Coloma, with the one closest to Coloma listed first.
    • Lake of the Pines
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake of the Pines have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake of the Pines
      • Lake of the Pines is located in Nevada County
    • Chicago Park
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Alta Sierra
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alta Sierra have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alta Sierra
      • Alta Sierra is located in Nevada County
    • Cedar Ridge
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • You Bet ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for You Bet have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for You Bet
      • You Bet is located in Nevada County
    • Union Hill
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Hill
      • Union Hill is located in Nevada County
    • Grass Valley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • The Oaks
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Oaks
      • The Oaks is located in Nevada County
  • Placer County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Coloma, with the one closest to Coloma listed first.
    • Auburn
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Bowman
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Clipper Gap
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clipper Gap
      • Clipper Gap is located in Placer County
    • North Auburn
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Auburn have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Auburn
      • North Auburn is located in Placer County
    • Applegate
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Ophir
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ophir
      • Ophir is located in Placer County
    • Newcastle
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Foresthill
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Yankee Jims
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Yankee Jims have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yankee Jims
      • Yankee Jims is located in Placer County
    • Meadow Vista
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Granite Bay
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Penryn
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
  • Sacramento County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Coloma, with the one closest to Coloma listed first.
    • Mormon Island ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Mormon Island. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mormon Island
      • Mormon Island is located in Sacramento County
    • Folsom
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Folsom
      • Folsom is located in Sacramento County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 82,726 people
      • Folsom has also been known as:
      • Folsom City
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Folsom <1>
    • Represa
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Represa
      • Represa is located in Sacramento County
    • Prairie City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prairie City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie City
      • Prairie City is located in Sacramento County
    • Folsom Junction
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Folsom Junction
      • Folsom Junction is located in Sacramento County
    • Natoma
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Natoma have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Natoma
      • Natoma is located in Sacramento County
    • Orangevale
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Gold River
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Citrus Heights
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Fair Oaks
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Rancho Murieta
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Rancho Cordova
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Coloma ...

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 96 newspapers that have been published in the area around Coloma.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Coloma. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Coloma and those printed in the larger area surrounding Coloma.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 18 miles [29 km]<4> of Coloma.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to 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 Coloma:

Cemeteries Near Coloma ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Coloma.

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

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

  • James Marshall Gravesite
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the James Marshall Gravesite have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the James Marshall Gravesite
  • Catholic Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • 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.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Catholic Cemetery
  • Pioneer Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pioneer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pioneer Cemetery
  • Uniontown Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Uniontown Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Uniontown Cemetery
  • Westwood Hills Memorial Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Westwood Hills Memorial Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Westwood Hills Memorial Cemetery
  • Middletown Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Middletown Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Middletown Cemetery
  • Jayhawk Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Bennett Memorial Park
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bennett Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bennett Memorial Park
  • Placerville Union Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Catholic Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • 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.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Catholic Cemetery
  • Pilot Hill Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pilot Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pilot Hill Cemetery
  • Greenwood Pioneer Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (62 more) ...
    • Georgetown Pioneer Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Smith Flat Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Smith Flat Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Smith Flat Cemetery
    • Green Valley Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Coloma had a population of 212 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Lotus
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Kelsey
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kelsey have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelsey
    • Kelsey is located in El Dorado County
  • Garden Valley
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Placerville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Georgetown
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Pilot Hill
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • El Dorado
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Salmon Falls ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Salmon Falls have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salmon Falls
    • Salmon Falls is located in El Dorado County
  • Shingle Springs
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Cool
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Auburn
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Clarksville
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clarksville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarksville
    • Clarksville is located in El Dorado County
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Clipper Gap
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clipper Gap
      • Clipper Gap is located in Placer County
    • Pleasant Valley
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Valley
      • Pleasant Valley is located in El Dorado County
    • Ophir
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ophir
      • Ophir is located in Placer County

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

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

The official website for El Dorado County: www.co.el-dorado.ca.us/

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>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- Coloma) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Coloma. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.7999, Longitude: -120.8902    
<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 Coloma, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024