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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 The Crossings (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 The Crossings. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

The Crossings is located in Santa Clara 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 Santa Clara County: Alameda, Merced, San Benito, San Mateo, Santa Cruz & Stanislaus.

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

  • Santa Clara County     (The home county of The Crossings)
    • The following are listed by their distance from The Crossings, with the one closest to The Crossings listed first.
    • Castro City
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Castro City is located in Santa Clara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castro City
    • Los Altos
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Mountain View
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Escondido Village
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Escondido Village is located in Santa Clara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Escondido Village
    • Ventura
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Ventura is located in Santa Clara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ventura
    • Los Altos Hills
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Palo Alto
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Loyola
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Loyola is located in Santa Clara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loyola
    • Stanford
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Sunnyvale
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Alviso
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Cupertino
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Agnew
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Agnew is located in Santa Clara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agnew
  • Alameda County
    • The following are listed by their distance from The Crossings, with the one closest to The Crossings listed first.
    • Albrae ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Albrae is located in Alameda County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albrae
    • Drawbridge ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Drawbridge is located in Alameda County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drawbridge
      • Former name for Drawbridge:
      • Saline City
    • Larkins Landing ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Larkins Landing is located in Alameda County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larkins Landing
    • Newark
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Fremont
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Fremont is located in Alameda County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fremont
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 234,569 people
      • Former names for Fremont:
      • Centerville
      • Irvington
      • Mission San Jose
      • Niles
      • Warm Springs
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fremont <1>
    • Alvarado ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Alvarado is located in Alameda County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alvarado
    • Union City
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Union City is located in Alameda County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 74,501 people
      • Former name for Union City:
      • Decoto
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Union City <1>
    • Mount Eden
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Russell City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Russell City is located in Alameda County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell City
    • Sunol
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Cherryland
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Cherryland is located in Alameda County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherryland
    • Hayward
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Scotts Corner
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Scotts Corner is located in Alameda County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotts Corner
  • Contra Costa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from The Crossings, with the one closest to The Crossings listed first.
    • San Ramon
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Blackhawk - Camino Tassajara
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Danville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Danville is located in Contra Costa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 44,883 people
      • Former name for Danville:
      • Inmanville
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Danville <1>
    • Moraga
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Moraga is located in Contra Costa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moraga
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 16,967 people
      • Former name for Moraga:
      • Willow Springs
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moraga <1>
    • Alamo
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • Blackhawk
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Blackhawk is located in Contra Costa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackhawk
    • Diablo
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • Tassajara
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Tassajara is located in Contra Costa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tassajara
  • San Francisco County
    • The following are listed by their distance from The Crossings, with the one closest to The Crossings listed first.
    • Mission District
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Mission District is located in San Francisco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mission District
    • San Francisco
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Stonestown
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Stonestown is located in San Francisco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonestown
  • San Mateo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from The Crossings, with the one closest to The Crossings listed first.
    • East Palo Alto
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • The Willows
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • The Willows is located in San Mateo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Willows
    • Menlo Park
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Ladera
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Ladera is located in San Mateo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ladera
    • West Menlo Park
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Atherton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • North Fair Oaks
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • North Fair Oaks is located in San Mateo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Fair Oaks
    • Portola Valley
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Searsville ‑ Historic
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Searsville is located in San Mateo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Searsville
    • Redwood City
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Adobe Corner
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Adobe Corner is located in San Mateo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adobe Corner
    • Woodside
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Emerald Lake Hills
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Emerald Lake Hills is located in San Mateo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerald Lake Hills
  • Santa Cruz County
    • The following are listed by their distance from The Crossings, with the one closest to The Crossings listed first.
    • Alma ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Alma is located in Santa Cruz County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alma
    • Boulder Creek
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Summit
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Summit is located in Santa Cruz County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
      • Summit has also been known as:
      • Loma Prieta
    • Brookdale
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Ben Lomond
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Glenwood
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Glenwood is located in Santa Cruz County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood
    • Laurel
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Laurel is located in Santa Cruz County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel
    • Lompico
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Lompico is located in Santa Cruz County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lompico
    • Eccles ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Eccles is located in Santa Cruz County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eccles
    • Zayante
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Zayante is located in Santa Cruz County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zayante
    • The Willows
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • The Willows is located in Santa Cruz County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Willows
    • Felton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Mount Hermon
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)

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

Cemeteries Near The Crossings ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of The Crossings.

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 The Crossings - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Alta Mesa Memorial Park
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Gates of Heaven Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Oakwood Community Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood Community Cemetery
    • The Oakwood Community Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Convent Of The Sacred Heart Cemetery
  • Holy Cross Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Union Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Mission City Memorial Park
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Santa Clara Mission Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Holy Ghost Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Madronia Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Cedar Lawn Memorial Park
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Lawn Memorial Park
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Cedar Lawn Memorial Park is a large cemetery that is located in Fremont.
    • The Cedar Lawn Memorial Park has also been known as:
    • Cedar Lawn Memorial Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #7892 <2>
  • Irvington Memorial Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Presbyterian Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (63 more) ...
    • St. Josephs Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Ohlone Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Ohlones Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)

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

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

  • Mountain View
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Mayfield
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Mayfield is located in Santa Clara County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayfield
  • Palo Alto
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Menlo Park
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Lawrence
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Lawrence is located in Santa Clara County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawrence
  • Fair Oaks
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Fair Oaks is located in San Mateo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fair Oaks
  • Alviso
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Searsville ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Searsville is located in San Mateo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Searsville
  • Santa Clara
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Agnew
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Agnew is located in Santa Clara County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agnew
  • Redwood City
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Woodside
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Newark
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Saratoga
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • San Carlos
      (10 miles [16.1 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 The Crossings. See our List of 1890's Communities around The Crossings.

Newspapers Published in The Crossings ...

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 121 newspapers that have been published in the area around The Crossings.

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

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 The Crossings:

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 The Crossings, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- The Crossings) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.