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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 Davis (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 Davis. 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.

Name Variations for Davis ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

Davis was originally named Davisville

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

A Few Details for Davis ...

While it's still very early in our research, we found that:

  • It was incorporated on March 28, 1917.

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.

Davis is located in Yolo 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 Yolo County: Colusa, Lake, Napa, Sacramento, Solano & Sutter.

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

  • Yolo County     (The home county of Davis)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Davis, with the one closest to Davis listed first.
    • El Macero
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Swingle
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Swingle have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swingle
      • Swingle is located in Yolo County
    • Plainfield
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plainfield have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainfield
      • Plainfield is located in Yolo County
    • Woodland
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Bryte
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • West Sacramento
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Broderick
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Winters
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Yolo
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Clarksburg
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Greendale
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greendale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greendale
      • Greendale is located in Yolo County
    • Madison
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Knights Landing
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
  • Napa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Davis, with the one closest to Davis listed first.
    • Redbud Park ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Redbud Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redbud Park
      • Redbud Park is located in Napa County
    • Monticello ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Monticello have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monticello
      • Monticello is located in Napa County
    • Las Putas ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Las Putas have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Las Putas
      • Las Putas is located in Napa County
    • Spanish Flat
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
  • Placer County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Davis, with the one closest to Davis listed first.
    • Riego
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Riego have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riego
      • Riego is located in Placer County
    • Roseville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Whitney ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitney
      • Whitney is located in Placer County
  • Sacramento County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Davis, with the one closest to Davis listed first.
    • Sutterville ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sutterville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sutterville
      • Sutterville is located in Sacramento County
    • Sacramento
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Freeport
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeport
      • Freeport is located in Sacramento County
    • Parkway - South Sacramento
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Parkway - South Sacramento. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkway - South Sacramento
      • Parkway - South Sacramento is located in Sacramento County
    • Ben Ali
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ben Ali
      • Ben Ali is located in Sacramento County
    • Courtland
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Hood
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Laguna West - Lakeside
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Florin
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florin
      • Florin is located in Sacramento County
    • Town and Country Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Town and Country Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Town and Country Village
      • Town and Country Village is located in Sacramento County
    • Rio Linda
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Arden
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arden have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arden
      • Arden is located in Sacramento County
    • Elverta
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
  • San Joaquin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Davis, with the one closest to Davis listed first.
    • Mokelumne City ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mokelumne City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mokelumne City
      • Mokelumne City is located in San Joaquin County
    • Thornton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Taison
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Taison have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taison
      • Taison is located in San Joaquin County
  • Solano County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Davis, with the one closest to Davis listed first.
    • Dixon
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixon
      • Dixon is located in Solano County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 20,440 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dixon <1>
    • Allendale
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allendale
      • Allendale is located in Solano County
    • Hartley
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartley
      • Hartley is located in Solano County
    • Elmira
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Leisure Town
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Leisure Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leisure Town
      • Leisure Town is located in Solano County
    • Oxford
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oxford have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxford
      • Oxford is located in Solano County
    • Vacaville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Cannon ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cannon have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannon
      • Cannon is located in Solano County
    • Travis Field
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Travis Field have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Travis Field
      • Travis Field is located in Solano County
    • Denverton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Denverton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denverton
      • Denverton is located in Solano County
    • Solano City ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Solano City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Solano City
      • Solano City is located in Solano County
    • Fairfield
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Mankas Corner
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mankas Corner
      • Mankas Corner is located in Solano County
  • Sutter County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Davis, with the one closest to Davis listed first.
    • Robbins
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Pleasant Grove
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Nicolas
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Nicolaus
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Marcuse ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marcuse have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcuse
      • Marcuse is located in Sutter County
    • Rio Oso
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Davis ...

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 184 newspapers that have been published in the area around Davis.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

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

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 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 Davis:

Cemeteries Near Davis ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Davis.

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

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

  • Davis Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Davis Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Davis Cemetery
  • Tremont Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Tremont Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Tremont Cemetery
  • Silveyville Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Silveyville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Silveyville Cemetery
  • Woodland City Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Sacramento Valley National Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Monument Hill Memorial Park
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Masonic Lawn Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Odd Fellows Lawn Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Odd Fellows Lawn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Odd Fellows Lawn Cemetery
  • City Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the City Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the City Cemetery
  • Sacramento City Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Sacramento City Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Sacramento.
    • The Sacramento City Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Sacramento Historic City Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sacramento City Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #184890 <5>
  • St. Josephs Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Winters Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Winters Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Winters Cemetery
  • Continue List   (36 more) ...
    • St. Rose Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Rose Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Rose Cemetery
    • Cottonwood Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cottonwood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cottonwood Cemetery
    • Marys Cemetery
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Marys Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Marys Cemetery

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 in 1895, Davis had railroad service and no post office. In 2020, Davis had a population of 68,805 people.

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

  • Swingle
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Swingle have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swingle
    • Swingle is located in Yolo County
  • Merritt
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Merritt have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merritt
    • Merritt is located in Yolo County
  • Webster
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Webster have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
    • Webster is located in Yolo County
  • Plainfield
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plainfield have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainfield
    • Plainfield is located in Yolo County
  • Mullen ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mullen have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mullen
    • Mullen is located in Yolo County
  • Dixon
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixon
    • Dixon is located in Solano County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 20,440 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dixon <1>
  • Woodland
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Batavia
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Batavia have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Batavia
    • Batavia is located in Solano County
  • Allendale
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allendale
    • Allendale is located in Solano County
  • Winters
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Yolo
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Sacramento
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Citrona
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Citrona have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Citrona
      • Citrona is located in Yolo County
    • Binghamton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Binghamton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Binghamton
      • Binghamton is located in Solano County
    • Freeport
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeport
      • Freeport is located in Sacramento County

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

The official website for Davis: www.cityofdavis.org/

The official website for Yolo County: www.yolocounty.org/

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 'straight-line' (or 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- Davis) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Davis. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.5449, Longitude: -121.7393    
<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 Davis, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024