RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of California >> Colusa County >> Devils Elbow >> Genealogy HelperIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
California

The Commemorative Quarter for California





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 Devils Elbow (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 Devils Elbow. 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 Devils Elbow ...

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.

While the name of this community is Devils Elbow, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Devils Elbow may originally have been Devil's Elbow.

Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Devils Elbow might be written as Devil Elbow.

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.

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 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 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.

Devils Elbow is located in Colusa 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 Colusa County: Butte, Glenn, Lake, Sutter & Yolo.

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

  • Colusa County     (The home county of Devils Elbow)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Devils Elbow, with the one closest to Devils Elbow listed first.
    • Lodoga
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lodoga
      • Lodoga is located in Colusa County
    • Sites
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sites
      • Sites is located in Colusa County
    • Stonyford
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Leesville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leesville
      • Leesville is located in Colusa County
    • Maxwell
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Williams
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Wilbur Springs
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Colusa Rancheria
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colusa Rancheria
      • Colusa Rancheria is located in Colusa County
    • Princeton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Colusa
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Genevra
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Genevra have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Genevra
      • Genevra is located in Colusa County
    • Arbuckle
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Glenn County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Devils Elbow, with the one closest to Devils Elbow listed first.
    • Willows
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Elk Creek
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Artois
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Dogtown
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dogtown have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dogtown
      • Dogtown is located in Glenn County
    • Butte City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Afton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Afton
      • Afton is located in Glenn County
    • Glenn
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Orland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Lake County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Devils Elbow, with the one closest to Devils Elbow listed first.
    • Pole Garden ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pole Garden
      • Pole Garden is located in Lake County
    • Hough Springs
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hough Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hough Springs
      • Hough Springs is located in Lake County
    • Bartlett Springs
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bartlett Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bartlett Springs
      • Bartlett Springs is located in Lake County
    • Clearlake Oaks
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Lucerne
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Glenhaven
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Nice
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Clearlake Park
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Robinson Rancheria
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinson Rancheria
      • Robinson Rancheria is located in Lake County
    • Upper Lake
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Clearlake
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Soda Bay
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Sutter County

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

Newspapers Published in Devils Elbow ...

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 53 newspapers that have been published in the area around Devils Elbow.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Devils Elbow, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Devils Elbow.

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 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 Devils Elbow:

Cemeteries Near Devils Elbow ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Devils Elbow.

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

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

  • Pryor Grave
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pryor Grave have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pryor Grave
  • Cypress Hill Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Sites Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Stonyford Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Stonyford Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Stonyford Cemetery
  • Maxwell Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Maxwell Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Maxwell Cemetery
  • Nye Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Nye Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<5>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Nye Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2252800 <6>
  • Catholic Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Catholic Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Catholic Cemetery
  • Willows Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Willows Cemetery is located outside and to the east of Willows.
    • The Willows Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Glenn County Willows Cemetery
    • Willows Catholic Cemetery
    • Willows IOOF Cemetery
    • Willows IOOF Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Willows Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #7888 <6>
  • Elk Creek Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
  • Williams Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Princeton Cemetery
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
  • Grindstone Cemetery
    (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (19 more) ...
    • Germantown Cemetery
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Watson Grave
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Watson Grave have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Watson Grave
    • Marvin Chapel Cemetery
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)

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.<7>

While we didn't find Devils Elbow in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Devils Elbow.

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

  • Sites
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sites
    • Sites is located in Colusa County
  • Stonyford
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Leesville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leesville
    • Leesville is located in Colusa County
  • Lurline ‑ Historic
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lurline have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lurline
    • Lurline is located in Colusa County
  • Maxwell
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Norman
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Norman have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norman
    • Norman is located in Glenn County
  • Hough Springs
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hough Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hough Springs
    • Hough Springs is located in Lake County
  • Fruto
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fruto have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruto
    • Fruto is located in Glenn County
  • Willows
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Bartlett Springs
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bartlett Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bartlett Springs
    • Bartlett Springs is located in Lake County
  • Elk Creek
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
  • Williams
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (7 more) ...
    • Colusa
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Butte City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Afton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Afton
      • Afton is located in Glenn County

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

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

The official website for Colusa County: www.colusacountyclerk.com/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties).
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<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- Devils Elbow) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Devils Elbow. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.3456, Longitude: -122.4280       In this case, the coordinates for Devils Elbow have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>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.
<6>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.
<7>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 Devils Elbow, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

Copyright 2024
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024