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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 Fergus (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 Fergus. 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 hospitals and 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.

Fergus is located in Merced 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 Merced County: Fresno, Madera, Mariposa, San Benito, Santa Clara & Stanislaus.

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

  • Merced County     (The home county of Fergus)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fergus, with the one closest to Fergus listed first.
    • Merced
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Fluhr
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Fluhr is located in Merced County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fluhr
    • Atwater
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • The Grove
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • The Grove is located in Merced County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Grove
    • Winton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Amsterdam
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Amsterdam is located in Merced County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amsterdam
    • Tuttle
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Tuttle is located in Merced County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuttle
    • Arundel ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Arundel is located in Merced County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arundel
    • Cressey
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Livingston
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Ballico
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Athlone
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Athlone is located in Merced County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athlone
  • Fresno County
    • Oro Loma ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Oro Loma is located in Fresno County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oro Loma
  • Madera County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fergus, with the one closest to Fergus listed first.
    • Chowchilla
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Lincoln ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Lincoln is located in Madera County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln
    • Berenda
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Berenda is located in Madera County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berenda
  • Mariposa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fergus, with the one closest to Fergus listed first.
    • Hornitos
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Catheys Valley
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Bear Valley
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Bear Valley is located in Mariposa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Valley
    • Bagby ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Bagby is located in Mariposa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bagby
    • Mount Bullion
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Mount Bullion is located in Mariposa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Bullion
  • Stanislaus County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fergus, with the one closest to Fergus listed first.
    • Denair
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Turlock
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Turlock is located in Stanislaus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turlock
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 73,059 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Turlock <1>
    • Hickman
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • La Grange
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Waterford
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Hughson
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Keyes
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Newman
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Newman is located in Stanislaus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newman
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,702 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Newman <1>
    • Ceres
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Ceres is located in Stanislaus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceres
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 48,603 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ceres <1>
    • Empire
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Crows Landing
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)

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

Cemeteries Near Fergus ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Fergus.

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 Fergus - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Calvary Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvary Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Calvary Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Merced.
    • The Calvary Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Calvary Catholic Cemetery
    • Calvary Merced Cemetery District
    • Be careful not to confuse this cemetery with another one that is also named Calvary Cemetery (located 56 miles to the north).
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #7873 <2>
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Winton Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winton Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Winton Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southwest of Winton.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #8453 <2>
  • Hopeton Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Helm - Turner Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Ivett Ranch Family Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Snelling Pioneer Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
  • Gwin Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
  • Pate Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
  • South Hilmar Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
  • Santa Cruz Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
  • North Hilmar Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Chowchilla Cemetery
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chowchilla Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Chowchilla Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<3> to the southwest of Chowchilla.
      • The Chowchilla Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Chowchilla District Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #7906 <2>
    • Denair Cemetery
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Turlock Memorial Park
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)

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.<4>

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

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

  • Merced
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Atwater
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Arena
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Arena is located in Merced County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arena
  • Hopeton
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Hopeton is located in Merced County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopeton
  • Livingston
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Athlone
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Athlone is located in Merced County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athlone
  • Plainsburg
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Plainsburg is located in Merced County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainsburg
  • Snelling
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Delhi
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Montpelier
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Montpelier is located in Stanislaus County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montpelier
  • Merced Falls
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Merced Falls is located in Merced County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merced Falls
  • Hornitos
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Turlock
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Turlock is located in Stanislaus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turlock
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 73,059 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Turlock <1>
    • Dos Palos
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Hickman
      (23 miles [37 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 Fergus. See our List of 1890's Communities around Fergus.

Newspapers Published in Fergus ...

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 71 newspapers that have been published in the area around Fergus.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Fergus, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Fergus.

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 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 Fergus:

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Fergus) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<4>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 Fergus, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.