RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of California >> Marin County >> Forbes >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

So far, we found very little information about Forbes. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>

We've added Forbes to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Forbes, please Contact Us.


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 Forbes (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 Forbes. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Although our information shows that the community of Forbes is historic, it would have been located within present day Marin 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 Marin County: Contra Costa, San Francisco & Sonoma.

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

  • Marin County     (The home county of Forbes)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forbes, with the one closest to Forbes listed first.
    • Santa Venetia
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Santa Venetia is located in Marin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santa Venetia
    • Cerro
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Cerro is located in Marin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cerro
    • Terra Linda
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Terra Linda is located in Marin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terra Linda
    • Ross
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Ross is located in Marin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ross
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,479 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ross <2>
    • San Rafael
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • San Anselmo
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Fairfax
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Greenbrae
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Kentfield
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Ignacio
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Ignacio is located in Marin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ignacio
    • Rafael Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Rafael Village is located in Marin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rafael Village
    • Larkspur
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Corte Madera
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Alameda County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forbes, with the one closest to Forbes listed first.
    • Albany
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • University Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • University Village is located in Alameda County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University Village
    • Berkeley
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Emeryville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Normandy Village
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Normandy Village is located in Alameda County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Normandy Village
    • Rochedale Village
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Rochedale Village is located in Alameda County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochedale Village
    • South Berkeley
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • South Berkeley is located in Alameda County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Berkeley
      • Former name for South Berkeley:
      • Lorin
    • Campbell Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Campbell Village is located in Alameda County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell Village
    • West Oakland
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • West Oakland is located in Alameda County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Oakland
    • Oakland
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Piedmont
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Brooklyn ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Brooklyn is located in Alameda County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklyn
      • Former names for Brooklyn:
      • Antonio
      • Clinton
    • Montclair
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Montclair is located in Alameda County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montclair
  • Contra Costa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forbes, with the one closest to Forbes listed first.
    • Point Richmond
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • San Pablo
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Sobrante
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Sobrante is located in Contra Costa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sobrante
    • Atchison Village
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Atchison Village is located in Contra Costa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atchison Village
    • Bayview
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Bayview is located in Contra Costa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayview
    • Richmond
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Richmond is located in Contra Costa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmond
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 110,038 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Richmond <2>
    • Rollingwood
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Rollingwood is located in Contra Costa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rollingwood
    • Easter Hill Village
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Easter Hill Village is located in Contra Costa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easter Hill Village
    • Nystrom Village
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Nystrom Village is located in Contra Costa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nystrom Village
    • East Richmond Heights
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • East Richmond Heights is located in Contra Costa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Richmond Heights
    • Gateley
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Gateley is located in Contra Costa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gateley
    • Pinole
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Pinole is located in Contra Costa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinole
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 19,207 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pinole <2>
    • Tara Hills
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Tara Hills is located in Contra Costa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tara Hills
  • Napa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forbes, with the one closest to Forbes listed first.
    • Merazo
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Merazo is located in Napa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merazo
    • American Canyon
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Lombard
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Lombard is located in Napa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lombard
    • Middleton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Middleton is located in Napa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middleton
    • Suscol ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Suscol is located in Napa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suscol
      • Suscol has also been known as:
      • Soscol
      • Susqual
    • Napa
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Napa is located in Napa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Napa
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 77,032 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Napa <2>
    • Union
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Union is located in Napa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
    • Yountville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Oakville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • San Francisco County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forbes, with the one closest to Forbes listed first.
    • Chinatown
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Chinatown is located in San Francisco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chinatown
    • Sydney Town ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Sydney Town is located in San Francisco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sydney Town
    • Amanico Ergina Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Amanico Ergina Village is located in San Francisco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amanico Ergina Village
    • Friendship Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Friendship Village is located in San Francisco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship Village
    • Doelger City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Doelger City is located in San Francisco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doelger City
    • Golden Gate Heights
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Golden Gate Heights is located in San Francisco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golden Gate Heights
    • Mission District
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Mission District is located in San Francisco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mission District
    • San Francisco
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Stonestown
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • 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 Forbes, with the one closest to Forbes listed first.
    • Broadmoor Village
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Broadmoor Village is located in San Mateo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broadmoor Village
    • Broadmoor
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Broadmoor is located in San Mateo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broadmoor
    • Daly City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Westlake
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Westlake is located in San Mateo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westlake
    • Colma
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Colma is located in San Mateo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colma
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,689 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Colma <2>
    • Brisbane
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • South San Francisco
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Fairway Park
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Fairway Park is located in San Mateo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairway Park
    • Pacifica
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • San Bruno
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Millbrae
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Burlingame
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Hillsborough
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Solano County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forbes, with the one closest to Forbes listed first.
    • Guadalcanal Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Guadalcanal Village is located in Solano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guadalcanal Village
    • Mare Island ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Mare Island is located in Solano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mare Island
    • Vallejo
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Benicia
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Green Valley
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Mankas Corner
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Mankas Corner is located in Solano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mankas Corner
  • Sonoma County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forbes, with the one closest to Forbes listed first.
    • Sears Point
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Sears Point is located in Sonoma County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sears Point
    • Lakeville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Lakeville is located in Sonoma County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeville
    • McGill
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • McGill is located in Sonoma County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGill
    • Wingo ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Wingo is located in Sonoma County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wingo
    • Petaluma
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Temelec
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Temelec is located in Sonoma County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Temelec
    • Vineburg
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • El Verano
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Ely ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Ely is located in Sonoma County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ely
    • Sonoma
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Boyes Hot Springs
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Penngrove
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Fetters Hot Springs - Agua Caliente
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)

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

Cemeteries Near Forbes ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Forbes.

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

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

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

  • Mt. Olivet Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Mt. Tamalpais Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Mission San Rafael Arcangel Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Fernwood Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Valley Memorial Park
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Taylors Grave Site
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery
    • The St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Holy Angels / St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery
    • Holy Angels Cemetery
    • St. Joseph Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #8327 <3>
  • Rolling Hills Memorial Park
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Olema Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • San Francisco National Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Francisco National Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the San Francisco National Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in San Francisco.
    • The San Francisco National Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Post Cemetery
    • Presidio Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #8344 <3>
  • Sunset View Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Yerba Buena Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (75 more) ...
    • Water Front Memorial Park
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Hillside Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Old Hillside Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 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.

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

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

  • Fairfax
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • San Anselmo
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Ross
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Ross is located in Marin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ross
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,479 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ross <2>
  • San Rafael
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Greenbrae
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Ignacio
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Ignacio is located in Marin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ignacio
  • Larkspur
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Corte Madera
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • San Quentin
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Mill Valley
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Alto
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Alto is located in Marin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alto
  • Novato
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Black Point
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Black Point is located in Marin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Point
    • San Geronimo
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Manzanita
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Manzanita is located in Marin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manzanita

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

Newspapers Published in Forbes ...

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 45 newspapers that have been published in the area around Forbes.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Forbes, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Forbes.

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 Forbes:

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Forbes, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 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.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Forbes) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.