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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 Forebay (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 Forebay. 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 doctors and hospitals 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.

Forebay is located in Placer 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 Placer County: El Dorado, Nevada, Sacramento, Sutter, Yuba, Carson City (NV), Douglas (NV) & Washoe (NV).

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

  • Placer County     (The home county of Forebay)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forebay, with the one closest to Forebay listed first.
    • Casa Loma
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Casa Loma is located in Placer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casa Loma
    • Alta
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Emigrant Gap
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Dutch Flat
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Gold Run
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Secret Town
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Secret Town is located in Placer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Secret Town
    • Last Chance ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Last Chance is located in Placer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Last Chance
    • Iowa Hill
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Big Bend
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Big Bend is located in Placer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Bend
    • Michigan Bluff
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Michigan Bluff is located in Placer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Michigan Bluff
    • Greekstore
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Greekstore is located in Placer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greekstore
    • Chicago Park ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Chicago Park is located in Placer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chicago Park
    • Colfax
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Butte County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forebay, with the one closest to Forebay listed first.
    • Clipper Mills
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Oroleve
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Oroleve is located in Butte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oroleve
  • El Dorado County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forebay, with the one closest to Forebay listed first.
    • Quintette
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Quintette is located in El Dorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quintette
    • Georgetown
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Fornis
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Fornis is located in El Dorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fornis
    • Greenwood
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Garden Valley
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Cool
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Kelsey
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Kelsey is located in El Dorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelsey
  • Nevada County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forebay, with the one closest to Forebay listed first.
    • You Bet ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • You Bet is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for You Bet
    • Washington
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Scotts Flat
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Scotts Flat is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotts Flat
    • North Bloomfield ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • North Bloomfield is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Bloomfield
    • Lake City
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Lake City is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake City
    • Chicago Park
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Blue Tent
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Blue Tent is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Tent
    • Graniteville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Graniteville is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graniteville
    • Marsh Mill
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Marsh Mill is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marsh Mill
    • Baltimore Town
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Baltimore Town is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baltimore Town
    • Kres
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Kres is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kres
    • Cedar Ridge
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Gold Flat
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Gold Flat is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gold Flat
  • Shasta County
    • Bear Valley ‑ Historic
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Bear Valley is located in Shasta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Valley
  • Sierra County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forebay, with the one closest to Forebay listed first.
    • Alleghany
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Forest
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Forest is located in Sierra County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest
    • Downieville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Goodyears Bar
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Loganville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Loganville is located in Sierra County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loganville
    • Sierra City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Brandy City ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Brandy City is located in Sierra County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandy City
    • Sattley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Yuba County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forebay, with the one closest to Forebay listed first.
    • Camptonville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Garden Valley ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Garden Valley is located in Yuba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Valley
    • Bullards Bar ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Bullards Bar is located in Yuba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bullards Bar
    • Depot Hill ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Depot Hill is located in Yuba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Depot Hill
    • Foster Bar ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Foster Bar is located in Yuba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foster Bar
    • Dobbins
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Oregon House
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Strawberry Valley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Smartville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)

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

Cemeteries Near Forebay ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Forebay.

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

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

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

  • Dutch Flat Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutch Flat Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Dutch Flat Cemetery is located in the vicinity of Alta
  • Iowa Hill Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Pioneer Grove Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Deadwood Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Colfax Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Deer Creek Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Creek Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Deer Creek Cemetery is located outside and to the east of Nevada City.
    • The Deer Creek Cemetery has also been known as:
    • New Odd Fellows Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2400769 <3>
  • Forest View Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • Pine Grove Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • Colfax Indian Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Foresthill Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
  • Foresthill Community Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
  • Pioneer Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (32 more) ...

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

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

  • Blue Canyon
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Blue Canyon is located in Placer County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Canyon
  • Alta
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Towle
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Towle is located in Placer County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Towle
  • Dutch Flat
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Emigrant Gap
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Westville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Westville is located in Placer County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westville
  • Gold Run
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • You Bet ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • You Bet is located in Nevada County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for You Bet
  • Maybert ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Maybert is located in Nevada County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maybert
  • Washington
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Cisco
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Cisco is located in Placer County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cisco
  • North Bloomfield ‑ Historic
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • North Bloomfield is located in Nevada County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Bloomfield
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Buena Vista ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Buena Vista is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
    • Chicago Park
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Michigan Bluff
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Michigan Bluff is located in Placer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Michigan Bluff

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

Newspapers Published in Forebay ...

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 60 newspapers that have been published in the area around Forebay.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Forebay, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Forebay.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Forebay:

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