RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of California >> San Francisco County >> Forest Hill >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Forest Hill (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 Forest Hill. 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 northeast 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 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 east 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.

Forest Hill is located in San Francisco County.

To see how the shape of California's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

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

  • San Francisco County     (The home county of Forest Hill)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forest Hill, with the one closest to Forest Hill listed first.
    • Golden Gate Heights
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Golden Gate Heights is located in San Francisco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golden Gate Heights
    • Doelger City
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Doelger City is located in San Francisco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doelger City
    • Stonestown
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Stonestown is located in San Francisco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonestown
    • Mission District
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Mission District is located in San Francisco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mission District
    • Amanico Ergina Village
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Amanico Ergina Village is located in San Francisco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amanico Ergina Village
    • Friendship Village
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Friendship Village is located in San Francisco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship Village
    • San Francisco
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Chinatown
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Chinatown is located in San Francisco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chinatown
    • Sydney Town ‑ Historic
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Sydney Town is located in San Francisco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sydney Town
  • Alameda County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forest Hill, with the one closest to Forest Hill listed first.
    • Campbell Village
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Campbell Village is located in Alameda County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell Village
    • West Oakland
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • West Oakland is located in Alameda County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Oakland
    • Oakland
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Emeryville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Alameda
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Brooklyn ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Brooklyn is located in Alameda County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklyn
      • Former names for Brooklyn:
      • Antonio
      • Clinton
    • South Berkeley
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • South Berkeley is located in Alameda County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Berkeley
      • Former name for South Berkeley:
      • Lorin
    • University Village
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • University Village is located in Alameda County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University Village
    • East Oakland ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • East Oakland is located in Alameda County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Oakland
    • Fruitvale
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Fruitvale is located in Alameda County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruitvale
      • Former names for Fruitvale:
      • Brays
      • Fruit Vale
    • Albany
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Berkeley
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Contra Costa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forest Hill, with the one closest to Forest Hill listed first.
    • Point Richmond
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Atchison Village
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Atchison Village is located in Contra Costa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atchison Village
    • Easter Hill Village
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Easter Hill Village is located in Contra Costa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easter Hill Village
    • Nystrom Village
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Nystrom Village is located in Contra Costa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nystrom Village
    • El Cerrito
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Kensington
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Richmond
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • 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 <1>
    • East Richmond Heights
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • East Richmond Heights is located in Contra Costa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Richmond Heights
    • Rollingwood
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Rollingwood is located in Contra Costa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rollingwood
    • San Pablo
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Orinda Village
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Orinda Village is located in Contra Costa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orinda Village
    • Orinda
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Orinda is located in Contra Costa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orinda
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 19,557 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Orinda <1>
  • Marin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forest Hill, with the one closest to Forest Hill listed first.
    • Sausalito
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Belvedere
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Fort McDowell
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Fort McDowell is located in Marin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort McDowell
    • Marin City
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Marin City is located in Marin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marin City
    • Tiburon
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Manzanita
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Manzanita is located in Marin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manzanita
    • Bel Aire
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Bel Aire is located in Marin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bel Aire
    • Strawberry
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Strawberry is located in Marin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strawberry
    • Muir Beach
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Tamalpais - Homestead Valley
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Paradise Cay
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Paradise Cay is located in Marin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise Cay
    • Mill Valley
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • San Mateo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forest Hill, with the one closest to Forest Hill listed first.
    • Westlake
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Westlake is located in San Mateo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westlake
    • Broadmoor Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Broadmoor Village is located in San Mateo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broadmoor Village
    • Broadmoor
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Broadmoor is located in San Mateo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broadmoor
    • Colma
      (4 miles [6.4 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 <1>
    • Daly City
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Brisbane
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • South San Francisco
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Fairway Park
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Fairway Park is located in San Mateo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairway Park
    • Pacifica
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • San Bruno
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Millbrae
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Hillsborough
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Santa Clara County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forest Hill, with the one closest to Forest Hill listed first.
    • Escondido Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Escondido Village is located in Santa Clara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Escondido Village
    • Palo Alto
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Stanford
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Ventura
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Ventura is located in Santa Clara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ventura
    • Castro City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Castro City is located in Santa Clara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castro City
    • Los Altos Hills
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Solano County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forest Hill, with the one closest to Forest Hill listed first.
    • Mare Island ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Mare Island is located in Solano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mare Island
    • Guadalcanal Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Guadalcanal Village is located in Solano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guadalcanal Village
    • Benicia
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Vallejo
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Sonoma County
    • Sears Point
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Sears Point is located in Sonoma County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sears Point

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

Cemeteries Near Forest Hill ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Forest Hill.

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 Forest Hill - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • San Francisco National Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • 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 <2>
  • Yerba Buena Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Woodlawn Memorial Park
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Greenlawn Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Italian Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Japanese Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Salem Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Home of Peace Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Hills of Eternity Memorial Park
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Olivet Memorial Park
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Serbian Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Serbian Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Serbian Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Colma.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #8362 <2>
  • Golden Hill Memorial Park
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (62 more) ...
    • Hoy Sun Memorial Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Chinese Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Russian Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)

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.<3>

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

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

  • San Francisco
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Baden
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Baden is located in San Mateo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baden
  • Sausalito
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • San Bruno
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Tiburon
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Manzanita
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Manzanita is located in Marin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manzanita
  • Hilarita
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Hilarita is located in Marin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilarita
  • West Oakland
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • West Oakland is located in Alameda County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Oakland
  • Alto
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Alto is located in Marin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alto
  • Millbrae
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Mill Valley
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Oakland
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Emeryville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Corte Madera
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Alameda
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)

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

Newspapers Published in Forest Hill ...

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 37 newspapers that have been published in the area around Forest Hill.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Forest Hill, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Forest Hill.

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 Forest Hill:

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>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 Forest Hill, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 drawn from Point A (ie- Forest Hill) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.