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 Fort McDowell (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 Fort McDowell. 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 Fort McDowell ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Fort McDowell: Ft. McDowell
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Fort McDowell. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Fort McDowell.
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 southwest 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 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.
Fort McDowell is located in 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 Fort McDowell. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Fort McDowell:
- Marin County (The home county of Fort McDowell)
- The following are listed by their distance from Fort McDowell, with the one closest to Fort McDowell listed first.
- Tiburon
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Belvedere
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Sausalito
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Paradise Cay
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Paradise Cay is located in Marin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise Cay
- Marin City
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Marin City is located in Marin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marin City
- Bel Aire
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Bel Aire is located in Marin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bel Aire
- Strawberry
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Strawberry is located in Marin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strawberry
- Manzanita
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Manzanita is located in Marin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manzanita
- Corte Madera
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- San Quentin
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Tamalpais - Homestead Valley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Larkspur
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Alameda County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fort McDowell, with the one closest to Fort McDowell listed first.
- University Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- University Village is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University Village
- Albany
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Berkeley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Emeryville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Campbell Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Campbell Village is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell Village
- Normandy Village
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Normandy Village is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Normandy Village
- Rochedale Village
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Rochedale Village is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochedale Village
- South Berkeley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- South Berkeley is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Berkeley
- Former name for South Berkeley:
- Lorin
- West Oakland
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- West Oakland is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Oakland
- Oakland
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Piedmont
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Brooklyn ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Brooklyn is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklyn
- Former names for Brooklyn:
- Antonio
- Clinton
- Contra Costa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fort McDowell, with the one closest to Fort McDowell listed first.
- Point Richmond
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Atchison Village
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Atchison Village is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atchison Village
- Easter Hill Village
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Easter Hill Village is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easter Hill Village
- Nystrom Village
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Nystrom Village is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nystrom Village
- Richmond
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- El Cerrito
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- East Richmond Heights
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- East Richmond Heights is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Richmond Heights
- Kensington
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Rollingwood
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Rollingwood is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rollingwood
- San Pablo
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Sobrante
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Sobrante is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sobrante
- El Sobrante
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Napa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fort McDowell, with the one closest to Fort McDowell listed first.
- American Canyon
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Lombard
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Lombard is located in Napa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lombard
- Merazo
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Merazo is located in Napa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merazo
- Middleton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Middleton is located in Napa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middleton
- Suscol ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Suscol is located in Napa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suscol
- Suscol has also been known as:
- Soscol
- Susqual
- Napa
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- San Francisco County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fort McDowell, with the one closest to Fort McDowell listed first.
- Chinatown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Chinatown is located in San Francisco County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chinatown
- Sydney Town ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Sydney Town is located in San Francisco County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sydney Town
- Amanico Ergina Village
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Amanico Ergina Village is located in San Francisco County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amanico Ergina Village
- Friendship Village
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Friendship Village is located in San Francisco County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship Village
- San Francisco
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Mission District
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Mission District is located in San Francisco County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mission District
- Golden Gate Heights
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Golden Gate Heights is located in San Francisco County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golden Gate Heights
- Doelger City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Doelger City is located in San Francisco County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doelger City
- Stonestown
(9 miles [14.5 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 Fort McDowell, with the one closest to Fort McDowell listed first.
- Brisbane
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Broadmoor Village
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Broadmoor Village is located in San Mateo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broadmoor Village
- Broadmoor
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Broadmoor is located in San Mateo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broadmoor
- Daly City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Westlake
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Westlake is located in San Mateo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westlake
- Colma
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- South San Francisco
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Pacifica
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- San Bruno
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Fairway Park
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Fairway Park is located in San Mateo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairway Park
- Millbrae
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Burlingame
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Solano County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fort McDowell, with the one closest to Fort McDowell listed first.
- Mare Island ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Mare Island is located in Solano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mare Island
- Guadalcanal Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Guadalcanal Village is located in Solano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guadalcanal Village
- Benicia
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Vallejo
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Green Valley
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Sonoma County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fort McDowell, with the one closest to Fort McDowell listed first.
- Sears Point
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Sears Point is located in Sonoma County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sears Point
- McGill
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- McGill is located in Sonoma County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGill
- Wingo ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Wingo is located in Sonoma County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wingo
- Lakeville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Lakeville is located in Sonoma County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeville
- Temelec
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Temelec is located in Sonoma County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Temelec
- Vineburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Petaluma
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Sonoma
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- El Verano
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Fort McDowell, see our County-by-County Page for Fort McDowell.
Cemeteries Near Fort McDowell ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Fort McDowell.
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 Fort McDowell - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Fort McDowell covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Fort McDowell, with the one closest to Fort McDowell listed first.
- San Francisco National Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- 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
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Fernwood Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Sunset View Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- 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 <2>
- Rolling Hills Memorial Park
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Mission San Rafael Arcangel Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Mountain View Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- St. Mary's Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Mt. Olivet Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mt. Olivet Cemetery
- The Mt. Olivet Cemetery has also been known as:
- Mt. Olivet Catholic Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #8177 <2>
- Mt. Tamalpais Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Woodlawn Memorial Park
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Continue List (67 more) ...
- Italian Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Japanese Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Olivet Memorial Park
(12 miles [19.3 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 Fort McDowell in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Fort McDowell.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Fort McDowell, with the one closest to Fort McDowell listed first.
- Tiburon
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Hilarita
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Hilarita is located in Marin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilarita
- Sausalito
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Manzanita
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Manzanita is located in Marin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manzanita
- San Francisco
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- West Berkeley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- West Berkeley is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Berkeley
- Stege
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Stege is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stege
- San Quentin
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Corte Madera
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Alto
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Alto is located in Marin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alto
- Emeryville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Berkeley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Larkspur
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Mill Valley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- West Oakland
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- West Oakland is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Oakland
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Fort McDowell. See our List of 1890's Communities around Fort McDowell.
Newspapers Published in Fort McDowell ...
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 40 newspapers that have been published in the area around Fort McDowell.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Fort McDowell, there are papers which were published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Fort McDowell.
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 helpful 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 Fort McDowell:
- Websites specific to California
- Pages specific to Marin County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alameda County
- Contra Costa County
- Napa County
- San Francisco County
- San Mateo County
- Solano County
- Sonoma County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for California
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 Fort McDowell, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Fort McDowell) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |