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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

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

We've added Fort Miller to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Fort Miller, 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 Fort Miller (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 Miller. 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 Miller ...

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.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Fort Miller: Ft. Miller

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 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 Fort Miller is historic, it would have been located within present day Madera County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Madera County: Fresno, Mariposa, Merced & Mono.

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

  • Madera County     (The home county of Fort Miller)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fort Miller, with the one closest to Fort Miller listed first.
    • Millerton ‑ Historic
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Millerton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerton
      • Millerton is located in Madera County
    • O'Neals
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Yosemite Lakes Park
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yosemite Lakes Park
      • Yosemite Lakes Park is located in Madera County
      • Yosemite Lakes Park has also been known as:
      • Yosemite Lakes
    • Bonadelle Ranchos - Madera Ranchos
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • North Fork
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Coarsegold
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Knowles Junction
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knowles Junction
      • Knowles Junction is located in Madera County
    • Knowles ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Knowles have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knowles
      • Knowles is located in Madera County
    • Raymond
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raymond
      • Raymond is located in Madera County
    • Wishon
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wishon
      • Wishon is located in Madera County
    • Parksdale
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parksdale
      • Parksdale is located in Madera County
    • Bass Lake
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
  • Fresno County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fort Miller, with the one closest to Fort Miller listed first.
    • Friant
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Prather
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Gordon
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordon
      • Gordon is located in Fresno County
    • Auberry
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Meadow Lakes
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Lakes
      • Meadow Lakes is located in Fresno County
    • Clovis
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Pinedale
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Tollhouse
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Tarpey Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tarpey Village have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tarpey Village
      • Tarpey Village is located in Fresno County
    • Pineridge
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pineridge
      • Pineridge is located in Fresno County
    • Fresno
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Herndon
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herndon
      • Herndon is located in Fresno County
  • Nevada County
    • Cedar Crest
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Crest
      • Cedar Crest is located in Nevada County

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

Newspapers Published in Fort Miller ...

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 78 newspapers that have been published in the area around Fort Miller.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Fort Miller, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Fort Miller.

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 either 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 Miller:

Cemeteries Near Fort Miller ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Fort Miller.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

  • Winchell Cove Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Winchell Cove Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Winchell Cove Cemetery is located outside and to the east of Friant.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Winchell Cove Cemetery
  • Auberry Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Academy Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Big Sandy Rancheria Tribal Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Fine Gold Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fine Gold Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fine Gold Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #7970 <6>
  • Clovis Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Walker Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Walker Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Walker Cemetery
  • Picayune Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Picayune Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Picayune Cemetery
  • Redbank Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Redbank Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Redbank Cemetery
  • Tollhouse Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • North Fork Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the North Fork Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the North Fork Cemetery
  • Continue List   (32 more) ...
    • Watts Valley Cemetery
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Watts Valley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Watts Valley Cemetery
    • Hughes Creek Cemetery
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hughes Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hughes Creek Cemetery
    • Raymond Cemetery
      (19 miles [30.6 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.

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

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

  • Sentinel ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sentinel have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sentinel
    • Sentinel is located in Fresno County
  • Letcher ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Letcher have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Letcher
    • Letcher is located in Fresno County
  • Auberry
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Tollhouse
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Fresno
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
  • Herndon
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herndon
    • Herndon is located in Fresno County
  • Muscatel
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muscatel
    • Muscatel is located in Fresno County
  • Knowles ‑ Historic
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Knowles have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knowles
    • Knowles is located in Madera County
  • Raymond
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raymond
    • Raymond is located in Madera County
  • Lone Star
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Star
    • Lone Star is located in Fresno County
  • Sanger
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
  • Grub Gulch ‑ Historic
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grub Gulch have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grub Gulch
    • Grub Gulch is located in Madera County
  • Continue List   (7 more) ...
    • Malaga
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Malaga have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malaga
      • Malaga is located in Fresno County
    • La Vina
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Vina
      • La Vina is located in Madera County
    • Easton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)

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

The official website for Madera County: www.madera-county.com/

The official website for State of California: https://www.ca.gov/

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 Fort Miller, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<2>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<5>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- Fort Miller) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Fort Miller. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.0152, Longitude: -119.6593       In this case, the coordinates for Fort Miller have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>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.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024