RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of California >> San Joaquin County >> French Camp >> Genealogy HelperIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
California

The Commemorative Quarter for California





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 French Camp (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 French Camp. 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 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.

French Camp is located in San Joaquin 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 San Joaquin County: Alameda, Amador, Calaveras, Contra Costa, Sacramento, Santa Clara & Stanislaus.

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

  • San Joaquin County     (The home county of French Camp)
    • The following are listed by their distance from French Camp, with the one closest to French Camp listed first.
    • Ortega ‑ Historic
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ortega. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ortega
      • Ortega is located in San Joaquin County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Ortega
      • From French Camp to Ortega
    • Taft Mosswood
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taft Mosswood
      • Taft Mosswood is located in San Joaquin County
    • Manteca Junction
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Kennedy
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kennedy have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kennedy
      • Kennedy is located in San Joaquin County
    • Lathrop
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Garden Acres
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garden Acres have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Acres
      • Garden Acres is located in San Joaquin County
    • Stockton
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • August
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for August have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for August
      • August is located in San Joaquin County
    • Country Club
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Country Club have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Club
      • Country Club is located in San Joaquin County
    • Manteca
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Five Corners
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Lincoln Village
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lincoln Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln Village
      • Lincoln Village is located in San Joaquin County
  • Alameda County
    • The following are listed by their distance from French Camp, with the one closest to French Camp listed first.
    • Altamont
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Altamont have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altamont
      • Altamont is located in Alameda County
    • Tesla ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Tesla. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tesla
      • Tesla is located in Alameda County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Tesla
      • From French Camp to Tesla
    • Laddville ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Laddville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laddville
      • Laddville is located in Alameda County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Laddville
      • From French Camp to Laddville
    • Livermore
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Calaveras County
  • Contra Costa County
  • Sacramento County
  • Solano County
  • Stanislaus County
    • The following are listed by their distance from French Camp, with the one closest to French Camp listed first.
    • Salida
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Del Rio
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Del Rio have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Del Rio
      • Del Rio is located in Stanislaus County
    • Stewart
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Stewart. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stewart
      • Stewart is located in Stanislaus County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Stewart
      • From French Camp to Stewart
    • Tuolumne City ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tuolumne City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuolumne City
      • Tuolumne City is located in Stanislaus County
    • Riverbank
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Grayson
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Grayson. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grayson
      • Grayson is located in Stanislaus County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Grayson
      • From French Camp to Grayson
    • Modesto
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Riverdale Park
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Riverdale Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverdale Park
      • Riverdale Park is located in Stanislaus County
    • West Modesto
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Adela
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Westley
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Bystrom
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bystrom have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bystrom
      • Bystrom is located in Stanislaus County

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

Cemeteries Near French Camp ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of French Camp.

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 French Camp covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that French Camp had a population of 233 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Lathrop
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Stockton
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Collegeville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Collegeville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collegeville
    • Collegeville is located in San Joaquin County
  • Charleston ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Charleston have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charleston
    • Charleston is located in San Joaquin County
  • Atlanta
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Walthal
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Walthal. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walthal
    • Walthal is located in San Joaquin County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Walthal
    • From French Camp to Walthal
  • Banta
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Holden ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Holden. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holden
    • Holden is located in San Joaquin County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Holden
    • From French Camp to Holden
  • Ripon
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Tracy
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Peters
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Linden
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Yarmouth ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Yarmouth have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yarmouth
      • Yarmouth is located in San Joaquin County
    • Ellis ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ellis have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellis
      • Ellis is located in San Joaquin County
    • Salida
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)

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

Newspapers Published in French Camp ...

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 178 newspapers that have been published in the area around French Camp.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of French Camp, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for French Camp.

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 French Camp:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for French Camp. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for San Joaquin County: www.sjgov.org/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>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.
<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 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.
<5>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- French Camp) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in French Camp. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.8844, Longitude: -121.2708    
<6>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 French Camp, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

Copyright 2025
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025