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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 Gordola (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 Gordola. 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 doctors and hospitals 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.

Gordola is located in Santa Cruz 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 Santa Cruz County: Monterey, San Benito, San Mateo & Santa Clara.

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

  • Santa Cruz County     (The home county of Gordola)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gordola, with the one closest to Gordola listed first.
    • Bonny Doon
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Davenport
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Paradise Park
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise Park
      • Paradise Park is located in Santa Cruz County
    • Davenport Landing
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davenport Landing
      • Davenport Landing is located in Santa Cruz County
    • Pasatiempo
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pasatiempo
      • Pasatiempo is located in Santa Cruz County
    • Santa Cruz
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Felton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Mount Hermon
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Twin Lakes
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Lakes
      • Twin Lakes is located in Santa Cruz County
    • Swanton
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swanton
      • Swanton is located in Santa Cruz County
    • Ben Lomond
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Eccles ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Eccles. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eccles
      • Eccles is located in Santa Cruz County
  • Monterey County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gordola, with the one closest to Gordola listed first.
    • Pajaro
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pajaro
      • Pajaro is located in Monterey County
    • Moss Landing
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Las Lomas
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Las Lomas
      • Las Lomas is located in Monterey County
    • Elkhorn
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhorn
      • Elkhorn is located in Monterey County
    • Castroville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Aromas
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Marina
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marina
      • Marina is located in Monterey County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 21,836 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marina <1>
    • Pacific Grove
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Point Alones ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Point Alones. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Point Alones
      • Point Alones is located in Monterey County
    • Del Monte Forest
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Del Monte Forest
      • Del Monte Forest is located in Monterey County
    • Prattco ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Prattco. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prattco
      • Prattco is located in Monterey County
    • Fort Ord Village ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fort Ord Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Ord Village
      • Fort Ord Village is located in Monterey County
  • San Benito County
    • River Oaks
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Oaks
      • River Oaks is located in San Benito County
  • San Mateo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gordola, with the one closest to Gordola listed first.
    • Loma Mar
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Pescadero
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • La Honda
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • San Gregorio
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Portola Valley
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Ladera
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ladera
      • Ladera is located in San Mateo County
    • Searsville ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Searsville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Searsville
      • Searsville is located in San Mateo County
  • Santa Clara County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gordola, with the one closest to Gordola listed first.
    • Patchen
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Patchen. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patchen
      • Patchen is located in Santa Clara County
    • Redwood Estates
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Chemeketa Park
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chemeketa Park
      • Chemeketa Park is located in Santa Clara County
    • Holy City ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holy City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holy City
      • Holy City is located in Santa Clara County
    • Lexington Hills
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lexington Hills
      • Lexington Hills is located in Santa Clara County
    • Lexington ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lexington have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lexington
      • Lexington is located in Santa Clara County
    • Monte Sereno
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Sveadal
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sveadal
      • Sveadal is located in Santa Clara County
    • Saratoga
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Los Gatos
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Champagne Fountain
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Champagne Fountain
      • Champagne Fountain is located in Santa Clara County
    • English Town
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for English Town have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for English Town
      • English Town is located in Santa Clara County

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

Newspapers Published in Gordola ...

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 163 newspapers that have been published in the area around Gordola.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Gordola, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Gordola.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Gordola:

Cemeteries Near Gordola ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Gordola.

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

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

  • Home of Peace Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Home of Peace Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Home of Peace Cemetery
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Evergreen Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Evergreen Cemetery
  • Santa Cruz Memorial Park
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Felton Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Felton Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the west of Felton.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Felton Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #274025 <5>
  • Holy Cross Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Old Holy Cross Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Oakwood Memorial Park
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Soquel Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Soquel Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the north of Soquel.
    • The Soquel Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Beit Olam Cemetery
    • Eternal Home Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Soquel Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #999577 <5>
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Calvary Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Calvary Cemetery
  • Day Valley Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
  • Cascade Ranch Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Cascade Ranch Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Cascade Ranch Cemetery is located 8 miles [12.9 km]<4> to the northwest of Pescadero.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cascade Ranch Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2549553 <5>
  • Madronia Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Madronia Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Madronia Cemetery
  • Continue List   (26 more) ...
    • Pioneer Cemetery
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pioneer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pioneer Cemetery
    • IOOF Cemetery
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the IOOF Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the IOOF Cemetery
    • St. Francis Cemetery
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Francis Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Francis Cemetery

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>

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

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

  • Bonny Doon
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Santa Cruz
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Felton
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Ben Lomond
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Soquel
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Zayante
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zayante
    • Zayante is located in Santa Cruz County
  • Capitola
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Boulder Creek
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Aptos
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Glenwood
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood
    • Glenwood is located in Santa Cruz County
  • Laurel
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel
    • Laurel is located in Santa Cruz County
  • Patchen
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Patchen. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patchen
    • Patchen is located in Santa Clara County
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Corralitos
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Guadalupe ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Guadalupe have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guadalupe
      • Guadalupe is located in Santa Clara County
    • Los Gatos
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)

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

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

The official website for Santa Cruz County: www.co.santa-cruz.ca.us/

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

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>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>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.
<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 from Point A (ie- Gordola) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Gordola. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.9752, Longitude: -122.1344       In this case, the coordinates for Gordola have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>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.
<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 Gordola, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024