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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 Grand Island (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 Grand Island. 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 Grand Island ...

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 Grand Island: Grand Is. (in Canada, 'Isld.' is the more common abbreviation.)

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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most 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.

Grand Island is located in Colusa 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 Colusa County: Butte, Glenn, Lake, Sutter & Yolo.

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

  • Colusa County     (The home county of Grand Island)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Grand Island, with the one closest to Grand Island listed first.
    • Grimes
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • College City
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Harrington
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrington
      • Harrington is located in Colusa County
    • Arbuckle
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Genevra
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Genevra have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Genevra
      • Genevra is located in Colusa County
    • Colusa
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Colusa Rancheria
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colusa Rancheria
      • Colusa Rancheria is located in Colusa County
    • Williams
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Maxwell
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Princeton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Wilbur Springs
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Leesville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leesville
      • Leesville is located in Colusa County
  • Butte County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Grand Island, with the one closest to Grand Island listed first.
    • Gridley
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Peachton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peachton
      • Peachton is located in Butte County
    • Robinsons Corner
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinsons Corner
      • Robinsons Corner is located in Butte County
    • Bigg's
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Honcut
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • East Biggs
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Biggs
      • East Biggs is located in Butte County
    • Lorraine ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lorraine have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lorraine
      • Lorraine is located in Butte County
    • Richvale
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Glenn County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Grand Island, with the one closest to Grand Island listed first.
    • Afton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Afton
      • Afton is located in Glenn County
    • Butte City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
  • Placer County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Grand Island, with the one closest to Grand Island listed first.
    • Sheridan
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Riego
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Riego have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riego
      • Riego is located in Placer County
  • Santa Cruz County
  • Sutter County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Grand Island, with the one closest to Grand Island listed first.
    • Tarke
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tarke
      • Tarke is located in Sutter County
    • Meridian
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Sutter
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • South Yuba City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Yuba City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Yuba City
      • South Yuba City is located in Sutter County
    • Tierra Buena
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tierra Buena have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tierra Buena
      • Tierra Buena is located in Sutter County
    • Bogue
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bogue
      • Bogue is located in Sutter County
    • Yuba City
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Marcuse ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marcuse have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcuse
      • Marcuse is located in Sutter County
    • Pennington
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennington
      • Pennington is located in Sutter County
    • Robbins
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Live Oak
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Live Oak
      • Live Oak is located in Sutter County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,048 people
    • Rio Oso
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
  • Yolo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Grand Island, with the one closest to Grand Island listed first.
    • Hershey
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hershey have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hershey
      • Hershey is located in Yolo County
    • Dunnigan
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Zamora
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Knights Landing
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Yolo
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Guinda
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Rumsey
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Capay
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Esparto
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Madison
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Woodland
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Brooks
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Yuba County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Grand Island, with the one closest to Grand Island listed first.
    • Alicia
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alicia
      • Alicia is located in Yuba County
    • Marysville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Plumas Landing ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plumas Landing
      • Plumas Landing is located in Yuba County
    • Binney Junction
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Binney Junction
      • Binney Junction is located in Yuba County
    • Linda
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Olivehurst
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Ostrom ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ostrom
      • Ostrom is located in Yuba County
    • Dantoni
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dantoni
      • Dantoni is located in Yuba County
    • Wheatland
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Iowa City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Iowa City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iowa City
      • Iowa City is located in Yuba County
    • Browns Valley
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Loma Rica
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loma Rica
      • Loma Rica is located in Yuba County

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

Newspapers Published in Grand Island ...

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 88 newspapers that have been published in the area around Grand Island.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Grand Island, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Grand Island.

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 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 Grand Island:

Cemeteries Near Grand Island ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Grand Island.

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

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

  • Grand Island Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Grand Island Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Grand Island Cemetery
  • Meridian Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Meridian Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Meridian Cemetery
  • Stohlman Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Stohlman Cemetery is located outside and to the east of Tarke.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Stohlman Cemetery
  • Johns Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Johns Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Johns Cemetery
  • Sutter Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Arbuckle Catholic Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Arbuckle Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Arbuckle Cemetery is located outside and to the north of Arbuckle.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Arbuckle Cemetery
  • Pugh Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pugh Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pugh Cemetery
  • Yuba City Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Yuba City Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Yuba City Cemetery
  • North Butte Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the North Butte Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the North Butte Cemetery
  • Williams Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
  • Marysville Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (28 more) ...
    • Marysville Jewish Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • St. Joseph's Catholic Historical Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Sierra View Memorial Park
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sierra View Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sierra View Memorial Park

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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Grand Island had a population of 103 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Grimes
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Meridian
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Cranmore
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cranmore have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cranmore
    • Cranmore is located in Sutter County
  • Sycamore
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sycamore have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sycamore
    • Sycamore is located in Colusa County
  • College City
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Arbuckle
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Harrington
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrington
    • Harrington is located in Colusa County
  • Genevra
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Genevra have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Genevra
    • Genevra is located in Colusa County
  • Colusa
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Dunnigan
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Yuba City
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Marcuse ‑ Historic
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marcuse have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcuse
    • Marcuse is located in Sutter County
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Marysville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Binney Junction
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Binney Junction
      • Binney Junction is located in Yuba County
    • Lomo
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lomo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lomo
      • Lomo is located in Sutter County

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

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

The official website for Colusa County: www.colusacountyclerk.com/

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>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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Grand Island) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Grand Island. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.0660, Longitude: -121.8683       In this case, the coordinates for Grand Island have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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>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 Grand Island, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024