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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 Grays Flat (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 Grays Flat. 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 Grays Flat ...

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.

  • A typical abbreviation for Grays Flat: Grays Flt.
  • While the name of this community is Grays Flat, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Grays Flat may originally have been Gray's Flat.

    Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Grays Flat might be written as Gray Flat.

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.

Grays Flat is located in Plumas 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 Plumas County: Butte, Lassen, Shasta, Sierra, Tehama & Yuba.

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

  • Plumas County     (The home county of Grays Flat)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Grays Flat, with the one closest to Grays Flat listed first.
    • Twain
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Paxton
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Paxton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paxton
      • Paxton is located in Plumas County
    • Spanish Ranch
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spanish Ranch have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spanish Ranch
      • Spanish Ranch is located in Plumas County
    • Keddie
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keddie
      • Keddie is located in Plumas County
    • Indian Falls
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Falls have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Falls
      • Indian Falls is located in Plumas County
    • Silver Creek ‑ Historic
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Creek
      • Silver Creek is located in Plumas County
    • Seneca ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seneca have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seneca
      • Seneca is located in Plumas County
    • Caribou
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caribou
      • Caribou is located in Plumas County
    • Meadow Valley
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Rich Bar ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rich Bar. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rich Bar
      • Rich Bar is located in Plumas County
    • Moccasin
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moccasin
      • Moccasin is located in Plumas County
    • Quincy
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Belden
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Butte County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Grays Flat, with the one closest to Grays Flat listed first.
    • Merrimac
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Merrimac have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrimac
      • Merrimac is located in Butte County
    • Big Bar
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Bar
      • Big Bar is located in Butte County
    • Pulga
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Inskip ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Inskip have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inskip
      • Inskip is located in Butte County
    • Stirling City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Butte Meadows
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Powellton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Powellton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powellton
      • Powellton is located in Butte County
    • Lumpkin ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lumpkin have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lumpkin
      • Lumpkin is located in Butte County
    • Big Bend
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Bend
      • Big Bend is located in Butte County
    • Magalia
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Paradise Pines
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise Pines
      • Paradise Pines is located in Butte County
    • De Sabla
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Sabla
      • De Sabla is located in Butte County
  • Lassen County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Grays Flat, with the one closest to Grays Flat listed first.
    • Peninsula Village
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peninsula Village
      • Peninsula Village is located in Lassen County
    • Pine Town
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pine Town have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Town
      • Pine Town is located in Lassen County
    • Westwood
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
  • Sierra County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Grays Flat, with the one closest to Grays Flat listed first.
    • Queen City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Queen City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Queen City
      • Queen City is located in Sierra County
    • Poker Flat
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poker Flat
      • Poker Flat is located in Sierra County

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

Newspapers Published in Grays Flat ...

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 14 newspapers that have been published in the area around Grays Flat.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Grays Flat, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Grays Flat.

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 Grays Flat:

Cemeteries Near Grays Flat ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Grays Flat.

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

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

  • Big Flat Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Big Flat Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Big Flat Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #7857 <6>
  • Meadow Valley Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Plumas County Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Indian Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Indian Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Indian Cemetery
  • Quincy Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Qunicy Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • East Lawn Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Crescent Mills Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Greenville District Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Taylorsville Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Taylorsville Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Taylorsville Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southeast of Taylorsville.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Taylorsville Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1991783 <6>
  • Prattville Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Prattville Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Prattville Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1991780 <6>
  • North Valley Indian Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the North Valley Indian Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the North Valley Indian Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2257639 <6>
  • Continue List   (18 more) ...
    • Humbug Valley Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Humbug Valley Cemetery is located 10 miles [16.1 km]<5> to the north of Chester.
      • The Humbug Valley Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Dotta Cemetery
      • Dotta Family Cemetery
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Humbug Valley Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2192289 <6>
    • Shims Flat Indian Cemetery
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Shims Flat Indian Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • The Shims Flat Indian Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Shim Flat Indian Cemetery
      • Shims Flat Cemetery
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Shims Flat Indian Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #8370 <6>
    • Gibsonville Cemetery
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)

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.<7>

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

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

  • Spanish Ranch
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spanish Ranch have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spanish Ranch
    • Spanish Ranch is located in Plumas County
  • Meadow Valley
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Quincy
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Crescent Mills
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Greenville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Taylorsville
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Longville
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longville
    • Longville is located in Plumas County
  • Prattville
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Genesee ‑ Historic
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Genesee have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Genesee
    • Genesee is located in Plumas County
  • Gibsonville
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gibsonville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibsonville
    • Gibsonville is located in Sierra County
  • Merrimac
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Merrimac have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrimac
    • Merrimac is located in Butte County
  • Cromberg
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (11 more) ...
    • La Porte
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Saint Louis
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Louis have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Louis
      • Saint Louis is located in Sierra County
    • Inskip ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Inskip have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inskip
      • Inskip is located in Butte County

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

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

The official website for Plumas County: www.countyofplumas.com/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties).
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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>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.
<5>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- Grays Flat) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Grays Flat. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.0177, Longitude: -121.0636       In this case, the coordinates for Grays Flat 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.
<7>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 Grays Flat, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024