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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 Hams (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 Hams. 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.

Hams is located in Calaveras County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Calaveras County: Alpine, Amador, San Joaquin, Stanislaus & Tuolumne.

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

  • Calaveras County     (The home county of Hams)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hams, with the one closest to Hams listed first.
    • Wilseyville
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Bummerville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Bummerville is located in Calaveras County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bummerville
    • Sandy Gulch
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Sandy Gulch is located in Calaveras County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Gulch
    • West Point
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Rail Road Flat
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Glencoe
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Arnold
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Big Trees
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Big Trees is located in Calaveras County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Trees
    • Camp Connell
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Lakemont Pines
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Lakemont Pines is located in Calaveras County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakemont Pines
    • Meadowmont
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Meadowmont is located in Calaveras County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowmont
    • Mountain Ranch
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Big Trees Village
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Big Trees Village is located in Calaveras County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Trees Village
  • Alpine County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hams, with the one closest to Hams listed first.
    • Bear Valley
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Lake Alpine
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Lake Alpine is located in Alpine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Alpine
  • Amador County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hams, with the one closest to Hams listed first.
    • Pioneer
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Volcano
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Pine Grove
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Electra ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Electra is located in Amador County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Electra
    • Jackson
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Fiddletown
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Martell
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Sutter Creek
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • River Pines
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Amador City
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Drytown
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Plymouth
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Ione
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Ione is located in Amador County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ione
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,326 people
      • Former names for Ione:
      • Bedbug
      • Freeze Out
      • Hardscrabble
      • Ione City
      • Ione Valley
      • Jone City
      • Jone Valley
      • Rickeyville
      • Woosterville
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ione <1>
  • El Dorado County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hams, with the one closest to Hams listed first.
    • Grizzly Flatx
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Fair Play
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Mount Aukum
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Somerset
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Pleasant Valley
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Pleasant Valley is located in El Dorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Valley
    • Newtown
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Newtown is located in El Dorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newtown
    • Fresh Pond
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Fresh Pond is located in El Dorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fresh Pond
    • Pacific
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Pacific is located in El Dorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pacific
    • Tiger Lily
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Tiger Lily is located in El Dorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tiger Lily
    • Pollock Pines
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Riverton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Riverton is located in El Dorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverton
    • Sportsman Hall ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Sportsman Hall is located in El Dorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sportsman Hall
    • Camino
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Tuolumne County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hams, with the one closest to Hams listed first.
    • Columbia
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Cedar Ridge
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Cedar Ridge is located in Tuolumne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Ridge
    • Columbia Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Columbia Village is located in Tuolumne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbia Village
    • Martinez
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Martinez is located in Tuolumne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martinez
    • Phoenix Lake - Cedar Ridge
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Squabbletown
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Squabbletown is located in Tuolumne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Squabbletown
    • Tuttletown
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Tuttletown is located in Tuolumne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuttletown
    • Cold Springs
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Long Barn
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Mi-Wuk Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Sierra Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Sierra Village is located in Tuolumne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sierra Village
    • Twain Harte
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Bumblebee
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Bumblebee is located in Tuolumne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bumblebee

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

Cemeteries Near Hams ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Hams.

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.

Although we don't have the information ourselves, if you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our list of websites on our Genealogy Helper Page for Hams - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Inedpendence Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Amador Memorial Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Mountain Ranch Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Catholic Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Protestant Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Pine Grove Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Jesus Maria Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Andreason Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Indian Diggings Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Peoples Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Briseno Ranch Burial Ground
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
  • Jackson Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (45 more) ...
    • Pioneer Cemetery
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Catholic Cemetery
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • St. Sava Servian Orthodox Cemetery
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)

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.<4>

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

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

  • Rail Road Flat
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • West Point
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Glencoe
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Rich Gulch
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Rich Gulch is located in Calaveras County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rich Gulch
  • Mountain Ranch
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Big Trees
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Big Trees is located in Calaveras County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Trees
  • Volcano
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Pine Grove
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Sheep Ranch
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Avery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Mokelumne Hill
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • Omo Ranch
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Omo Ranch is located in El Dorado County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Omo Ranch
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in Hams ...

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 70 newspapers that have been published in the area around Hams.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Hams, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Hams.

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 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 Hams:

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>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Hams) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<4>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 Hams, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.