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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 Independence (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 Independence. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Independence 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 Independence. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Independence:

  • Calaveras County     (The home county of Independence)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Independence, with the one closest to Independence listed first.
    • Rail Road Flat
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Wilseyville
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Sandy Gulch
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Sandy Gulch is located in Calaveras County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Gulch
    • Bummerville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Bummerville is located in Calaveras County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bummerville
    • West Point
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Glencoe
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Mountain Ranch
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Cave City
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Cave City is located in Calaveras County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cave City
    • Sheep Ranch
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Arnold
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Mokelumne Hill
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Big Bar
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Big Bar is located in Calaveras County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Bar
  • Alpine County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Independence, with the one closest to Independence listed first.
    • Bear Valley
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Lake Alpine
      (28 miles [45.1 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 Independence, with the one closest to Independence listed first.
    • Pioneer
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Electra ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Electra is located in Amador County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Electra
    • Pine Grove
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Volcano
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Jackson
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Martell
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Sutter Creek
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Fiddletown
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Amador City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • River Pines
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Drytown
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Plymouth
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
  • El Dorado County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Independence, with the one closest to Independence listed first.
    • Fair Play
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Mount Aukum
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Grizzly Flatx
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Somerset
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Pleasant Valley
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Pleasant Valley is located in El Dorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Valley
    • Newtown
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Newtown is located in El Dorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newtown
    • 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
    • Camino
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Fresh Pond
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Fresh Pond is located in El Dorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fresh Pond
    • Pacific
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Pacific is located in El Dorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pacific
    • Pollock Pines
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Diamond Springs
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Tuolumne County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Independence, with the one closest to Independence listed first.
    • Columbia
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Columbia Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Columbia Village is located in Tuolumne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbia Village
    • Martinez
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Martinez is located in Tuolumne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martinez
    • Cedar Ridge
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Cedar Ridge is located in Tuolumne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Ridge
    • Squabbletown
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Squabbletown is located in Tuolumne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Squabbletown
    • Tuttletown
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Tuttletown is located in Tuolumne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuttletown
    • Phoenix Lake - Cedar Ridge
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • East Sonora
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • East Sonora is located in Tuolumne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Sonora
    • Greenley Oaks
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Greenley Oaks is located in Tuolumne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenley Oaks
    • Rawhide
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Rawhide is located in Tuolumne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rawhide
    • Cedar Rock Lodge
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Cedar Rock Lodge is located in Tuolumne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Rock Lodge
    • Mi-Wuk Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Independence ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Independence.

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 Independence - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Inedpendence Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Amador Memorial Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Jesus Maria Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Mountain Ranch Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Pine Grove Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Catholic Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Protestant Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Andreason Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Peoples Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Pioneer Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Catholic Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Indian Diggings Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (48 more) ...
    • Briseno Ranch Burial Ground
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • St. Sava Servian Orthodox Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Jackson Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 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 Independence in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Independence.

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

  • Rail Road Flat
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • West Point
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Glencoe
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Rich Gulch
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Rich Gulch is located in Calaveras County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rich Gulch
  • Mountain Ranch
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Volcano
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Pine Grove
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Mokelumne Hill
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Sheep Ranch
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Avery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Big Trees
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Big Trees is located in Calaveras County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Trees
  • San Andreas
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Jackson
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Murphys
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Sutter Creek
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)

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

Newspapers Published in Independence ...

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 74 newspapers that have been published in the area around Independence.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Independence, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Independence.

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 Independence:

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 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Independence) 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 Independence, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.