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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 Italian Swiss Colony (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 Italian Swiss Colony. 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.

Italian Swiss Colony is located in Madera 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 Madera County: Fresno, Mariposa, Merced & Mono.

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

  • Madera County     (The home county of Italian Swiss Colony)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Italian Swiss Colony, with the one closest to Italian Swiss Colony listed first.
    • Parkwood
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkwood
      • Parkwood is located in Madera County
    • Madera
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • La Vina
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Vina
      • La Vina is located in Madera County
    • Parksdale
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parksdale
      • Parksdale is located in Madera County
    • Madera Acres
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madera Acres
      • Madera Acres is located in Madera County
    • Berenda
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berenda
      • Berenda is located in Madera County
    • Bonadelle Ranchos - Madera Ranchos
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Lincoln ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lincoln have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln
      • Lincoln is located in Madera County
    • Chowchilla
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Knowles Junction
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knowles Junction
      • Knowles Junction is located in Madera County
    • Raymond
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raymond
      • Raymond is located in Madera County
    • Knowles ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Knowles. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knowles
      • Knowles is located in Madera County
  • Fresno County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Italian Swiss Colony, with the one closest to Italian Swiss Colony listed first.
    • Barstow
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Barstow have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barstow
      • Barstow is located in Fresno County
    • Biola
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Raco
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raco
      • Raco is located in Fresno County
    • Herndon
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herndon
      • Herndon is located in Fresno County
    • Kerman
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Floyd
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Floyd
      • Floyd is located in Fresno County
    • Highway City
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Highway City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highway City
      • Highway City is located in Fresno County
    • Rolinda
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rolinda
      • Rolinda is located in Fresno County
    • Muscatel
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muscatel
      • Muscatel is located in Fresno County
    • Pratton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pratton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pratton
      • Pratton is located in Fresno County
    • Pinedale
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Benito
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benito
      • Benito is located in Fresno County
  • Merced County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Italian Swiss Colony, with the one closest to Italian Swiss Colony listed first.
    • Le Grand
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Athlone
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Athlone. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athlone
      • Athlone is located in Merced County
    • Plainsburg
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Plainsburg. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainsburg
      • Plainsburg is located in Merced County
    • El Nido
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Planada
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Dos Palos
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Santa Rita Park
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Tuttle
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuttle
      • Tuttle is located in Merced County
    • South Dos Palos
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)

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

Cemeteries Near Italian Swiss Colony ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Italian Swiss Colony.

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 Italian Swiss Colony covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • New Hope Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Arbor Vitae Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Borden's Chinese Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Bethany Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bethany Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bethany Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Chowchilla Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Chowchilla Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Chowchilla Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<5> to the northeast of Chowchilla.
    • The Chowchilla Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Chowchilla District Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #7906 <4>
  • Fresno Memorial Gardens
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fresno Memorial Gardens
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fresno Memorial Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Peters Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Peters Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Peters Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Fresno County Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
  • IOOF Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the IOOF Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the IOOF Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Masis Ararat Armenian Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
  • Ararat Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
  • Beth Israel Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (20 more) ...
    • Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Holy Cross Cemetery
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Holy Cross Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Holy Cross Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Liberty Cemetery
      (19 miles [30.6 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.<6>

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

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

  • La Vina
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Vina
    • La Vina is located in Madera County
  • Herndon
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herndon
    • Herndon is located in Fresno County
  • Muscatel
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muscatel
    • Muscatel is located in Fresno County
  • Firebaugh
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
  • Fresno
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Raymond
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raymond
    • Raymond is located in Madera County
  • Knowles ‑ Historic
    (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Knowles. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knowles
    • Knowles is located in Madera County
  • Athlone
    (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Athlone. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athlone
    • Athlone is located in Merced County
  • Plainsburg
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Plainsburg. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainsburg
    • Plainsburg is located in Merced County
  • Easton
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Malaga
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Malaga have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malaga
    • Malaga is located in Fresno County
  • Oleander
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oleander have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oleander
    • Oleander is located in Fresno County
  • Lone Star
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Star
    • Lone Star is located in Fresno County
  • Dos Palos
    (28 miles [45.1 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 Italian Swiss Colony. See our List of 1890's Communities around Italian Swiss Colony.

Newspapers Published in Italian Swiss Colony ...

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 69 newspapers that have been published in the area around Italian Swiss Colony.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Italian Swiss Colony, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Italian Swiss Colony.

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 Italian Swiss Colony:

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

The official website for Madera County: www.madera-county.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>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.
<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>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 from Point A (ie- Italian Swiss Colony) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Italian Swiss Colony. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.9311, Longitude: -120.1066       In this case, the coordinates for Italian Swiss Colony have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Italian Swiss Colony, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025