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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 Knowles Junction (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 Knowles Junction. 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 Knowles Junction ...

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 Knowles Junction: Knowles Jct. (or less commonly used: Knowles Jctn.)
  • While the name of this community is Knowles Junction, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Knowles Junction may originally have been Knowle's Junction.

    Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Knowles Junction might be written as Knowle Junction.

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 southeast 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 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 east 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.

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

  • Madera County     (The home county of Knowles Junction)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Knowles Junction, with the one closest to Knowles Junction listed first.
    • Raymond
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raymond
      • Raymond is located in Madera County
    • Knowles ‑ Historic
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Knowles have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knowles
      • Knowles is located in Madera County
    • Yosemite Lakes Park
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yosemite Lakes Park
      • Yosemite Lakes Park is located in Madera County
      • Yosemite Lakes Park has also been known as:
      • Yosemite Lakes
    • Coarsegold
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • O'Neals
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Bonadelle Ranchos - Madera Ranchos
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Ahwahnee
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Madera Acres
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madera Acres
      • Madera Acres is located in Madera County
    • Nipinnawasee ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nipinnawasee
      • Nipinnawasee is located in Madera County
    • Oakhurst
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Berenda
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berenda
      • Berenda is located in Madera County
    • Madera
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
  • Fresno County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Knowles Junction, with the one closest to Knowles Junction listed first.
    • Friant
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Gordon
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordon
      • Gordon is located in Fresno County
    • Auberry
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Prather
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Herndon
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herndon
      • Herndon is located in Fresno County
    • Pinedale
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Barstow
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • 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
    • Meadow Lakes
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Lakes
      • Meadow Lakes is located in Fresno County
    • Highway City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • 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
    • Biola
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Muscatel
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muscatel
      • Muscatel is located in Fresno County
    • Clovis
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Mariposa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Knowles Junction, with the one closest to Knowles Junction listed first.
    • Bootjack
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bootjack
      • Bootjack is located in Mariposa County
    • Catheys Valley
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Mariposa
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Darrah
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darrah
      • Darrah is located in Mariposa County
    • Mount Bullion
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Bullion
      • Mount Bullion is located in Mariposa County
    • Midpines
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Fish Camp
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Jerseydale
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerseydale
      • Jerseydale is located in Mariposa County
    • Wawona
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Bear Valley
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Valley
      • Bear Valley is located in Mariposa County
    • Hornitos
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Bagby ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bagby. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bagby
      • Bagby is located in Mariposa County
  • Merced County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Knowles Junction, with the one closest to Knowles Junction listed first.
    • Le Grand
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Plainsburg
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plainsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainsburg
      • Plainsburg is located in Merced County
    • Planada
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Athlone
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Athlone have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athlone
      • Athlone is located in Merced County
    • Tuttle
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuttle
      • Tuttle is located in Merced County

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

Newspapers Published in Knowles Junction ...

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 55 newspapers that have been published in the area around Knowles Junction.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Knowles Junction, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Knowles Junction.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with 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 Knowles Junction:

Cemeteries Near Knowles Junction ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Knowles Junction.

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 Knowles Junction covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Raymond Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Picayune Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Picayune Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Picayune Cemetery
  • White Rock Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the White Rock Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the White Rock Cemetery
  • Fine Gold Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fine Gold Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fine Gold Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #7970 <6>
  • Walker Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Walker Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Walker Cemetery
  • Oakhill Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Arbor Vitae Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
  • Pate Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pate Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pate Cemetery
  • Winchell Cove Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
  • Catheys Valley Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Catheys Valley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Catheys Valley Cemetery
  • St. Joseph Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Joseph Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Joseph Cemetery
  • Mariposa Masonic Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Mariposa Masonic Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Mariposa.
    • The Mariposa Masonic Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Masonic Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mariposa Masonic Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2205021 <6>
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Borden's Chinese Cemetery
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Winchell Cove Cemetery
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Winchell Cove Cemetery is located outside and to the east of Friant.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Winchell Cove Cemetery
    • Helm - Turner Cemetery
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Helm - Turner Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Helm - Turner Cemetery

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 Knowles Junction in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Knowles Junction.

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

  • Raymond
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raymond
    • Raymond is located in Madera County
  • Knowles ‑ Historic
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Knowles have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knowles
    • Knowles is located in Madera County
  • Ben Hur
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ben Hur have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ben Hur
    • Ben Hur is located in Mariposa County
  • Grub Gulch ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grub Gulch have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grub Gulch
    • Grub Gulch is located in Madera County
  • Mariposa
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
  • Mount Bullion
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Bullion
    • Mount Bullion is located in Mariposa County
  • Plainsburg
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plainsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainsburg
    • Plainsburg is located in Merced County
  • La Vina
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Vina
    • La Vina is located in Madera County
  • Auberry
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
  • Athlone
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Athlone have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athlone
    • Athlone is located in Merced County
  • Herndon
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herndon
    • Herndon is located in Fresno County
  • Jerseydale
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerseydale
    • Jerseydale is located in Mariposa County
  • Continue List   (7 more) ...
    • Wawona
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Bear Valley
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Valley
      • Bear Valley is located in Mariposa County
    • Hornitos
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)

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

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Knowles Junction. 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>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>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>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 drawn from Point A (ie- Knowles Junction) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Knowles Junction. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.2028, Longitude: -119.9091    
<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 Knowles Junction, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024