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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 La Palma (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 La Palma. 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 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.

La Palma is located in Orange 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 Orange County: Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino & San Diego.

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

  • Orange County     (The home county of La Palma)
    • The following are listed by their distance from La Palma, with the one closest to La Palma listed first.
    • Cypress
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Buena Park
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Los Alamitos
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Stanton
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Rossmoor
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rossmoor have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rossmoor
      • Rossmoor is located in Orange County
    • Barber City
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Barber City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barber City
      • Barber City is located in Orange County
    • Anaheim
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Fullerton
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Garden Grove
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Green Lantern Village
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Lantern Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Lantern Village
      • Green Lantern Village is located in Orange County
    • Midway City
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Seal Beach
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Los Angeles County
    • The following are listed by their distance from La Palma, with the one closest to La Palma listed first.
    • Cerritos
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Hawaiian Gardens
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Artesia
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Artesia
      • Artesia is located in Los Angeles County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 16,168 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Artesia <1>
    • Carmenita
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carmenita have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carmenita
      • Carmenita is located in Los Angeles County
    • Bellflower
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Norwalk
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwalk
      • Norwalk is located in Los Angeles County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 102,635 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Norwalk <1>
    • La Mirada
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Studebaker
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Studebaker
      • Studebaker is located in Los Angeles County
    • Lakewood
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • East La Mirada
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East La Mirada have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East La Mirada
      • East La Mirada is located in Los Angeles County
    • Clearwater
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clearwater have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clearwater
      • Clearwater is located in Los Angeles County
    • Belmont Shore
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Riverside County
    • The following are listed by their distance from La Palma, with the one closest to La Palma listed first.
    • Corona
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corona
      • Corona is located in Riverside County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 170,996 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Corona <1>
    • Eastvale
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Norco
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norco
      • Norco is located in Riverside County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 27,892 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Norco <1>
    • Porphyry ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Porphyry have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porphyry
      • Porphyry is located in Riverside County
    • El Cerrito
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for El Cerrito have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for El Cerrito
      • El Cerrito is located in Riverside County
    • Home Gardens
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Home Gardens
      • Home Gardens is located in Riverside County
  • San Bernardino County
    • The following are listed by their distance from La Palma, with the one closest to La Palma listed first.
    • Chino Hills
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Los Serranos
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Los Serranos have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Los Serranos
      • Los Serranos is located in San Bernardino County
    • Chino
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chino
      • Chino is located in San Bernardino County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 92,290 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chino <1>
    • Montclair
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montclair
      • Montclair is located in San Bernardino County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 40,600 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Montclair <1>
    • Ontario
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ontario
      • Ontario is located in San Bernardino County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 183,393 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ontario <1>
    • Upland
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upland
      • Upland is located in San Bernardino County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 77,850 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Upland <1>
    • Racimo
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Racimo
      • Racimo is located in San Bernardino County
    • Guasti
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
    • San Antonio Heights
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for San Antonio Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Antonio Heights
      • San Antonio Heights is located in San Bernardino County

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

Newspapers Published in La Palma ...

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 27 newspapers that have been published in the area around La Palma.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of La Palma, there are papers which were published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for La Palma.

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 websites either 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 La Palma:

Cemeteries Near La Palma ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of La Palma.

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 La Palma covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Forest Lawn Memorial Park
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Forest Lawn Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Forest Lawn Memorial Park
  • Artesia Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Artesia Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Artesia Cemetery
  • Magnolia Memorial Park
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Magnolia Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Magnolia Memorial Park
  • Young Israel Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Young Israel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Young Israel Cemetery
  • Little Lake Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Paradise Memorial Park
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Paradise Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Paradise Memorial Park
  • Holy Cross Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • 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.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Holy Cross Cemetery
  • Olive Grove Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Olive Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Olive Grove Cemetery
  • All Souls Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the All Souls Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the All Souls Cemetery
  • Westminster Memorial Park
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Old Downey Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Downey Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Downey Cemetery
  • Long Beach Forest Lawn Park Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • The Long Beach Forest Lawn Park Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Forest Lawn Memorial Cemetery - Long Beach
    • Forest Lawn Memorial Park - Long Beach
    • Long Beach Forest Lawn Memorial Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Long Beach Forest Lawn Park Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #180662 <4>
  • Continue List   (74 more) ...
    • Long Beach Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • The Long Beach Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Long Beach Municipal Cemetery
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Long Beach Cemetery
    • Sunnyside Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Table Top Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Table Top Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Table Top 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.<5>

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

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

  • Cerritos
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Artesia
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Artesia
    • Artesia is located in Los Angeles County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 16,168 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Artesia <1>
  • Carmenita
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carmenita have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carmenita
    • Carmenita is located in Los Angeles County
  • Almond
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Almond have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almond
    • Almond is located in Orange County
  • Buena Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Northam ‑ Historic
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Northam have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northam
    • Northam is located in Orange County
  • Norwalk
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwalk
    • Norwalk is located in Los Angeles County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 102,635 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Norwalk <1>
  • Brookhurst
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brookhurst have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookhurst
    • Brookhurst is located in Orange County
  • Studebaker
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Studebaker
    • Studebaker is located in Los Angeles County
  • Fulton Wells
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fulton Wells have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulton Wells
    • Fulton Wells is located in Los Angeles County
  • Santa Fe Springs
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Westminster
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Garden Grove
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Anaheim
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Fullerton
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)

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

The official website for La Palma: www.cityoflapalma.org/

The official website for Orange County: www.oc.ca.gov/

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- La Palma) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in La Palma. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.8463, Longitude: -118.0460    
<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>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 La Palma, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024