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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 Las Positas (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 Las Positas. 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.

Las Positas is located in Alameda 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 Alameda County: Contra Costa, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara & Stanislaus.

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

  • Alameda County     (The home county of Las Positas)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Las Positas, with the one closest to Las Positas listed first.
    • Laddville ‑ Historic
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Laddville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laddville
      • Laddville is located in Alameda County
    • Livermore
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Altamont
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Altamont have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altamont
      • Altamont is located in Alameda County
    • Pleasanton
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Komandorski Village
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Komandorski Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Komandorski Village
      • Komandorski Village is located in Alameda County
    • Dublin
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • San Ramon Village
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for San Ramon Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Ramon Village
      • San Ramon Village is located in Alameda County
    • Tesla ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Tesla. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tesla
      • Tesla is located in Alameda County
    • Scotts Corner
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotts Corner
      • Scotts Corner is located in Alameda County
    • Sunol
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Fairview
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fairview have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
      • Fairview is located in Alameda County
    • Castro Valley
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
  • Contra Costa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Las Positas, with the one closest to Las Positas listed first.
    • Tassajara
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tassajara
      • Tassajara is located in Contra Costa County
    • Blackhawk - Camino Tassajara
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Blackhawk
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blackhawk have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackhawk
      • Blackhawk is located in Contra Costa County
    • Byron
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Marsh Creek Springs
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marsh Creek Springs
      • Marsh Creek Springs is located in Contra Costa County
    • Rock City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rock City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock City
      • Rock City is located in Contra Costa County
    • San Ramon
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Diablo
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Brentwood
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Discovery Bay
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Danville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danville
      • Danville is located in Contra Costa County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 44,883 people
      • Former name for Danville:
      • Inmanville
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Danville <2>
    • Bixler
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bixler
      • Bixler is located in Contra Costa County
  • San Joaquin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Las Positas, with the one closest to Las Positas listed first.
    • Carnegie ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Carnegie. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carnegie
      • Carnegie is located in San Joaquin County
    • Ellis ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ellis have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellis
      • Ellis is located in San Joaquin County
    • Tracy
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tracy
      • Tracy is located in San Joaquin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 95,025 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tracy <2>
    • Wainwright Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wainwright Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wainwright Village
      • Wainwright Village is located in San Joaquin County
    • Lyoth
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lyoth have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyoth
      • Lyoth is located in San Joaquin County
    • Banta
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Holt
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Vernalis
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Lathrop
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lathrop
      • Lathrop is located in San Joaquin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 26,373 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lathrop <2>
    • Country Club
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Country Club have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Club
      • Country Club is located in San Joaquin County
    • French Camp
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Taft Mosswood
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taft Mosswood
      • Taft Mosswood is located in San Joaquin County
  • San Mateo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Las Positas, with the one closest to Las Positas listed first.
    • East Palo Alto
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • The Willows
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Willows
      • The Willows is located in San Mateo County
    • Foster City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Menlo Park
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • North Fair Oaks
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Fair Oaks have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Fair Oaks
      • North Fair Oaks is located in San Mateo County
    • Atherton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Redwood City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Santa Clara County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Las Positas, with the one closest to Las Positas listed first.
    • Milpitas
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Alviso
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • East Foothills
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Foothills
      • East Foothills is located in Santa Clara County
    • Alum Rock
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alum Rock
      • Alum Rock is located in Santa Clara County
    • Agnew
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agnew
      • Agnew is located in Santa Clara County
    • Santa Clara
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • San Jose
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Jose
      • San Jose is located in Santa Clara County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,013,616 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for San Jose <2>
    • Sunol - Midtown
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunol - Midtown
      • Sunol - Midtown is located in Santa Clara County
    • Palo Alto
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Sunnyvale
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Buena Vista
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buena Vista have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
      • Buena Vista is located in Santa Clara County
    • Burbank
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burbank
      • Burbank is located in Santa Clara County
  • Solano County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Las Positas, with the one closest to Las Positas listed first.
    • Birds Landing
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Rio Vista
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)

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

Cemeteries Near Las Positas ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Las Positas.

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 Las Positas covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Roselawn Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Roselawn Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Roselawn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Oak Knoll Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak Knoll Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oak Knoll Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Michaels Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Michaels Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Michaels Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pleasanton Memorial Gardens Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasanton Memorial Gardens Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasanton Memorial Gardens Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Dublin Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dublin Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dublin Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Byron Brentwood Knightson Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Byron Brentwood Knightson Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Byron Brentwood Knightson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mission San Jose Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mission San Jose Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mission San Jose Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lone Tree Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
  • Chapel of the Chimes Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Chapel of the Chimes Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Chapel of the Chimes Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Chapel of the Chimes Memorial Park
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Chapel of the Chimes Memorial Park
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Chapel of the Chimes Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Ohlone Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Ohlones Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ohlones Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ohlones Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (47 more) ...
    • St. Josephs Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • All Saints Cemetery
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the All Saints Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the All Saints Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Holy Sepulchre Cemetery
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Holy Sepulchre Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Holy Sepulchre Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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

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

  • Livermore
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Pleasanton
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Sunol
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Midway
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Midway have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
    • Midway is located in Alameda County
  • Byron
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • San Ramon
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Brentwood
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Danville
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danville
    • Danville is located in Contra Costa County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 44,883 people
    • Former name for Danville:
    • Inmanville
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Danville <2>
  • Stewartville ‑ Historic
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stewartville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stewartville
    • Stewartville is located in Contra Costa County
  • Somersville ‑ Historic
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Somersville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somersville
    • Somersville is located in Contra Costa County
  • Ellis ‑ Historic
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ellis have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellis
    • Ellis is located in San Joaquin County
  • Nortonville ‑ Historic
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nortonville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nortonville
    • Nortonville is located in Contra Costa County
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Tracy
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tracy
      • Tracy is located in San Joaquin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 95,025 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tracy <2>
    • Clayton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clayton
      • Clayton is located in Contra Costa County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,527 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clayton <2>
    • Alamo
      (17 miles [27.4 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 Las Positas. See our List of 1890's Communities around Las Positas.

Newspapers Published in Las Positas ...

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 38 newspapers that have been published in the area around Las Positas.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Las Positas, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Las Positas.

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 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 Las Positas:

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

The official website for Alameda County: www.acgov.org/

The official website for State of California: https://www.ca.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<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 Las Positas, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Las Positas) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Las Positas. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.7263, Longitude: -121.7633       In this case, the coordinates for Las Positas have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025