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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 Lawndale (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 Lawndale. 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 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 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.

Lawndale is located in Sonoma 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 Sonoma County: Contra Costa, Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Napa & Solano.

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

  • Sonoma County     (The home county of Lawndale)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lawndale, with the one closest to Lawndale listed first.
    • Kenwood
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Melita
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Melita is located in Sonoma County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melita
    • Glen Ellen
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Eldridge
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Montgomery Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Montgomery Village is located in Sonoma County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montgomery Village
    • Bellevue
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Bellevue is located in Sonoma County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellevue
    • Boyes Hot Springs
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Fetters Hot Springs - Agua Caliente
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Rohnert Park
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Roseland
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Roseland is located in Sonoma County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseland
    • Santa Rosa
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • South Santa Rosa
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • South Santa Rosa is located in Sonoma County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Santa Rosa
  • Lake County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lawndale, with the one closest to Lawndale listed first.
    • Middletown
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Hidden Valley Lake
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Hidden Valley Lake is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hidden Valley Lake
    • Cobb
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Pine Grove
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Pine Grove is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Grove
  • Marin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lawndale, with the one closest to Lawndale listed first.
    • Black Point - Green Point
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Novato
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Tomales
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Old Town
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Old Town is located in Marin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Town
    • Ignacio
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Ignacio is located in Marin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ignacio
    • Rafael Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Rafael Village is located in Marin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rafael Village
    • Dillon Beach
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Hamlet
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Hamlet is located in Marin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamlet
    • Nicks Cove
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Nicks Cove is located in Marin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicks Cove
    • Nicasio
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Marshall
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Millerton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Millerton is located in Marin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerton
  • Napa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lawndale, with the one closest to Lawndale listed first.
    • Saint Helena
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Rutherford
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Oakville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Deer Park
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Calistoga
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Yountville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Woodleaf
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Woodleaf is located in Napa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodleaf
    • Angwin
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Pope Valley
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Union
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Union is located in Napa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
    • Merazo
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Merazo is located in Napa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merazo
    • Napa
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Napa is located in Napa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Napa
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 77,032 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Napa <1>
  • Solano County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lawndale, with the one closest to Lawndale listed first.
    • Green Valley
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Guadalcanal Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Guadalcanal Village is located in Solano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guadalcanal Village
    • Mankas Corner
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Mankas Corner is located in Solano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mankas Corner
    • Mare Island ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Mare Island is located in Solano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mare Island
    • Vallejo
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Lawndale ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Lawndale.

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

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

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

  • Pythian Home Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Thompson Family Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Bennett Valley Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Eldridge Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eldridge Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Eldridge Cemetery is located outside and to the west of Eldridge.
  • Calvary Catholic Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Santa Rosa Calvary Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Ner Tamid Jewish Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • St. Helena Public Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Helena Public Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Helena Public Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located outside and to the southwest of Saint Helena.
    • The St. Helena Public Cemetery has also been known as:
    • St. Helena Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #196296 <2>
  • Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Grace Episcopal Church Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Santa Rosa Memorial Park
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Shomrei Torah Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (75 more) ...
    • Moke Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Santa Rosa Odd Fellows Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Santa Rosa Rural Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 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.<3>

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

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

  • Wildwood ‑ Historic
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Wildwood is located in Sonoma County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildwood
  • Glen Ellen
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Melita
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Melita is located in Sonoma County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melita
  • Madrone ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Madrone is located in Sonoma County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madrone
  • Yulupa ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Yulupa is located in Sonoma County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yulupa
  • Saint Helena
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Rutherford
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Barro
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Barro is located in Napa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barro
  • Santa Rosa
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Cotati
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Penngrove
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Oakville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (18 more) ...
    • Bale
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Bale is located in Napa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bale
    • Sonoma
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Calistoga
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)

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

Newspapers Published in Lawndale ...

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 Lawndale.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Lawndale, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Lawndale.

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 Lawndale:

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 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.
<3>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 Lawndale, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Lawndale) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.