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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 Lee Vining (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 Lee Vining. 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 Lee Vining ...

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.

Over the years, Lee Vining had several name changes:

  • Prior to its current name of Lee Vining, it was known as Leevining.
  • Before changing to Leevining, it was named Lakeview.
  • Lee Vining was originally named Lakeview

Another variation: Lake View.

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.

A Few Details for Lee Vining ...

While it's still very early in our research, we found that:

  • Lee Vining was established in 1852.

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 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.

Lee Vining is located in Mono 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 Mono County: Alpine, Fresno, Inyo, Madera, Tuolumne, Douglas (NV), Esmeralda (NV), Lyon (NV) & Mineral (NV).

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

  • Mono County     (The home county of Lee Vining)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lee Vining, with the one closest to Lee Vining listed first.
    • Mono Lake ‑ Historic
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Mono Lake. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mono Lake
      • Mono Lake is located in Mono County
    • Mono City
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mono City
      • Mono City is located in Mono County
    • Bennettville ‑ Historic
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bennettville
      • Bennettville is located in Mono County
      • Former names for Bennettville:
      • Bennett City
      • Tioga
    • Lundy
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lundy
      • Lundy is located in Mono County
      • Former name for Lundy:
      • Mill Creek
    • Dana City ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dana City
      • Dana City is located in Mono County
    • Mono Mills ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mono Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mono Mills
      • Mono Mills is located in Mono County
    • June Lake Junction
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for June Lake Junction
      • June Lake Junction is located in Mono County
    • Dunderberg Mill ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dunderberg Mill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunderberg Mill
      • Dunderberg Mill is located in Mono County
    • June Lake
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Dog Town ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dog Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dog Town
      • Dog Town is located in Mono County
    • Willow Springs
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Springs
      • Willow Springs is located in Mono County
    • Crestview
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crestview
      • Crestview is located in Mono County
  • Mariposa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lee Vining, with the one closest to Lee Vining listed first.
    • Curry Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Curry Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curry Village
      • Curry Village is located in Mariposa County
    • Yosemite Valley
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yosemite Valley
      • Yosemite Valley is located in Mariposa County
    • Yosemite Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yosemite Village
      • Yosemite Village is located in Mariposa County
  • Tuolumne County
    • Golden Crown Mine ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Golden Crown Mine. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golden Crown Mine
      • Golden Crown Mine is located in Tuolumne County
  • Mineral County (NV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lee Vining, with the one closest to Lee Vining listed first.
    • Aurora ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurora
      • Aurora is located in Mineral County (NV)
    • Del Monte ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Del Monte have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Del Monte
      • Del Monte is located in Mineral County (NV)
    • Esmeralda ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Esmeralda have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Esmeralda
      • Esmeralda is located in Mineral County (NV)

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

Newspapers Published in Lee Vining ...

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 39 newspapers that have been published in the area around Lee Vining.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Lee Vining, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Lee Vining.

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 Lee Vining:

Cemeteries Near Lee Vining ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Lee Vining.

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 Lee Vining covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Rush Creek Indian Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Adeline Carson Stilts Burial Site
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Adeline Carson Stilts Burial Site. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Adeline Carson Stilts Burial Site is located outside and to the south of Mono City.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Adeline Carson Stilts Burial Site
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2495049 <5>
  • Mono Lake Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Bloody Canyon Gravesite
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Bloody Canyon Gravesite. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Bloody Canyon Gravesite is located 4 miles [6.4 km]<4> to the north of Lee Vining.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bloody Canyon Gravesite
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2495785 <5>
  • Jordon / Lundy Avalanche Victims Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Lundy Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Lundy Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Lundy Cemetery is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<4> to the east of Mono City.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lundy Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2432220 <5>
  • Dog Town Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Dog Town Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • The Dog Town Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Dogtown Gravesite
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dog Town Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2478036 <5>
  • Mono County Poor Farm Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Mono County Poor Farm Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Mono County Poor Farm Cemetery is located outside and to the northwest of Willow Springs.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mono County Poor Farm Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2477313 <5>
  • Bodie Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Bodie Cemetery is located in the vicinity of Bodie
    • The Bodie Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Wards Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bodie Cemetery
  • Boot Hill Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
  • Masonic Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Masonic Cemetery is located in the vicinity of Bodie
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Masonic Cemetery
  • Miners Union Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Miners Union Cemetery is located in the vicinity of Bodie
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Miners Union Cemetery
  • Continue List   (4 more) ...
    • Bridgeport Cemetery
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Gibbs Cemetery
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Gibbs Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gibbs Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2313825 <5>
    • Aurora Cemetery
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)

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

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

  • Mono Lake ‑ Historic
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Mono Lake. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mono Lake
    • Mono Lake is located in Mono County
  • Lundy
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lundy
    • Lundy is located in Mono County
    • Former name for Lundy:
    • Mill Creek
  • Bodie ‑ Historic
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bodie
    • Bodie is located in Mono County
  • Bridgeport
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
  • Aurora ‑ Historic
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurora
    • Aurora is located in Mineral County (NV)

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

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

The official website for Mono County: www.monocounty.ca.gov/

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>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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Lee Vining) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Lee Vining. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.9581, Longitude: -119.1203    
<5>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.
<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 Lee Vining, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024