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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

So far, we found very little information about Leonard. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>

We've added Leonard to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Leonard, please Contact Us.

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 Leonard (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 Leonard. 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 and hospitals 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.

Although our information shows that the community of Leonard is historic, it would have been located within present day Santa Cruz 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 Santa Cruz County: Monterey, San Benito, San Mateo & Santa Clara.

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

  • Santa Cruz County     (The home county of Leonard)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Leonard, with the one closest to Leonard listed first.
    • La Selva Beach
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Rio del Mar
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Aptos Hills - Larkin Valley
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Aptos
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Freedom
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Day Valley
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Day Valley is located in Santa Cruz County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Day Valley
    • Amesti
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Amesti is located in Santa Cruz County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amesti
    • Corralitos
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Strongs Mobile Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Capitola
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Soquel
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Opal Cliffs
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Opal Cliffs is located in Santa Cruz County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Opal Cliffs
    • Colache Town
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Colache Town is located in Santa Cruz County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colache Town
  • Monterey County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Leonard, with the one closest to Leonard listed first.
    • Pajaro
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Pajaro is located in Monterey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pajaro
    • Las Lomas
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Las Lomas is located in Monterey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Las Lomas
    • Vega ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Vega is located in Monterey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vega
    • Moss Landing
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Elkhorn
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Elkhorn is located in Monterey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhorn
    • Aromas
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Castroville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Prunedale
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Marina
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Marina is located in Monterey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marina
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 21,836 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marina <2>
    • Santa Rita
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Santa Rita is located in Monterey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santa Rita
    • Prattco ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Prattco is located in Monterey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prattco
    • Boronda
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Boronda is located in Monterey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boronda
    • Salinas
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
  • San Benito County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Leonard, with the one closest to Leonard listed first.
    • River Oaks
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • River Oaks is located in San Benito County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Oaks
    • San Juan Bautista
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Dunneville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Dunneville is located in San Benito County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunneville
    • Hollister
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Ridgemark
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Ridgemark is located in San Benito County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgemark
  • Santa Clara County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Leonard, with the one closest to Leonard listed first.
    • Sveadal
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Sveadal is located in Santa Clara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sveadal
    • Holy City ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Holy City is located in Santa Clara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holy City
    • Patchen
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Patchen is located in Santa Clara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patchen
    • Redwood Estates
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • English Town
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • English Town is located in Santa Clara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for English Town
    • Lexington Hills
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Lexington Hills is located in Santa Clara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lexington Hills
    • New Almaden
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Chemeketa Park
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Chemeketa Park is located in Santa Clara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chemeketa Park
    • Gilroy
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Gilroy is located in Santa Clara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilroy
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 54,831 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gilroy <2>
    • Madrone
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Madrone is located in Santa Clara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madrone
    • Morgan Hill
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Rucker
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Rucker is located in Santa Clara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rucker
    • San Martin
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Leonard ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Leonard.

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

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

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

  • Day Valley Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Pioneer Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • IOOF Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Watsonville Catholic Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Soquel Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soquel Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Soquel Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the north of Soquel.
    • The Soquel Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Beit Olam Cemetery
    • Eternal Home Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #999577 <3>
  • St. Francis Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Oakwood Memorial Park
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood Memorial Park
    • The Oakwood Memorial Park has also been known as:
    • Oak Wood Cemetery
    • Santa Cruz Memorial Oakwood Chapel Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #8219 <3>
  • Holy Cross Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Old Holy Cross Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Pajaro Valley Memorial Park
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Santa Cruz Memorial Park
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (34 more) ...
    • Evergreen Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Home of Peace Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Castroville Public Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castroville Public Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Castroville Public Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the south of Moss Landing.
      • The Castroville Public Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Castroville Cemetery
      • Castroville / Moss Landing Cemetery
      • Moss Landing Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #7885 <3>

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.

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

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

  • Aptos
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Corralitos
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Soquel
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Capitola
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Watsonville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Pajaro
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Pajaro is located in Monterey County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pajaro
  • Santa Cruz
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Vega ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Vega is located in Monterey County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vega
  • Elkhorn
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Elkhorn is located in Monterey County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhorn
  • Castroville
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Laurel
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Laurel is located in Santa Cruz County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel
  • Glenwood
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Glenwood is located in Santa Cruz County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Zayante
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Zayante is located in Santa Cruz County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zayante
    • Felton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Patchen
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Patchen is located in Santa Clara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patchen

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

Newspapers Published in Leonard ...

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 109 newspapers that have been published in the area around Leonard.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Leonard, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Leonard.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to 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 Leonard:

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Leonard, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 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.
<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 from Point A (ie- Leonard) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.