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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 Long Beach (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 Long Beach. 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 Long Beach ...

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.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Long Beach: Long Bch.

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 Long Beach ...

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

  • Long Beach was established in 1880.
  • It was incorporated on December 13, 1897.

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 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.

Long Beach is located in Los Angeles 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 Los Angeles County: Kern, Orange, San Bernardino & Ventura.

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

  • Los Angeles County     (The home county of Long Beach)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Long Beach, with the one closest to Long Beach listed first.
    • Cambodia Town
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cambodia Town have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambodia Town
      • Cambodia Town is located in Los Angeles County
    • Signal Hill
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Belmont Shore
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Naples
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naples
      • Naples is located in Los Angeles County
    • Avalon Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Avalon Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avalon Village
      • Avalon Village is located in Los Angeles County
    • Dominguez
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dominguez have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dominguez
      • Dominguez is located in Los Angeles County
    • Lincoln Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lincoln Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln Village
      • Lincoln Village is located in Los Angeles County
    • Fish Harbor ‑ Historic
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Fish Harbor. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fish Harbor
      • Fish Harbor is located in Los Angeles County
    • Dana Strand Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dana Strand Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dana Strand Village
      • Dana Strand Village is located in Los Angeles County
    • Wilmington
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmington
      • Wilmington is located in Los Angeles County
    • Lakewood
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Carson
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carson
      • Carson is located in Los Angeles County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 89,860 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Carson <2>
    • Harbor City
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harbor City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harbor City
      • Harbor City is located in Los Angeles County
  • Orange County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Long Beach, with the one closest to Long Beach listed first.
    • Seal Beach
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Rossmoor
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rossmoor have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rossmoor
      • Rossmoor is located in Orange County
    • Surfside
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Los Alamitos
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Sunset Beach
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Barber City
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Barber City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barber City
      • Barber City is located in Orange County
    • Cypress
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • La Palma
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Green Lantern Village
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Lantern Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Stanton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Westminster
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Wintersburg
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wintersburg
      • Wintersburg is located in Orange County
  • San Bernardino County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Long Beach, with the one closest to Long Beach listed first.
    • Chino Hills
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Los Serranos
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Los Serranos have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Los Serranos
      • Los Serranos is located in San Bernardino County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Long Beach ...

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 219 newspapers that have been published in the area around Long Beach.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Long Beach. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Long Beach and those printed in the larger area surrounding Long Beach.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<4> of Long Beach.

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 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 Long Beach:

Cemeteries Near Long Beach ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Long Beach.

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 Long Beach covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Long Beach Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • 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
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Table Top Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Table Top Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Table Top Cemetery
  • Wilmington Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Wilmington Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Wilmington.
    • The Wilmington Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Historic Wilmington Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wilmington Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #152636 <5>
  • All Souls Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the All Souls Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the All Souls Cemetery
  • Long Beach Forest Lawn Park Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • 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 <5>
  • Harbor View Memorial Park
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Green Hills Memorial Park
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Woodlawn Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Woodlawn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Woodlawn Cemetery
  • Lincoln Memorial Park
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lincoln Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lincoln Memorial Park
  • Forest Lawn Memorial Park
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Forest Lawn Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Forest Lawn Memorial Park
  • Artesia Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Artesia Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Artesia Cemetery
  • Continue List   (65 more) ...
    • Roosevelt Memorial Park
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Angeles Abbey Memorial Park
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Old Downey Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Downey Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Downey 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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Long Beach had a population of 564 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Long Beach had a population of 454,681 people.

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

  • Thenard
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thenard have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thenard
    • Thenard is located in Los Angeles County
  • Dominguez
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dominguez have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dominguez
    • Dominguez is located in Los Angeles County
  • Wilmington
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmington
    • Wilmington is located in Los Angeles County
  • San Pedro
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Pedro
    • San Pedro is located in Los Angeles County
  • Compton
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Compton
    • Compton is located in Los Angeles County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 93,967 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Compton <2>
  • Artesia
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • 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 <2>
  • Clearwater
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clearwater have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clearwater
    • Clearwater is located in Los Angeles County
  • Cerritos
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Norwalk
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • 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 <2>
  • Gardena
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gardena
    • Gardena is located in Los Angeles County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 58,498 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gardena <2>
  • Moneta
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moneta have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moneta
    • Moneta is located in Los Angeles County
  • Lynwood
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynwood
    • Lynwood is located in Los Angeles County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 68,508 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lynwood <2>
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Westminster
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • South Los Angeles
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Los Angeles
      • South Los Angeles is located in Los Angeles County
    • Carmenita
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carmenita have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carmenita
      • Carmenita is located in Los Angeles County

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

The official website for Long Beach: www.longbeach.gov/

The official website for Los Angeles County: www.lacounty.info/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<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- Long Beach) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Long Beach. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.7755, Longitude: -118.1895    
<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 Long Beach, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024