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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 Los Alamos (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 Los Alamos. 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 hospitals and doctors 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.

Los Alamos is located in Santa Barbara 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 Santa Barbara County: Kern, San Luis Obispo & Ventura.

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

  • Santa Barbara County     (The home county of Los Alamos)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Los Alamos, with the one closest to Los Alamos listed first.
    • Mission Hills
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mission Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mission Hills
      • Mission Hills is located in Santa Barbara County
    • Garey
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garey
      • Garey is located in Santa Barbara County
    • Buellton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Los Olivos
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Ballard
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Vandenberg Village
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vandenberg Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vandenberg Village
      • Vandenberg Village is located in Santa Barbara County
    • Orcutt
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Solvang
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Solvang
      • Solvang is located in Santa Barbara County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,556 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Solvang <2>
    • Lompoc
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lompoc
      • Lompoc is located in Santa Barbara County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 42,253 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lompoc <2>
    • Lompoc Village
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lompoc Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lompoc Village
      • Lompoc Village is located in Santa Barbara County
    • Santa Ynez
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Casmalia
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • San Luis Obispo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Los Alamos, with the one closest to Los Alamos listed first.
    • Nipomo
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Callender
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Los Alamos ...

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 40 newspapers that have been published in the area around Los Alamos.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Los Alamos. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Los Alamos and those printed in the larger area surrounding Los Alamos.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 23 miles [37 km]<3> of Los Alamos.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with 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 Los Alamos:

Cemeteries Near Los Alamos ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Los Alamos.

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 Los Alamos covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Los Alamos Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Los Alamos Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Los Alamos Cemetery
  • Foxen Canyon Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Foxen Canyon Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Foxen Canyon Cemetery
  • Mission La Purisima Concepcion Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Mission La Purisima Concepcion Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Mission La Purisima Concepcion Cemetery is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<3> to the southwest of Lompoc.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mission La Purisima Concepcion Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2220938 <5>
  • Ontiveros Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ontiveros Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ontiveros Cemetery
  • Oak Hill Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Oak Hill Cemetery is located in Ballard.
    • The Oak Hill Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Oak Hill Memorial Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak Hill Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #8210 <5>
  • Lompoc Evergreen Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lompoc Evergreen Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lompoc Evergreen Cemetery
  • Solvang Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Solvang Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Solvang Cemetery
  • Ryon Memorial Park
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Santa Maria Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Santa Maria Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Santa Maria Cemetery
  • Guadalupe Cemetery
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Guadalupe Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Guadalupe 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 Los Alamos had a population of 607 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Sisquoc
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sisquoc have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sisquoc
    • Sisquoc is located in Santa Barbara County
  • Garey
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garey
    • Garey is located in Santa Barbara County
  • Los Olivos
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Ballard
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Lompoc
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lompoc
    • Lompoc is located in Santa Barbara County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 42,253 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lompoc <2>
  • Nojoqui
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nojoqui have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nojoqui
    • Nojoqui is located in Santa Barbara County
  • Santa Ynez
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Santa Maria
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Guadalupe
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Nipomo
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Summit ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Summit have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
      • Summit is located in San Luis Obispo County
    • Huasna
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Huasna have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huasna
      • Huasna is located in San Luis Obispo County
    • Naples ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naples
      • Naples is located in Santa Barbara County
    • Los Berros
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Los Berros have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Los Berros
      • Los Berros is located in San Luis Obispo County

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

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

The official website for Santa Barbara County: www.countyofsb.org/

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>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- Los Alamos) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Los Alamos. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.7425, Longitude: -120.2761    
<4>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.
<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 Los Alamos, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024