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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 Magra (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 Magra. 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 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.

Magra is located in Placer 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 Placer County: El Dorado, Nevada, Sacramento, Sutter, Yuba, Carson City (NV), Douglas (NV) & Washoe (NV).

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

  • Placer County     (The home county of Magra)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Magra, with the one closest to Magra listed first.
    • Secret Town
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Secret Town. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Secret Town
      • Secret Town is located in Placer County
    • Gold Run
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Iowa Hill
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Chicago Park ‑ Historic
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Chicago Park. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chicago Park
      • Chicago Park is located in Placer County
    • Dutch Flat
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Colfax
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Alta
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Casa Loma
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casa Loma
      • Casa Loma is located in Placer County
    • Yankee Jims
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Yankee Jims have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yankee Jims
      • Yankee Jims is located in Placer County
    • Weimar
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Foresthill
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Michigan Bluff
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Michigan Bluff
      • Michigan Bluff is located in Placer County
    • Applegate
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Butte County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Magra, with the one closest to Magra listed first.
    • Clipper Mills
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Oroleve
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oroleve
      • Oroleve is located in Butte County
  • El Dorado County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Magra, with the one closest to Magra listed first.
    • Georgetown
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Fornis
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fornis
      • Fornis is located in El Dorado County
    • Greenwood
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Cool
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Quintette
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quintette
      • Quintette is located in El Dorado County
    • Garden Valley
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Pilot Hill
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Coloma
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Kelsey
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelsey
      • Kelsey is located in El Dorado County
    • Lotus
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Salmon Falls ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Salmon Falls. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salmon Falls
      • Salmon Falls is located in El Dorado County
    • Jayhawk
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jayhawk
      • Jayhawk is located in El Dorado County
    • Motor City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Motor City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Motor City
      • Motor City is located in El Dorado County
  • Nevada County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Magra, with the one closest to Magra listed first.
    • Chicago Park
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • You Bet ‑ Historic
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for You Bet. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for You Bet
      • You Bet is located in Nevada County
    • Cedar Ridge
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Kres
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Kres. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kres
      • Kres is located in Nevada County
    • Union Hill
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Hill
      • Union Hill is located in Nevada County
    • Alta Sierra
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alta Sierra have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alta Sierra
      • Alta Sierra is located in Nevada County
    • Scotts Flat
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotts Flat
      • Scotts Flat is located in Nevada County
    • Glenbrook
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenbrook
      • Glenbrook is located in Nevada County
    • Gold Flat
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Gold Flat. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gold Flat
      • Gold Flat is located in Nevada County
    • Spring Hill
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
      • Spring Hill is located in Nevada County
    • Grass Valley
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Nevada City
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Blue Tent
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Tent
      • Blue Tent is located in Nevada County
  • Shasta County
    • Bear Valley ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bear Valley. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Valley
      • Bear Valley is located in Shasta County
  • Sierra County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Magra, with the one closest to Magra listed first.
    • Alleghany
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Forest
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest
      • Forest is located in Sierra County
    • Brandy City ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Brandy City. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandy City
      • Brandy City is located in Sierra County
    • Goodyears Bar
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Downieville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
  • Yuba County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Magra, with the one closest to Magra listed first.
    • Smartville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Camptonville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Bullards Bar ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bullards Bar. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bullards Bar
      • Bullards Bar is located in Yuba County
    • Dobbins
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Garden Valley ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Garden Valley. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Valley
      • Garden Valley is located in Yuba County
    • Foster Bar ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Foster Bar. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foster Bar
      • Foster Bar is located in Yuba County
    • Timbuctoo ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timbuctoo
      • Timbuctoo is located in Yuba County
    • Oregon House
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Depot Hill ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Depot Hill. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Depot Hill
      • Depot Hill is located in Yuba County
    • Browns Valley
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Brownsville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Challenge
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Wheatland
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)

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

Cemeteries Near Magra ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Magra.

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

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

  • Iowa Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Iowa Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Iowa Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Colfax Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Colfax Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Colfax Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Colfax Indian Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Dutch Flat Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dutch Flat Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Dutch Flat Cemetery is located in the vicinity of Alta
  • Deer Creek Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Deer Creek Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Deer Creek Cemetery is located outside and to the east of Nevada City.
    • The Deer Creek Cemetery has also been known as:
    • New Odd Fellows Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2400769 <4>
  • Forest View Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Pine Grove Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Elm Ridge Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Elm Ridge Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Elm Ridge Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Foresthill Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Foresthill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Foresthill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Foresthill Community Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Pioneer Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pioneer Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pioneer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pioneer Grove Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pioneer Grove Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pioneer Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (51 more) ...
    • St. Patricks Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Patricks Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Patricks Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Greenwood Memorial Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Greenwood Memorial Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Greenwood Memorial Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Catholic Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Catholic Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Catholic Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Catholic Cemetery is located in Grass Valley.

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.<5>

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

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

  • Gold Run
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Chicago Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Colfax
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • You Bet ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for You Bet. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for You Bet
    • You Bet is located in Nevada County
  • Dutch Flat
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Buena Vista ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buena Vista have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
    • Buena Vista is located in Nevada County
  • Towle
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Towle have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Towle
    • Towle is located in Placer County
  • Alta
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Kres
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Kres. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kres
    • Kres is located in Nevada County
  • Weimar
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Yankee Jims
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Yankee Jims have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yankee Jims
    • Yankee Jims is located in Placer County
  • Union Hill
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Hill
    • Union Hill is located in Nevada County
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Glenbrook
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenbrook
      • Glenbrook is located in Nevada County
    • Nevada City
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Michigan Bluff
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Michigan Bluff
      • Michigan Bluff is located in Placer County

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

Newspapers Published in Magra ...

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 48 newspapers that have been published in the area around Magra.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Magra, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Magra.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Magra:

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

The official website for Placer County: www.placer.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>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<4>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.
<5>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 Magra, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Magra) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Magra. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.1491, Longitude: -120.8966       In this case, the coordinates for Magra have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025