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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

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

We've added Masonic to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Masonic, 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 Masonic (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 Masonic. 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 Masonic ...

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.

Masonic was originally named Lorena

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.

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.

Although our information shows that the community of Masonic is historic, it would have been located within present day 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 Masonic. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Masonic:

  • Mono County     (The home county of Masonic)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Masonic, with the one closest to Masonic listed first.
    • Chemung Mine ‑ Historic
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Chemung Mine. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chemung Mine
      • Chemung Mine is located in Mono County
    • Belfort ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belfort
      • Belfort is located in Mono County
    • Bridgeport
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Bodie ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bodie
      • Bodie is located in Mono County
    • Chinatown ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chinatown
      • Chinatown is located in Mono County
    • Willow Springs
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Springs
      • Willow Springs is located in Mono County
    • Dog Town ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dog Town have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dog Town
      • Dog Town is located in Mono County
    • Fales Hot Springs
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fales Hot Springs
      • Fales Hot Springs is located in Mono County
    • Sonora Junction
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sonora Junction
      • Sonora Junction is located in Mono County
    • Dunderberg Mill ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dunderberg Mill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunderberg Mill
      • Dunderberg Mill is located in Mono County
    • Walker
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Mono City
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mono City
      • Mono City is located in Mono County
  • Lyon County (NV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Masonic, with the one closest to Masonic listed first.
    • Wichman
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wichman
      • Wichman is located in Lyon County (NV)
    • Pine Grove ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Grove
      • Pine Grove is located in Lyon County (NV)
    • Wellington
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Mineral County (NV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Masonic, with the one closest to Masonic listed first.
    • Del Monte ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Del Monte have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Del Monte
      • Del Monte is located in Mineral County (NV)
    • Aurora ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurora
      • Aurora is located in Mineral County (NV)
    • Esmeralda ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Esmeralda have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Esmeralda
      • Esmeralda is located in Mineral County (NV)
    • Babbitt
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Babbitt
      • Babbitt is located in Mineral County (NV)
    • Hawthorne
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Masonic ...

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 45 newspapers that have been published in the area around Masonic.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Masonic, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Masonic.

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 Masonic:

Cemeteries Near Masonic ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Masonic.

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

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

  • Bridgeport Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Clinton Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Clinton Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Clinton Cemetery is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<5> to the southwest of Belfort.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Clinton Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2492064 <6>
  • Bodie Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • 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
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Masonic Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • 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
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • 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
  • Mono County Poor Farm Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • 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.<2>
    • 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 <6>
  • Aurora Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Dog Town Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • 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.<2>
    • 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 <6>
  • Jordon / Lundy Avalanche Victims Cemetery
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
  • Pine Grove Cemetery
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Pine Grove Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Pine Grove Cemetery is located 21 miles [33.8 km]<5> to the north of Yerington (NV).
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pine Grove Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2134920 <6>
  • Lundy Cemetery
    (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • 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.<2>
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Lundy Cemetery is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<5> to the east of Mono City.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lundy Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2432220 <6>
  • Continue List   (8 more) ...
    • Mono Lake Cemetery
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Adeline Carson Stilts Burial Site
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • 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.<2>
      • 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 <6>
    • Antelope Valley Cemetery
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)

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

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

  • Bridgeport
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Bodie ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bodie
    • Bodie is located in Mono County
  • Aurora ‑ Historic
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurora
    • Aurora is located in Mineral County (NV)
  • Lundy
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lundy
    • Lundy is located in Mono County
    • Former name for Lundy:
    • Mill Creek
  • Mono Lake ‑ Historic
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • 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.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mono Lake
    • Mono Lake is located in Mono County
  • Coleville
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Hawthorne
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Topaz
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)

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

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

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

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 Masonic, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<2>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.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>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.
<5>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Masonic) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Masonic. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.3625, Longitude: -119.1131    
<6>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.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024