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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 McKay (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 McKay. 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 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.

McKay is located in San Luis Obispo 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 San Luis Obispo County: Kern, Kings, Monterey, Santa Barbara & Ventura.

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

  • San Luis Obispo County     (The home county of McKay)
    • The following are listed by their distance from McKay, with the one closest to McKay listed first.
    • San Miguel
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Wellsona
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellsona
      • Wellsona is located in San Luis Obispo County
    • Estrella
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estrella
      • Estrella is located in San Luis Obispo County
    • Oak Park
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oak Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Park
      • Oak Park is located in San Luis Obispo County
    • Lake Nacimiento
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • El Paso de Robles
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for El Paso de Robles have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for El Paso de Robles
      • El Paso de Robles is located in San Luis Obispo County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 31,521 people
    • Paso Robles
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Bee Rock
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bee Rock
      • Bee Rock is located in San Luis Obispo County
    • Templeton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Linne
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linne
      • Linne is located in San Luis Obispo County
    • Atascadero
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Creston
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Shandon
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Fresno County
    • Parkfield Junction
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkfield Junction
      • Parkfield Junction is located in Fresno County
  • Monterey County
    • The following are listed by their distance from McKay, with the one closest to McKay listed first.
    • Bradley
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Pleyto ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pleyto. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleyto
      • Pleyto is located in Monterey County
    • Parkfield
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • San Ardo
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Lockwood
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Martinus Corner
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martinus Corner
      • Martinus Corner is located in Monterey County
    • Jolon
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • San Lucas
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)

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

Cemeteries Near McKay ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of McKay.

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

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

  • Paso Robles District Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Paso Robles District Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Paso Robles District Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Adelaida Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Templeton Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Templeton Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Templeton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Imusdale Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Imusdale Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Imusdale Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Parkfield Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Parkfield Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Parkfield Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Atascadero Pine Mtn. Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Atascadero Pine Mtn. Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Atascadero Pine Mtn. Cemetery is located in Atascadero.
    • The Atascadero Pine Mtn. Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Atascadero Cemetery
    • Pine Mtn. Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2154678 <4>
  • Clark Memorial Park
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Clark Memorial Park
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Clark Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Shandon Cemetery
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Shandon Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Shandon Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Warthan Cemetery
    (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
  • Lockwood Cemetery
    (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lockwood Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lockwood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Santa Rosa Cemetery
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Santa Rosa Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Santa Rosa Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Cambria Cemetery
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cambria Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cambria Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (4 more) ...
    • Cayucos - Morro Bay District Cemetery
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cayucos - Morro Bay District Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cayucos - Morro Bay District Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Clayton Cemetery
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Santa Margarita Cemetery
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Santa Margarita Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Santa Margarita Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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>

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

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

  • San Miguel
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Valleton
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Valleton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valleton
    • Valleton is located in Monterey County
  • Bradley
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Estrella
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estrella
    • Estrella is located in San Luis Obispo County
  • Paso Robles
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Adelaida
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Adelaida have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adelaida
    • Adelaida is located in San Luis Obispo County
  • Pleyto ‑ Historic
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pleyto. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleyto
    • Pleyto is located in Monterey County
  • Templeton
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
  • Linne
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linne
    • Linne is located in San Luis Obispo County
  • Asuncion
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Asuncion have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asuncion
    • Asuncion is located in San Luis Obispo County
  • Parkfield
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
  • San Ardo
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (12 more) ...
    • Bryson
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bryson have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryson
      • Bryson is located in Monterey County
    • Creston
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Shandon
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)

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

Newspapers Published in McKay ...

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 33 newspapers that have been published in the area around McKay.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of McKay, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for McKay.

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 helpful 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 McKay:

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

The official website for San Luis Obispo County: www.co.slo.ca.us/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<2>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.
<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>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>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 drawn from Point A (ie- McKay) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in McKay. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.7836, Longitude: -120.7252       In this case, the coordinates for McKay have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 McKay, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025