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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 Meiss (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 Meiss. 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 southeast 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 south.

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 south 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.

Meiss is located in El Dorado County.

To see how the shape of California's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of El Dorado County: Alpine, Amador, Placer, Sacramento & Douglas (NV).

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

  • El Dorado County     (The home county of Meiss)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Meiss, with the one closest to Meiss listed first.
    • Kyburz
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • White Hall
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • White Hall is located in El Dorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Hall
    • Grizzly Flatx
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Riverton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Riverton is located in El Dorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverton
    • Pacific
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Pacific is located in El Dorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pacific
    • Fresh Pond
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Fresh Pond is located in El Dorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fresh Pond
    • Strawberry
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Pollock Pines
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Twin Bridges
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Fair Play
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Pleasant Valley
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Pleasant Valley is located in El Dorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Valley
    • Phillips
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Phillips is located in El Dorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phillips
    • Newtown
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Newtown is located in El Dorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newtown
  • Alpine County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Meiss, with the one closest to Meiss listed first.
    • Bear Valley
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Lake Alpine
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Lake Alpine is located in Alpine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Alpine
    • Sorensens
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Sorensens is located in Alpine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sorensens
    • Alpine Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Alpine Village is located in Alpine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpine Village
    • Marklee Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Marklee Village is located in Alpine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marklee Village
    • Woodfords
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Woodfords is located in Alpine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodfords
    • Markleeville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Amador County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Meiss, with the one closest to Meiss listed first.
    • Kit Carson
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Kirkwood
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Pioneer
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Volcano
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • River Pines
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Pine Grove
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Fiddletown
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Electra ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Electra is located in Amador County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Electra
    • Plymouth
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Amador City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Jackson
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Sutter Creek
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Calaveras County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Meiss, with the one closest to Meiss listed first.
    • Bummerville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Bummerville is located in Calaveras County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bummerville
    • Big Meadow
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Big Meadow is located in Calaveras County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Meadow
    • West Point
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Sandy Gulch
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Sandy Gulch is located in Calaveras County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Gulch
    • Wilseyville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Big Trees Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Big Trees Village is located in Calaveras County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Trees Village
    • Camp Connell
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Dorrington
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Glencoe
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Rail Road Flat
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Big Trees
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Big Trees is located in Calaveras County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Trees
    • Arnold
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Fly-In Acres
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Fly-In Acres is located in Calaveras County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fly-In Acres
  • Douglas County (NV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Meiss, with the one closest to Meiss listed first.
    • Edgewood
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Edgewood is located in Douglas County (NV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgewood
    • Stateline
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Meiss ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Meiss.

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.

Although we don't have the information ourselves, if you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our list of websites on our Genealogy Helper Page for Meiss - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Meiss covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Maidens Gravesite
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Indian Diggings Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Andreason Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Amador Memorial Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
  • Catholic Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Protestant Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Inedpendence Cemetery
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Oak Hill Cemetery
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
  • Pine Grove Cemetery
    (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
  • Smith Flat Cemetery
    (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
  • Fiddletown Cemetery
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
  • Shenandoah Valley Cemetery
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (25 more) ...
    • Pioneer Grave
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Bennett Memorial Park
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Catholic Cemetery
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)

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.<4>

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

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

  • Bryants
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Bryants is located in El Dorado County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryants
  • Grizzly Flatx
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Pacific
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Pacific is located in El Dorado County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pacific
  • Omo Ranch
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Omo Ranch is located in El Dorado County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Omo Ranch
  • Pleasant Valley
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Pleasant Valley is located in El Dorado County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Valley
  • Fair Play
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
  • West Point
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
  • Volcano
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Pine Grove
    (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
  • Glencoe
    (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
  • Rail Road Flat
    (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
  • Fiddletown
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Big Trees
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Big Trees is located in Calaveras County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Trees
    • Tallac Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Tallac Village is located in El Dorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tallac Village
    • Emerald Bay
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Emerald Bay is located in El Dorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerald Bay

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

Newspapers Published in Meiss ...

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 39 newspapers that have been published in the area around Meiss.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Meiss, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Meiss.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Meiss:

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 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.
<3>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- Meiss) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<4>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 Meiss, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.