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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 Mendenhall Springs (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 Mendenhall Springs. 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 Mendenhall Springs ...

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.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Mendenhall Springs: Mendenhall Spgs. (or less commonly used: Mendenhall Spngs. or Mendenhall Sprngs.)

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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and 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.

Mendenhall Springs is located in Alameda 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 Alameda County: Contra Costa, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara & Stanislaus.

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

  • Alameda County     (The home county of Mendenhall Springs)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mendenhall Springs, with the one closest to Mendenhall Springs listed first.
    • Tesla ‑ Historic
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Tesla. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tesla
      • Tesla is located in Alameda County
    • Laddville ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Laddville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laddville
      • Laddville is located in Alameda County
    • Livermore
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Altamont
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Altamont have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altamont
      • Altamont is located in Alameda County
    • Scotts Corner
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotts Corner
      • Scotts Corner is located in Alameda County
    • Pleasanton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Sunol
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Komandorski Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Komandorski Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Komandorski Village
      • Komandorski Village is located in Alameda County
    • Dublin
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • San Ramon Village
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for San Ramon Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Ramon Village
      • San Ramon Village is located in Alameda County
    • Fremont
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fremont
      • Fremont is located in Alameda County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 234,569 people
      • Former names for Fremont:
      • Centerville
      • Irvington
      • Mission San Jose
      • Niles
      • Warm Springs
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fremont <2>
    • Drawbridge ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drawbridge
      • Drawbridge is located in Alameda County
      • Former name for Drawbridge:
      • Saline City
    • Albrae ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Albrae. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albrae
      • Albrae is located in Alameda County
  • Contra Costa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mendenhall Springs, with the one closest to Mendenhall Springs listed first.
    • Tassajara
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tassajara
      • Tassajara is located in Contra Costa County
    • Byron
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Discovery Bay
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Blackhawk - Camino Tassajara
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Blackhawk
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blackhawk have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackhawk
      • Blackhawk is located in Contra Costa County
    • San Ramon
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Marsh Creek Springs
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marsh Creek Springs
      • Marsh Creek Springs is located in Contra Costa County
    • Rock City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rock City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock City
      • Rock City is located in Contra Costa County
    • Bixler
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bixler
      • Bixler is located in Contra Costa County
    • Brentwood
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Diablo
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Danville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danville
      • Danville is located in Contra Costa County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 44,883 people
      • Former name for Danville:
      • Inmanville
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Danville <2>
    • Knightsen
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
  • San Joaquin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mendenhall Springs, with the one closest to Mendenhall Springs listed first.
    • Carnegie ‑ Historic
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Carnegie. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carnegie
      • Carnegie is located in San Joaquin County
    • Ellis ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ellis have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellis
      • Ellis is located in San Joaquin County
    • Tracy
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tracy
      • Tracy is located in San Joaquin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 95,025 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tracy <2>
    • Wainwright Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wainwright Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wainwright Village
      • Wainwright Village is located in San Joaquin County
    • Lyoth
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lyoth have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyoth
      • Lyoth is located in San Joaquin County
    • Banta
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Vernalis
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Lathrop
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lathrop
      • Lathrop is located in San Joaquin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 26,373 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lathrop <2>
    • Holt
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Manteca
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manteca
      • Manteca is located in San Joaquin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 84,445 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Manteca <2>
    • French Camp
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Manteca Junction
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manteca Junction
      • Manteca Junction is located in San Joaquin County
    • Ortega ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ortega. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ortega
      • Ortega is located in San Joaquin County
  • San Mateo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mendenhall Springs, with the one closest to Mendenhall Springs listed first.
    • East Palo Alto
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • The Willows
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Willows
      • The Willows is located in San Mateo County
    • Menlo Park
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Santa Clara County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mendenhall Springs, with the one closest to Mendenhall Springs listed first.
    • East Foothills
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Foothills
      • East Foothills is located in Santa Clara County
    • Milpitas
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Alum Rock
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alum Rock
      • Alum Rock is located in Santa Clara County
    • Agnew
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agnew
      • Agnew is located in Santa Clara County
    • Alviso
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • San Jose
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Jose
      • San Jose is located in Santa Clara County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,013,616 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for San Jose <2>
    • Buena Vista
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • 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 Santa Clara County
    • Burbank
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burbank
      • Burbank is located in Santa Clara County
    • Santa Clara
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Seven Trees
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Trees
      • Seven Trees is located in Santa Clara County
    • Sunol - Midtown
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunol - Midtown
      • Sunol - Midtown is located in Santa Clara County
    • Fruitdale
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruitdale
      • Fruitdale is located in Santa Clara County
    • Alamitos
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Alamitos. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alamitos
      • Alamitos is located in Santa Clara County
  • Stanislaus County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mendenhall Springs, with the one closest to Mendenhall Springs listed first.
    • Westley
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Grayson
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Grayson. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grayson
      • Grayson is located in Stanislaus County
    • Tuolumne City ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tuolumne City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuolumne City
      • Tuolumne City is located in Stanislaus County
    • Patterson
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)

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

Cemeteries Near Mendenhall Springs ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Mendenhall Springs.

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

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

  • St. Michaels Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Michaels Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Michaels Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Oak Knoll Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak Knoll Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oak Knoll Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Roselawn Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Roselawn Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Roselawn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pleasanton Memorial Gardens Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasanton Memorial Gardens Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasanton Memorial Gardens Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Brichetto Tomb
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Mission San Jose Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mission San Jose Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mission San Jose Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Josephs Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
  • Tracy Public Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Ohlone Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
  • Ohlones Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ohlones Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ohlones Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Cedar Lawn Memorial Park
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Johns Catholic Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Johns Catholic Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Johns Catholic Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (37 more) ...
    • Irvington Memorial Cemetery
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Dublin Cemetery
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dublin Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dublin Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Calvary Cemetery
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Calvary Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Calvary Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Calvary Cemetery is located in Alum Rock.

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

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

  • Livermore
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Midway
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Midway have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
    • Midway is located in Alameda County
  • Ellis ‑ Historic
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ellis have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellis
    • Ellis is located in San Joaquin County
  • Pleasanton
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Sunol
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Tracy
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tracy
    • Tracy is located in San Joaquin County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 95,025 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tracy <2>
  • Milpitas
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Yarmouth ‑ Historic
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Yarmouth have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yarmouth
    • Yarmouth is located in San Joaquin County
  • Berryessa
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Berryessa have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berryessa
    • Berryessa is located in Santa Clara County
  • Banta
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
  • Vernalis
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
  • Byron
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Evergreen
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Evergreen have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen
      • Evergreen is located in Santa Clara County
    • Newark
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Alviso
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Mendenhall Springs ...

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 180 newspapers that have been published in the area around Mendenhall Springs.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Mendenhall Springs, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Mendenhall Springs.

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 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 Mendenhall Springs:

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

The official website for Alameda County: www.acgov.org/

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 Mendenhall Springs, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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- Mendenhall Springs) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Mendenhall Springs. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.5883, Longitude: -121.6477       In this case, the coordinates for Mendenhall Springs have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025