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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 Monson (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 Monson. 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 and doctors 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.

Monson is located in Tulare 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 Tulare County: Fresno, Inyo, Kern & Kings.

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

  • Tulare County     (The home county of Monson)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Monson, with the one closest to Monson listed first.
    • Sultana
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Cutler
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Yettem
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Orosi
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Dinuba
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • East Orosi
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Orosi
      • East Orosi is located in Tulare County
    • Taurusa
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Taurusa. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taurusa
      • Taurusa is located in Tulare County
    • London
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for London
      • London is located in Tulare County
    • Traver
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Ivanhoe
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Goshen
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Chinowths Corner
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chinowths Corner
      • Chinowths Corner is located in Tulare County
    • Visalia
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Fresno County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Monson, with the one closest to Monson listed first.
    • Orange Cove
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Reedley
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Kingsburg
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Parlier
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Selma
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selma
      • Selma is located in Fresno County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 24,370 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Selma <1>
    • Yokuts
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Minkler
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minkler
      • Minkler is located in Fresno County
    • Del Rey
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Del Rey
      • Del Rey is located in Fresno County
    • Gravesboro
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gravesboro
      • Gravesboro is located in Fresno County
    • Sanger
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Laton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Dunlap
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Miramonte
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Kings County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Monson, with the one closest to Monson listed first.
    • Hanford
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Home Garden
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Home Garden
      • Home Garden is located in Kings County
    • Hardwick
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hardwick
      • Hardwick is located in Kings County
    • Armona
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Hub
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hub have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hub
      • Hub is located in Kings County
    • Lemoore
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Corcoran
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Monson ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Monson.

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

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

  • Smith Mtn. Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • S D A Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the S D A Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the S D A Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Reedley Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Visalia Public Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Visalia Public Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Visalia Public Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Visalia.
    • The Visalia Public Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Visalia Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #198468 <4>
  • Lone Oak Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lone Oak Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lone Oak Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Kingsburg Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Woodlake Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Woodlake Cemetery
    • The Woodlake Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Antelope Cemetery
    • Woodlake Public Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #601409 <4>
  • Deep Creek Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Mendocino Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mendocino Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mendocino Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Odd Fellows Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Odd Fellows Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Odd Fellows Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hamilton Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hamilton Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hamilton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Floral Memorial Park
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (32 more) ...

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Monson had a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Tokay
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tokay have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tokay
    • Tokay is located in Tulare County
  • Orosi
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Taurusa
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Taurusa. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taurusa
    • Taurusa is located in Tulare County
  • Traver
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Reedley
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Goshen
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Visalia
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Auckland
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Auckland have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auckland
    • Auckland is located in Tulare County
  • Tagus
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Tagus. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tagus
    • Tagus is located in Tulare County
  • Farmersville
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Selma
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selma
    • Selma is located in Fresno County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 24,370 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Selma <1>
  • Exeter
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Yokuts
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Yokohl
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Yokohl have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yokohl
      • Yokohl is located in Tulare County
    • Tulare
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tulare
      • Tulare is located in Tulare County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 66,797 people
      • Tulare has also been known as:
      • Tulare City
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tulare <1>

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

Newspapers Published in Monson ...

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 55 newspapers that have been published in the area around Monson.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Monson, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Monson.

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 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 Monson:

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

The official website for Tulare County: www.co.tulare.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>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>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 Monson, 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' (or 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- Monson) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Monson. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.4922, Longitude: -119.3365       In this case, the coordinates for Monson have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025