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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 Motor City (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 Motor City. 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 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 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.

Motor City is located in El Dorado 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 El Dorado County: Alpine, Amador, Placer, Sacramento & Douglas (NV).

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

  • El Dorado County     (The home county of Motor City)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Motor City, with the one closest to Motor City listed first.
    • Camino
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Newtown
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newtown
      • Newtown is located in El Dorado County
    • Placerville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Sportsman Hall ‑ Historic
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sportsman Hall
      • Sportsman Hall is located in El Dorado County
    • Tiger Lily
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tiger Lily
      • Tiger Lily is located in El Dorado County
    • Pleasant Valley
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Valley
      • Pleasant Valley is located in El Dorado County
    • Diamond Springs
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Somerset
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • El Dorado
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Pollock Pines
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Coloma
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Garden Valley
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Fair Play
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Amador County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Motor City, with the one closest to Motor City listed first.
    • River Pines
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Fiddletown
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Plymouth
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Volcano
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Drytown
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Amador City
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Pine Grove
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Pioneer
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Sutter Creek
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Martell
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Jackson
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Carbondale ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carbondale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbondale
      • Carbondale is located in Amador County
    • May ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for May have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for May
      • May is located in Amador County
  • Calaveras County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Motor City, with the one closest to Motor City listed first.
    • West Point
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Bummerville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bummerville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bummerville
      • Bummerville is located in Calaveras County
    • Sandy Gulch
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Gulch
      • Sandy Gulch is located in Calaveras County
    • Glencoe
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Wilseyville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Big Bar
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Bar
      • Big Bar is located in Calaveras County
    • Mokelumne Hill
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Rail Road Flat
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Nevada County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Motor City, with the one closest to Motor City listed first.
    • Lake of the Pines
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake of the Pines have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake of the Pines
      • Lake of the Pines is located in Nevada County
    • Chicago Park
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Placer County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Motor City, with the one closest to Motor City listed first.
    • Foresthill
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Michigan Bluff
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Michigan Bluff
      • Michigan Bluff is located in Placer County
    • Yankee Jims
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Yankee Jims have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yankee Jims
      • Yankee Jims is located in Placer County
    • Auburn
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Bowman
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Applegate
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Clipper Gap
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clipper Gap
      • Clipper Gap is located in Placer County
    • North Auburn
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Auburn have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Auburn
      • North Auburn is located in Placer County
    • Granite Bay
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Meadow Vista
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Newcastle
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Ophir
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ophir
      • Ophir is located in Placer County
    • Penryn
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
  • Sacramento County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Motor City, with the one closest to Motor City listed first.
    • Mormon Island ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Mormon Island. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mormon Island
      • Mormon Island is located in Sacramento County
    • Folsom
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Folsom
      • Folsom is located in Sacramento County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 82,726 people
      • Folsom has also been known as:
      • Folsom City
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Folsom <1>
    • Represa
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Represa
      • Represa is located in Sacramento County
    • Prairie City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prairie City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie City
      • Prairie City is located in Sacramento County
    • Folsom Junction
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Folsom Junction
      • Folsom Junction is located in Sacramento County
    • Natoma
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Natoma have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Natoma
      • Natoma is located in Sacramento County
    • Rancho Murieta
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Orangevale
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Gold River
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Sloughhouse
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Citrus Heights
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Fair Oaks
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)

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

Newspapers Published in Motor City ...

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 57 newspapers that have been published in the area around Motor City.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Motor City, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Motor City.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Motor City:

Cemeteries Near Motor City ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Motor City.

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

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

  • Smith Flat Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Smith Flat Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Smith Flat Cemetery
  • Oak Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oak Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak Hill Cemetery
  • Bennett Memorial Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bennett Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bennett Memorial Park
  • Catholic Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Catholic Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Catholic Cemetery
  • Placerville Union Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Westwood Hills Memorial Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Westwood Hills Memorial Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Westwood Hills Memorial Cemetery
  • Middletown Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Middletown Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Middletown Cemetery
  • Catholic Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Catholic Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Catholic Cemetery
  • James Marshall Gravesite
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the James Marshall Gravesite have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the James Marshall Gravesite
  • Pioneer Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pioneer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pioneer Cemetery
  • Uniontown Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Uniontown Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Uniontown Cemetery
  • Chinese Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Chinese Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Chinese Cemetery
  • Continue List   (53 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.<6>

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

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

  • Placerville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Pleasant Valley
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Valley
    • Pleasant Valley is located in El Dorado County
  • El Dorado
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Kelsey
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kelsey have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelsey
    • Kelsey is located in El Dorado County
  • Coloma
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Fair Play
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Garden Valley
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Lotus
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Shingle Springs
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Nashville
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nashville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nashville
    • Nashville is located in El Dorado County
  • Pacific
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pacific have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pacific
    • Pacific is located in El Dorado County
  • Omo Ranch
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Omo Ranch have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Omo Ranch
    • Omo Ranch is located in El Dorado County
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Georgetown
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Grizzly Flatx
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Bryants
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bryants have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryants
      • Bryants is located in El Dorado County

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

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

The official website for El Dorado County: www.co.el-dorado.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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Motor City) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Motor City. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.7338, Longitude: -120.7405       In this case, the coordinates for Motor City have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>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.
<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 Motor City, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024