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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 Nelson (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 Nelson. 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 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.

Nelson is located in Butte 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 Butte County: Colusa, Glenn, Plumas, Sutter, Tehama & Yuba.

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

  • Butte County     (The home county of Nelson)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Nelson, with the one closest to Nelson listed first.
    • Richvale
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Durham
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Oroville Junction
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oroville Junction
      • Oroville Junction is located in Butte County
    • Dayton
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dayton
      • Dayton is located in Butte County
    • Lorraine ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lorraine have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lorraine
      • Lorraine is located in Butte County
    • Thermalito
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thermalito
      • Thermalito is located in Butte County
    • Elsey
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Bigg's
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Oroville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • South Oroville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Oroville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Oroville
      • South Oroville is located in Butte County
    • East Biggs
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Biggs
      • East Biggs is located in Butte County
    • Chico
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chico
      • Chico is located in Butte County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 102,867 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chico <1>
  • Colusa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Nelson, with the one closest to Nelson listed first.
    • Princeton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Colusa Rancheria
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colusa Rancheria
      • Colusa Rancheria is located in Colusa County
    • Colusa
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Maxwell
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Glenn County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Nelson, with the one closest to Nelson listed first.
    • Butte City
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Glenn
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Afton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Afton
      • Afton is located in Glenn County
    • Hamilton City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Capay
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Capay have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capay
      • Capay is located in Glenn County
    • Artois
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Willows
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Orland
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Santa Cruz County
  • Sutter County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Nelson, with the one closest to Nelson listed first.
    • Pennington
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennington
      • Pennington is located in Sutter County
    • Live Oak
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Live Oak
      • Live Oak is located in Sutter County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,048 people
    • Sutter
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Tarke
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tarke
      • Tarke is located in Sutter County
    • Tierra Buena
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tierra Buena have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tierra Buena
      • Tierra Buena is located in Sutter County
    • Meridian
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Yuba City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • South Yuba City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Yuba City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Yuba City
      • South Yuba City is located in Sutter County
  • Tehama County
  • Yuba County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Nelson, with the one closest to Nelson listed first.
    • Rackerby
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Iowa City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Iowa City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iowa City
      • Iowa City is located in Yuba County
    • Loma Rica
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loma Rica
      • Loma Rica is located in Yuba County
    • Brownsville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Challenge
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Binney Junction
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Binney Junction
      • Binney Junction is located in Yuba County
    • Browns Valley
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Marysville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Dantoni
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dantoni
      • Dantoni is located in Yuba County
    • Oregon House
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Nelson ...

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 67 newspapers that have been published in the area around Nelson.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Nelson, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Nelson.

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 Nelson:

Cemeteries Near Nelson ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Nelson.

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

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

  • Nelson Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Mound Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Durham Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Durham Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Durham Cemetery
  • Dayton Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Dayton Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the northeast of Dayton.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dayton Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2144284 <4>
  • Hamilton Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Hamilton Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<5>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hamilton Cemetery
  • Glen Oaks Memorial Park
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Glen Oaks Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Glen Oaks Memorial Park
  • Oroville Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oroville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oroville Cemetery
  • Martin Family Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Martin Family Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<5>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Martin Family Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2447144 <4>
  • Pioneer Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • 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
  • Thompson Flat Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Thompson Flat Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Thompson Flat Cemetery
  • Clear Creek Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Clear Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Clear Creek Cemetery
  • Butte City Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (45 more) ...
    • Gridley - Biggs Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Memorial Park
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Memorial Park
    • Oregon City Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Nelson had a population of 217 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Durham
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Bigg's
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Oroville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Pentz
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pentz have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pentz
    • Pentz is located in Butte County
  • Chico
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chico
    • Chico is located in Butte County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 102,867 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chico <1>
  • Butte City
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Gridley
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Cherokee ‑ Historic
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cherokee have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherokee
    • Cherokee is located in Butte County
  • Jacinto
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jacinto have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacinto
    • Jacinto is located in Glenn County
  • Afton
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Afton
    • Afton is located in Glenn County
  • Palermo
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Yankee Hill
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Yankee Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yankee Hill
    • Yankee Hill is located in Butte County
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Paradise
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Wyandotte
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wyandotte have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyandotte
      • Wyandotte is located in Butte County
    • Pennington
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennington
      • Pennington is located in Sutter County

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

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

The official website for Butte County: www.buttecounty.net/

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Nelson) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Nelson. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.5524, Longitude: -121.7651    
<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>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.
<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 Nelson, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024