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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 Oak Hills (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 Oak Hills. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Oak Hills is located in Monterey 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 Monterey County: Fresno, Kings, San Benito, San Luis Obispo & Santa Cruz.

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

  • Monterey County     (The home county of Oak Hills)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oak Hills, with the one closest to Oak Hills listed first.
    • Prunedale
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Castroville
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Elkhorn
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Elkhorn is located in Monterey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhorn
    • Moss Landing
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Santa Rita
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Santa Rita is located in Monterey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santa Rita
    • Boronda
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Boronda is located in Monterey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boronda
    • Las Lomas
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Las Lomas is located in Monterey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Las Lomas
    • Salinas
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Marina
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Marina is located in Monterey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marina
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 21,836 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marina <1>
    • Pajaro
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Pajaro is located in Monterey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pajaro
    • Vega ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Vega is located in Monterey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vega
    • Aromas
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Prattco ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Prattco is located in Monterey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prattco
  • San Benito County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oak Hills, with the one closest to Oak Hills listed first.
    • River Oaks
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • River Oaks is located in San Benito County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Oaks
    • San Juan Bautista
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Hollister
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Ridgemark
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Ridgemark is located in San Benito County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgemark
    • Dunneville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Dunneville is located in San Benito County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunneville
    • Tres Pinos
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Paicines
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
  • Santa Clara County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oak Hills, with the one closest to Oak Hills listed first.
    • Sargent ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Sargent is located in Santa Clara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sargent
    • Gilroy
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Gilroy is located in Santa Clara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilroy
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 54,831 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gilroy <1>
    • Rucker
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Rucker is located in Santa Clara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rucker
    • Sveadal
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Sveadal is located in Santa Clara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sveadal
    • San Martin
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Morgan Hill
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Madrone
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Madrone is located in Santa Clara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madrone
    • Coyote
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • English Town
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • English Town is located in Santa Clara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for English Town
    • New Almaden
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Bell Station
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Bell Station is located in Santa Clara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell Station
      • Bell Station has also been known as:
      • Bell's Station
    • Holy City ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Holy City is located in Santa Clara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holy City
    • Patchen
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Patchen is located in Santa Clara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patchen
  • Santa Cruz County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oak Hills, with the one closest to Oak Hills listed first.
    • Colache Town
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Colache Town is located in Santa Cruz County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colache Town
    • Watsonville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Interlaken
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Interlaken is located in Santa Cruz County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Interlaken
    • Freedom
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Amesti
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Amesti is located in Santa Cruz County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amesti
    • Strongs Mobile Village
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • La Selva Beach
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Aptos Hills - Larkin Valley
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Corralitos
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Rio del Mar
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Day Valley
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Day Valley is located in Santa Cruz County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Day Valley
    • Aptos
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Opal Cliffs
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Opal Cliffs is located in Santa Cruz County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Opal Cliffs

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

Cemeteries Near Oak Hills ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Oak Hills.

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 Oak Hills - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Queen of Heaven Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Castroville Public Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castroville Public Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Castroville Public Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the south of Moss Landing.
    • The Castroville Public Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Castroville Cemetery
    • Castroville / Moss Landing Cemetery
    • Moss Landing Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #7885 <2>
  • Hambey Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Chinese Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chinese Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Chinese Cemetery is located in Salinas.
  • Monterey County Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • IOOF Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Yamat Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • IOOF Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Pioneer Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Watsonville Catholic Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • San Juan Bautista Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • St. Francis Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (28 more) ...
    • Mission Memorial Park
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Pajaro Valley Memorial Park
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • El Carmeto Cemetery
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)

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.<3>

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

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

  • Castroville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Elkhorn
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Elkhorn is located in Monterey County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhorn
  • Santa Rita
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Santa Rita is located in Monterey County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santa Rita
  • Blanco
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Blanco is located in Monterey County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blanco
  • Salinas
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Natividad
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Natividad is located in Monterey County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Natividad
  • Pajaro
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Pajaro is located in Monterey County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pajaro
  • Vega ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Vega is located in Monterey County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vega
  • Watsonville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Seaside
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Sargent ‑ Historic
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Sargent is located in Santa Clara County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sargent
  • Spence
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Spence is located in Monterey County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spence
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Pacific Grove
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Monterey
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Corralitos
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)

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

Newspapers Published in Oak Hills ...

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 Oak Hills.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Oak Hills, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Oak Hills.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Oak Hills:

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>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 Oak Hills, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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 from Point A (ie- Oak Hills) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.