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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 Oakdale (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 Oakdale. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Oakdale is located in Stanislaus 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 Stanislaus County: Alameda, Calaveras, Mariposa, Merced, San Joaquin & Santa Clara.

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

  • Stanislaus County     (The home county of Oakdale)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oakdale, with the one closest to Oakdale listed first.
    • Adela
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adela
      • Adela is located in Stanislaus County
    • East Oakdale
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Oakdale
      • East Oakdale is located in Stanislaus County
    • Riverbank
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Empire
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Waterford
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Del Rio
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Del Rio have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Del Rio
      • Del Rio is located in Stanislaus County
    • Knights Ferry
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Hughson
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Hickman
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Modesto
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Modesto
      • Modesto is located in Stanislaus County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 215,666 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Modesto <1>
    • Bystrom
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bystrom have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bystrom
      • Bystrom is located in Stanislaus County
    • Ceres
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceres
      • Ceres is located in Stanislaus County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 48,603 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ceres <1>
  • Calaveras County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oakdale, with the one closest to Oakdale listed first.
    • Telegraph City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Telegraph City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Telegraph City
      • Telegraph City is located in Calaveras County
    • Copper Cove Village
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Copper Cove Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Copper Cove Village
      • Copper Cove Village is located in Calaveras County
    • The Shores of Poker Flat
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Milton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milton
      • Milton is located in Calaveras County
    • Copperopolis
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Carmen City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carmen City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carmen City
      • Carmen City is located in Calaveras County
    • Jenny Lind
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jenny Lind
      • Jenny Lind is located in Calaveras County
    • Lost City ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lost City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lost City
      • Lost City is located in Calaveras County
    • Rancho Calaveras
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rancho Calaveras have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rancho Calaveras
      • Rancho Calaveras is located in Calaveras County
    • Melones ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Melones have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melones
      • Melones is located in Calaveras County
    • Altaville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Angels Camp
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Merced County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oakdale, with the one closest to Oakdale listed first.
    • Ballico
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Delhi
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Hilmar
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Arundel ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arundel have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arundel
      • Arundel is located in Merced County
    • Cressey
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Livingston
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Amsterdam
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amsterdam
      • Amsterdam is located in Merced County
    • The Grove
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Grove
      • The Grove is located in Merced County
    • Snelling
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Winton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Stevinson
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • San Joaquin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oakdale, with the one closest to Oakdale listed first.
    • Escalon
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Escalon
      • Escalon is located in San Joaquin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,580 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Escalon <1>
    • Alba
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alba
      • Alba is located in San Joaquin County
    • Farmington
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Atlanta
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atlanta
      • Atlanta is located in San Joaquin County
    • Ripon
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ripon
      • Ripon is located in San Joaquin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 16,774 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ripon <1>
    • Five Corners
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Corners
      • Five Corners is located in San Joaquin County
    • Peters
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Holden ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holden have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holden
      • Holden is located in San Joaquin County
    • Manteca
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • 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 <1>
    • Linden
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Manteca Junction
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manteca Junction
      • Manteca Junction is located in San Joaquin County
    • Walthal
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walthal have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walthal
      • Walthal is located in San Joaquin County
  • Tuolumne County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oakdale, with the one closest to Oakdale listed first.
    • Yosemite Junction
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yosemite Junction
      • Yosemite Junction is located in Tuolumne County
    • Chinese Camp
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Rawhide
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rawhide
      • Rawhide is located in Tuolumne County
    • Stent
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stent
      • Stent is located in Tuolumne County
    • Jamestown
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Tuttletown
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuttletown
      • Tuttletown is located in Tuolumne County
    • Jacksonville ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Jacksonville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacksonville
      • Jacksonville is located in Tuolumne County
    • Sonora
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Columbia Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Columbia Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbia Village
      • Columbia Village is located in Tuolumne County
    • Columbia
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
    • East Sonora
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Sonora have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Sonora
      • East Sonora is located in Tuolumne County
    • Greenley Oaks
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenley Oaks
      • Greenley Oaks is located in Tuolumne County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Oakdale ...

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 68 newspapers that have been published in the area around Oakdale.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Oakdale. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Oakdale and those printed in the larger area surrounding Oakdale.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<4> of Oakdale.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Oakdale:

Cemeteries Near Oakdale ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Oakdale.

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

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

  • Citizens Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Citizens Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Citizens Cemetery
  • Langworth Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Langworth Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Langworth Cemetery
  • Valley Home Memorial Park
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Burwood Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • St. Joseph Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Joseph Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Joseph Cemetery
  • Oak Grove Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Lakewood Memorial Park
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lakewood Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lakewood Memorial Park
  • Williams Knight Burial Site
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • St. Stanislaus Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Stanislaus Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Stanislaus Cemetery
  • St. Johns Catholic Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Woodcolony Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Woodcolony Cemetery is located outside and to the northwest of Modesto.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Woodcolony Cemetery
  • Highland View Memorial Gardens
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (48 more) ...
    • Roberts Ferry Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Roberts Ferry Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Roberts Ferry Cemetery
    • Ripon Cemetery
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Denair Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)

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 Oakdale had a population of 1,012 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Oakdale had a population of 23,228 people.

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

  • Cometa
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cometa have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cometa
    • Cometa is located in San Joaquin County
  • Waterford
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Knights Ferry
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Trigo ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Trigo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trigo
    • Trigo is located in San Joaquin County
  • Modesto
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Modesto
    • Modesto is located in Stanislaus County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 215,666 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Modesto <1>
  • Hickman
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Telegraph City
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Telegraph City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Telegraph City
    • Telegraph City is located in Calaveras County
  • Salida
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Ceres
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceres
    • Ceres is located in Stanislaus County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 48,603 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ceres <1>
  • Keyes
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
  • Farmington
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Atlanta
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atlanta
    • Atlanta is located in San Joaquin County
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Ripon
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ripon
      • Ripon is located in San Joaquin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 16,774 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ripon <1>
    • Montpelier
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Montpelier have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montpelier
      • Montpelier is located in Stanislaus County
    • Milton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milton
      • Milton is located in Calaveras County

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

The official website for Oakdale: www.ci.oakdale.ca.us/

The official website for Stanislaus County: www.co.stanislaus.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 '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- Oakdale) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Oakdale. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.7667, Longitude: -120.8471    
<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 Oakdale, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024