RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of California >> Merced County >> Old Dickenson Ferry >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Old Dickenson Ferry (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 Old Dickenson Ferry. 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.

Old Dickenson Ferry is located in Merced 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 Merced County: Fresno, Madera, Mariposa, San Benito, Santa Clara & Stanislaus.

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

  • Merced County     (The home county of Old Dickenson Ferry)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Old Dickenson Ferry, with the one closest to Old Dickenson Ferry listed first.
    • Stevinson
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Livingston
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Abbato ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Abbato is located in Merced County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbato
    • Los Banos
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Trent
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Trent is located in Merced County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trent
    • Volta
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Volta is located in Merced County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Volta
    • Gustine
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Hilmar
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Atwater
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Delhi
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Fluhr
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Fluhr is located in Merced County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fluhr
    • Winton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Fresno County
    • Oro Loma ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Oro Loma is located in Fresno County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oro Loma
  • Madera County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Old Dickenson Ferry, with the one closest to Old Dickenson Ferry listed first.
    • Lincoln ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Lincoln is located in Madera County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln
    • Chowchilla
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Stanislaus County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Old Dickenson Ferry, with the one closest to Old Dickenson Ferry listed first.
    • Newman
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Newman is located in Stanislaus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newman
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,702 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Newman <1>
    • Turlock
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Turlock is located in Stanislaus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turlock
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 73,059 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Turlock <1>
    • Crows Landing
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Denair
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Keyes
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Patterson
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Hughson
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Ceres
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Ceres is located in Stanislaus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceres
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 48,603 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ceres <1>
    • Hickman
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Waterford
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Bret Harte
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Bret Harte is located in Stanislaus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bret Harte
    • Bystrom
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Bystrom is located in Stanislaus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bystrom

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

Cemeteries Near Old Dickenson Ferry ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Old Dickenson Ferry.

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 Old Dickenson Ferry - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Stevinson Sunnyside Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvary Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Calvary Cemetery is located in Los Banos.
    • Be careful not to confuse this cemetery with another one that is also named Calvary Cemetery (located 87 miles to the north).
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #7876 <2>
  • Los Banos Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Los Banos Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Los Banos Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Los Banos.
    • The Los Banos Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Los Banos District Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #8133 <2>
  • South Hilmar Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Winton Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winton Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Winton Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southwest of Winton.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #8453 <2>
  • North Hilmar Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Cottonwood Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvary Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Calvary Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Merced.
    • The Calvary Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Calvary Catholic Cemetery
    • Calvary Merced Cemetery District
    • Be careful not to confuse this cemetery with another one that is also named Calvary Cemetery (located 56 miles to the north).
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #7873 <2>
  • Hills Ferry Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
  • San Joaquin Valley National Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
  • Dos Palos Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (10 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.<4>

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

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

  • Ingomar
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Ingomar is located in Merced County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingomar
  • Linora ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Linora is located in Merced County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linora
  • Volta
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Volta is located in Merced County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Volta
  • Los Banos
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Arena
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Arena is located in Merced County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arena
  • Livingston
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Gustine
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Atwater
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Delhi
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Newman
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Newman is located in Stanislaus County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newman
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,702 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Newman <1>
  • Merced
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
  • Dos Palos
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (11 more) ...
    • Turlock
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Turlock is located in Stanislaus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turlock
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 73,059 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Turlock <1>
    • Crows Landing
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Montpelier
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Montpelier is located in Stanislaus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montpelier

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

Newspapers Published in Old Dickenson Ferry ...

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 71 newspapers that have been published in the area around Old Dickenson Ferry.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Old Dickenson Ferry, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Old Dickenson Ferry.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to 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 Old Dickenson Ferry:

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