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 Orwood Tract (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 Orwood Tract. 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 southeast 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 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 east 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.
Orwood Tract is located in Contra Costa 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 Contra Costa County: Alameda, Marin, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Joaquin & Solano.
Below are the counties that are near Orwood Tract. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Orwood Tract:
- Contra Costa County (The home county of Orwood Tract)
- The following are listed by their distance from Orwood Tract, with the one closest to Orwood Tract listed first.
- Discovery Bay
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Bixler
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Bixler is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bixler
- Knightsen
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Byron
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Bethel Island
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Brentwood
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Oakley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Antioch
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Empire ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Empire is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Empire
- Marsh Creek Springs
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Marsh Creek Springs is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marsh Creek Springs
- Tassajara
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Tassajara is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tassajara
- Pittsburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Alameda County
- The following are listed by their distance from Orwood Tract, with the one closest to Orwood Tract listed first.
- Altamont
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Altamont is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altamont
- Tesla ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Tesla is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tesla
- Laddville ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Laddville is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laddville
- Livermore
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Komandorski Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Komandorski Village is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Komandorski Village
- San Ramon Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- San Ramon Village is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Ramon Village
- Dublin
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Pleasanton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Scotts Corner
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Scotts Corner is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotts Corner
- Sunol
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Fairview
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Fairview is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Sacramento County
- The following are listed by their distance from Orwood Tract, with the one closest to Orwood Tract listed first.
- Isleton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Ryde
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Locke
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Locke is located in Sacramento County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locke
- Walnut Grove
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Vorden
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Vorden is located in Sacramento County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vorden
- Courtland
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Galt
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Galt is located in Sacramento County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galt
- Population from the 2020 Census: 26,551 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Galt <1>
- Hood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- San Joaquin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Orwood Tract, with the one closest to Orwood Tract listed first.
- Holt
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Country Club
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Country Club is located in San Joaquin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Club
- Terminous
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Terminous is located in San Joaquin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terminous
- Lincoln Village
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Lincoln Village is located in San Joaquin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln Village
- Stockton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Ellis ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Ellis is located in San Joaquin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellis
- Tracy
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Tracy is located in San Joaquin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tracy
- Population from the 2020 Census: 95,025 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tracy <1>
- Wainwright Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Wainwright Village is located in San Joaquin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wainwright Village
- Taft Mosswood
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Taft Mosswood is located in San Joaquin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taft Mosswood
- Banta
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- August
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- August is located in San Joaquin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for August
- French Camp
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Solano County
- The following are listed by their distance from Orwood Tract, with the one closest to Orwood Tract listed first.
- Rio Vista
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Birds Landing
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Solano City ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Solano City is located in Solano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Solano City
- Oxford
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Oxford is located in Solano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxford
- Denverton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Denverton is located in Solano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denverton
- Travis Field
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Travis Field is located in Solano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Travis Field
- Yolo County
- Greendale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Greendale is located in Yolo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greendale
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Orwood Tract, see our County-by-County Page for Orwood Tract.
Cemeteries Near Orwood Tract ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Orwood Tract.
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 Orwood Tract - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Orwood Tract covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Orwood Tract, with the one closest to Orwood Tract listed first.
- Byron Brentwood Knightson Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Union Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Union Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southeast of Brentwood.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #188400 <2>
- Holy Cross Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holy Cross Cemetery
- The Holy Cross Cemetery has also been known as:
- Holly Cross Cemetery
- Oak View Memorial Park
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- New Holy Cross Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Rose Hill Cemetery
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Tracy Public Cemetery
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Chinese Cemetery
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chinese Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Chinese Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the south of Stockton.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #7905 <2>
- Hebrew Cemetery
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Temple Israel Cemetery
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- San Joaquin Catholic Cemetery
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Stockton Rural Cemetery
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stockton Rural Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Stockton Rural Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Stockton.
- The Stockton Rural Cemetery has also been known as:
- Rural Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #8382 <2>
- Continue List (32 more) ...
- Ahayas Achim Cemetery
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Congregation Adas Yeshuran of Stockton Cemetery
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Congregation of Ahavas Achim Cemetery
(17 miles [27.4 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.<3>
While we didn't find Orwood Tract in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Orwood Tract.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Orwood Tract, with the one closest to Orwood Tract listed first.
- Byron
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Brentwood
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Antioch
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Midway
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Midway is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
- Stewartville ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Stewartville is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stewartville
- Ellis ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Ellis is located in San Joaquin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellis
- Tracy
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Tracy is located in San Joaquin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tracy
- Population from the 2020 Census: 95,025 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tracy <1>
- Stockton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Somersville ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Somersville is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somersville
- Rio Vista
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Banta
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Isleton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Nortonville ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Nortonville is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nortonville
- French Camp
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Collinsville ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Collinsville is located in Solano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collinsville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Orwood Tract. See our List of 1890's Communities around Orwood Tract.
Newspapers Published in Orwood Tract ...
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 178 newspapers that have been published in the area around Orwood Tract.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Orwood Tract, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Orwood Tract.
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 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 Orwood Tract:
- Websites specific to California
- Pages specific to Contra Costa County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alameda County
- Sacramento County
- San Joaquin County
- Solano County
- Yolo County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for California
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 Orwood Tract, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Orwood Tract) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |