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 Pala (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 Pala. 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 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.
Pala is located in Santa Clara 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 Santa Clara County: Alameda, Merced, San Benito, San Mateo, Santa Cruz & Stanislaus.
Below are the counties that are near Pala. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Pala:
- Santa Clara County (The home county of Pala)
- The following are listed by their distance from Pala, with the one closest to Pala listed first.
- Alum Rock
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Alum Rock is located in Santa Clara County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alum Rock
- East Foothills
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- East Foothills is located in Santa Clara County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Foothills
- San Jose
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Seven Trees
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Seven Trees is located in Santa Clara County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Trees
- Sunol - Midtown
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Sunol - Midtown is located in Santa Clara County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunol - Midtown
- Milpitas
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Buena Vista
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Buena Vista is located in Santa Clara County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
- Burbank
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Burbank is located in Santa Clara County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burbank
- Fruitdale
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Fruitdale is located in Santa Clara County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruitdale
- Agnew
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Agnew is located in Santa Clara County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agnew
- Santa Clara
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Alamitos
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Alamitos is located in Santa Clara County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alamitos
- Alameda County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pala, with the one closest to Pala listed first.
- Drawbridge ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Drawbridge is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drawbridge
- Former name for Drawbridge:
- Saline City
- Albrae ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Albrae is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albrae
- Larkins Landing ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Larkins Landing is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larkins Landing
- Scotts Corner
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Scotts Corner is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotts Corner
- Fremont
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Fremont is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fremont
- Population from the 2020 Census: 234,569 people
- Former names for Fremont:
- Centerville
- Irvington
- Mission San Jose
- Niles
- Warm Springs
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fremont <1>
- Sunol
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Newark
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Union City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Union City is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 74,501 people
- Former name for Union City:
- Decoto
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Union City <1>
- Pleasanton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Alvarado ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Alvarado is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alvarado
- Laddville ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Laddville is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laddville
- Livermore
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Contra Costa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pala, with the one closest to Pala listed first.
- San Ramon
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Tassajara
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Tassajara is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tassajara
- San Joaquin County
- Carnegie ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Carnegie is located in San Joaquin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carnegie
- San Mateo County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pala, with the one closest to Pala listed first.
- East Palo Alto
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- The Willows
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- The Willows is located in San Mateo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Willows
- Ladera
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Ladera is located in San Mateo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ladera
- Menlo Park
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- West Menlo Park
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Atherton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- North Fair Oaks
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- North Fair Oaks is located in San Mateo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Fair Oaks
- Portola Valley
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Searsville ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Searsville is located in San Mateo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Searsville
- Adobe Corner
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Adobe Corner is located in San Mateo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adobe Corner
- Redwood City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Woodside
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Santa Cruz County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pala, with the one closest to Pala listed first.
- Alma ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Alma is located in Santa Cruz County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alma
- Summit
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Summit is located in Santa Cruz County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
- Summit has also been known as:
- Loma Prieta
- The Willows
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- The Willows is located in Santa Cruz County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Willows
- Laurel
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Laurel is located in Santa Cruz County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel
- Glenwood
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Glenwood is located in Santa Cruz County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood
- Lompico
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Lompico is located in Santa Cruz County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lompico
- Zayante
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Zayante is located in Santa Cruz County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zayante
- Ben Lomond
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Boulder Creek
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Brookdale
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Eccles ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Eccles is located in Santa Cruz County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eccles
- Scotts Valley
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Pala, see our County-by-County Page for Pala.
Cemeteries Near Pala ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Pala.
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 Pala - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Pala covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Pala, with the one closest to Pala listed first.
- Calvary Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvary Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Calvary Cemetery is located in Alum Rock.
- Oak Hill Memorial Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- St. Johns Catholic Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Santa Clara Mission Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Mission City Memorial Park
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Cedar Lawn Memorial Park
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Lawn Memorial Park
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Cedar Lawn Memorial Park is a large cemetery that is located in Fremont.
- The Cedar Lawn Memorial Park has also been known as:
- Cedar Lawn Memorial Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #7892 <2>
- Los Gatos Memorial Park
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Hacienda Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- St. Josephs Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Old Mexican Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Hidalgo Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Mission San Jose Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (43 more) ...
- Ohlone Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ohlone Cemetery
- The Ohlone Cemetery has also been known as:
- Ohlone Indian Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #8228 <2>
- Ohlones Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Madronia Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 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 Pala in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Pala.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Pala, with the one closest to Pala listed first.
- Berryessa
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Berryessa is located in Santa Clara County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berryessa
- College Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- College Park is located in Santa Clara County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for College Park
- San Jose
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Evergreen
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Evergreen is located in Santa Clara County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen
- Milpitas
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Agnew
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Agnew is located in Santa Clara County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agnew
- Santa Clara
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Campbell
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Alamitos
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Alamitos is located in Santa Clara County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alamitos
- Greystone ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Greystone is located in Santa Clara County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greystone
- Alviso
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Lawrence
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Lawrence is located in Santa Clara County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawrence
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Los Gatos
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Guadalupe ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Guadalupe is located in Santa Clara County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guadalupe
- New Almaden
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Pala. See our List of 1890's Communities around Pala.
Newspapers Published in Pala ...
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 38 newspapers that have been published in the area around Pala.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Pala, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Pala.
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 Pala:
- Websites specific to California
- Pages specific to Santa Clara County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alameda County
- Contra Costa County
- San Joaquin County
- San Mateo County
- Santa Cruz 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 Pala, 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- Pala) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |