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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 Penn Valley (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 Penn Valley. 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.

Name Variations for Penn Valley ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Penn Valley: Penn Vly. (or less commonly used: Penn Vally. or Penn Vlly.)

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

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.

Penn Valley is located in Nevada 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 Nevada County: Placer, Sierra, Yuba & Washoe (NV).

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

  • Nevada County     (The home county of Penn Valley)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Penn Valley, with the one closest to Penn Valley listed first.
    • Lake Wildwood
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Wildwood
      • Lake Wildwood is located in Nevada County
    • Rough and Ready
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Bitney Corner
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bitney Corner
      • Bitney Corner is located in Nevada County
    • The Oaks
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Oaks
      • The Oaks is located in Nevada County
    • Bridgeport
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeport
      • Bridgeport is located in Nevada County
    • Newtown
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newtown
      • Newtown is located in Nevada County
    • Grass Valley
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Glenbrook
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenbrook
      • Glenbrook is located in Nevada County
    • Spring Hill
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
      • Spring Hill is located in Nevada County
    • Union Hill
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Hill
      • Union Hill is located in Nevada County
    • Alta Sierra
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alta Sierra have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alta Sierra
      • Alta Sierra is located in Nevada County
    • Birchville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birchville
      • Birchville is located in Nevada County
  • Butte County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Penn Valley, with the one closest to Penn Valley listed first.
    • Bangor
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Honcut
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Robinson Mill
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinson Mill
      • Robinson Mill is located in Butte County
    • Evansville ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Evansville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evansville
      • Evansville is located in Butte County
    • Forbestown
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Oroleve
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oroleve
      • Oroleve is located in Butte County
    • Clipper Mills
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Palermo
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Robinsons Corner
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinsons Corner
      • Robinsons Corner is located in Butte County
    • South Fork ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Fork have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Fork
      • South Fork is located in Butte County
    • Feather Falls
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Peachton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peachton
      • Peachton is located in Butte County
  • El Dorado County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Penn Valley, with the one closest to Penn Valley listed first.
    • Cool
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Greenwood
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Pilot Hill
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Fornis
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fornis
      • Fornis is located in El Dorado County
    • Georgetown
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Garden Valley
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Placer County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Penn Valley, with the one closest to Penn Valley listed first.
    • Chicago Park ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Chicago Park. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chicago Park
      • Chicago Park is located in Placer County
    • Colfax
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Meadow Vista
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Weimar
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Gold Run
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Secret Town
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Secret Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Secret Town
      • Secret Town is located in Placer County
    • Applegate
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Sheridan
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Dutch Flat
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Iowa Hill
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Clipper Gap
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clipper Gap
      • Clipper Gap is located in Placer County
    • Bowman
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
  • Santa Cruz County
  • Shasta County
    • Bear Valley ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bear Valley. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Valley
      • Bear Valley is located in Shasta County
  • Sierra County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Penn Valley, with the one closest to Penn Valley listed first.
    • Brandy City ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brandy City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandy City
      • Brandy City is located in Sierra County
    • Alleghany
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Forest
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest
      • Forest is located in Sierra County
    • Goodyears Bar
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Sutter County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Penn Valley, with the one closest to Penn Valley listed first.
    • Yuba City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Bogue
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bogue
      • Bogue is located in Sutter County
    • South Yuba City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Yuba City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Yuba City
      • South Yuba City is located in Sutter County
    • Rio Oso
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Live Oak
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Live Oak
      • Live Oak is located in Sutter County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,048 people
    • Tierra Buena
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tierra Buena have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tierra Buena
      • Tierra Buena is located in Sutter County
    • Marcuse ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marcuse have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcuse
      • Marcuse is located in Sutter County
    • Nicolas
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Nicolaus
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Sutter
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Pleasant Grove
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Yuba County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Penn Valley, with the one closest to Penn Valley listed first.
    • Smartville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Timbuctoo ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timbuctoo
      • Timbuctoo is located in Yuba County
    • Oregon House
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Browns Valley
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Dobbins
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Loma Rica
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loma Rica
      • Loma Rica is located in Yuba County
    • Bullards Bar ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bullards Bar have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bullards Bar
      • Bullards Bar is located in Yuba County
    • Foster Bar ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Foster Bar have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foster Bar
      • Foster Bar is located in Yuba County
    • Iowa City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Iowa City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iowa City
      • Iowa City is located in Yuba County
    • Garden Valley ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garden Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Valley
      • Garden Valley is located in Yuba County
    • Wheatland
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Dantoni
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dantoni
      • Dantoni is located in Yuba County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Penn Valley ...

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 63 newspapers that have been published in the area around Penn Valley.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Penn Valley. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Penn Valley and those printed in the larger area surrounding Penn Valley.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 18 miles [29 km]<4> of Penn Valley.

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 Penn Valley:

Cemeteries Near Penn Valley ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Penn Valley.

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

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

  • Rough & Ready Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rough & Ready Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rough & Ready Cemetery
  • Kneebone Family Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Smartville Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Smartville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Smartville Cemetery
  • McGanney Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Catholic Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Catholic Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Catholic Cemetery is located in Grass Valley.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Catholic Cemetery
  • Greenwood Memorial Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Greenwood Memorial Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Greenwood Memorial Cemetery
  • St. Patricks Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Patricks Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Patricks Cemetery
  • Elm Ridge Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Elm Ridge Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Elm Ridge Cemetery
  • Forest View Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Pine Grove Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Pioneer Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pioneer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pioneer Cemetery
  • Deer Creek Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Deer Creek Cemetery is located outside and to the east of Nevada City.
    • The Deer Creek Cemetery has also been known as:
    • New Odd Fellows Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Deer Creek Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2400769 <5>
  • Continue List   (59 more) ...
    • Browns Valley Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Browns Valley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Browns Valley Cemetery
    • Lofton Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lofton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lofton Cemetery
    • Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)

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>

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

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

  • Rough and Ready
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Smartville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Union Hill
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Hill
    • Union Hill is located in Nevada County
  • Glenbrook
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenbrook
    • Glenbrook is located in Nevada County
  • Kres
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kres have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kres
    • Kres is located in Nevada County
  • Wolf
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wolf have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf
    • Wolf is located in Nevada County
  • Nevada City
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Sweetland
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sweetland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweetland
    • Sweetland is located in Nevada County
  • Oregon House
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Buena Vista ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buena Vista have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
    • Buena Vista is located in Nevada County
  • Browns Valley
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Chicago Park
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • North San Juan
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Dobbins
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Colfax
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)

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

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Penn Valley. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Nevada County: www.new.mynevadacounty.com/

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 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Penn Valley) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Penn Valley. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.1972, Longitude: -121.1924    
<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 Penn Valley, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024