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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 Pico Rivera (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 Pico Rivera. 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 Pico Rivera ...

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 Pico Rivera: Pico Riv.a

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 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.

Pico Rivera is located in Los Angeles 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 Los Angeles County: Kern, Orange, San Bernardino & Ventura.

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

  • Los Angeles County     (The home county of Pico Rivera)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pico Rivera, with the one closest to Pico Rivera listed first.
    • West Whittier - Los Nietos
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for West Whittier - Los Nietos. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Whittier - Los Nietos
      • West Whittier - Los Nietos is located in Los Angeles County
    • Montebello
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Santa Fe Springs
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Whittier
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • South Whittier
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Whittier have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Whittier
      • South Whittier is located in Los Angeles County
    • Downey
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downey
      • Downey is located in Los Angeles County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 109,202 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Downey <2>
    • Bell Gardens
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Commerce
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • East Los Angeles
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Studebaker
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Studebaker
      • Studebaker is located in Los Angeles County
    • Vinvale
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vinvale
      • Vinvale is located in Los Angeles County
    • Bandini
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bandini
      • Bandini is located in Los Angeles County
    • Bell
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell
      • Bell is located in Los Angeles County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 34,734 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bell <2>
  • Orange County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pico Rivera, with the one closest to Pico Rivera listed first.
    • La Habra
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • La Palma
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Buena Park
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Cypress
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Brea
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brea
      • Brea is located in Orange County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 44,484 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brea <2>
    • Los Alamitos
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Fullerton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Rossmoor
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rossmoor have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rossmoor
      • Rossmoor is located in Orange County
    • Stanton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Anaheim
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Placentia
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Barber City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Barber City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barber City
      • Barber City is located in Orange County
    • Seal Beach
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
  • Riverside County
  • San Bernardino County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pico Rivera, with the one closest to Pico Rivera listed first.
    • Chino Hills
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Los Serranos
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Los Serranos have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Los Serranos
      • Los Serranos is located in San Bernardino County
    • Chino
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chino
      • Chino is located in San Bernardino County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 92,290 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chino <2>
    • Montclair
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montclair
      • Montclair is located in San Bernardino County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 40,600 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Montclair <2>
    • Ontario
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ontario
      • Ontario is located in San Bernardino County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 183,393 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ontario <2>
    • Upland
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upland
      • Upland is located in San Bernardino County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 77,850 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Upland <2>
    • San Antonio Heights
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for San Antonio Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Antonio Heights
      • San Antonio Heights is located in San Bernardino County
    • Racimo
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Racimo
      • Racimo is located in San Bernardino County
    • Guasti
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Alta Loma
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Pico Rivera ...

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 625 newspapers that have been published in the area around Pico Rivera.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Pico Rivera. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Pico Rivera and those printed in the larger area surrounding Pico Rivera.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 9 miles [14.5 km]<4> of Pico Rivera.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Pico Rivera:

Cemeteries Near Pico Rivera ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Pico Rivera.

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

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

  • Mt. Carmel Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Park Lawn Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Mt. Olive Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Olive Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Olive Cemetery
  • Russian Molokan Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Russian Molokan Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Russian Molokan Cemetery
  • Memorial Park
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Memorial Park
  • Paradise Memorial Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Paradise Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Paradise Memorial Park
  • Little Lake Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Olive Grove Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Olive Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Olive Grove Cemetery
  • Rose Hills Memorial Park
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Rose Hills Memorial Park is a very large cemetery that is located in Whittier.
    • The Rose Hills Memorial Park has also been known as:
    • Whittier Heights Memorial Park
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rose Hills Memorial Park
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #8308 <5>
  • Resurrection Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Resurrection Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Resurrection Cemetery
  • Old Downey Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Downey Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Downey Cemetery
  • Young Israel Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Young Israel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Young Israel Cemetery
  • Continue List   (77 more) ...
    • Chinese Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Chinese Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Chinese Cemetery
    • Serbian Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Serbian Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Serbian Cemetery
    • Calvary Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)

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 Pico Rivera in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Pico Rivera.

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

  • Los Nietos
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Los Nietos have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Los Nietos
    • Los Nietos is located in Los Angeles County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Los Nietos <2>
  • Fulton Wells
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fulton Wells have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulton Wells
    • Fulton Wells is located in Los Angeles County
  • Santa Fe Springs
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Downey
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downey
    • Downey is located in Los Angeles County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 109,202 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Downey <2>
  • Whittier
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Vinvale
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vinvale
    • Vinvale is located in Los Angeles County
  • Studebaker
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Studebaker
    • Studebaker is located in Los Angeles County
  • East Los Angeles
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Bandini
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bandini
    • Bandini is located in Los Angeles County
  • Norwalk
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwalk
    • Norwalk is located in Los Angeles County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 102,635 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Norwalk <2>
  • Clearwater
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clearwater have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clearwater
    • Clearwater is located in Los Angeles County
  • Savannah ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Savannah have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savannah
    • Savannah is located in Los Angeles County
  • Continue List   (19 more) ...
    • Lynwood
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynwood
      • Lynwood is located in Los Angeles County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 68,508 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lynwood <2>
    • Alhambra
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Carmenita
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carmenita have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carmenita
      • Carmenita is located in Los Angeles County

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

The official website for Pico Rivera: www.pico-rivera.org/

The official website for Los Angeles County: www.lacounty.info/

The official website for State of California: https://www.ca.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<4>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Pico Rivera) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Pico Rivera. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.9832, Longitude: -118.0971    
<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 Pico Rivera, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024