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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

So far, we found very little information about Purisima. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>

We've added Purisima to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Purisima, please Contact Us.

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 Purisima (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 Purisima. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Although our information shows that the community of Purisima is historic, it would have been located within present day San Mateo 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 San Mateo County: Alameda, San Francisco, Santa Clara & Santa Cruz.

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

  • San Mateo County     (The home county of Purisima)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Purisima, with the one closest to Purisima listed first.
    • Martins Beach
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martins Beach
      • Martins Beach is located in San Mateo County
    • Half Moon Bay
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • San Gregorio
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • El Granada
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Adobe Corner
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adobe Corner
      • Adobe Corner is located in San Mateo County
    • Woodside
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Highlands
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Highlands have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highlands
      • Highlands is located in San Mateo County
    • Portola Valley
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Searsville ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Searsville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Searsville
      • Searsville is located in San Mateo County
    • Emerald Lake Hills
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Emerald Lake Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerald Lake Hills
      • Emerald Lake Hills is located in San Mateo County
    • Highlands - Baywood Park
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • La Honda
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Belmont
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Alameda County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Purisima, with the one closest to Purisima listed first.
    • Alvarado ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Alvarado. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alvarado
      • Alvarado is located in Alameda County
    • Newark
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Larkins Landing ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Larkins Landing. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larkins Landing
      • Larkins Landing is located in Alameda County
    • Mount Eden
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Russell City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Russell City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell City
      • Russell City is located in Alameda County
    • Albrae ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Albrae have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albrae
      • Albrae is located in Alameda County
    • Drawbridge ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drawbridge
      • Drawbridge is located in Alameda County
      • Former name for Drawbridge:
      • Saline City
    • San Lorenzo
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Union City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union City
      • Union City is located in Alameda County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 74,501 people
      • Former name for Union City:
      • Decoto
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Union City <2>
    • Ashland
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Cherryland
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cherryland have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherryland
      • Cherryland is located in Alameda County
    • Fremont
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fremont
      • Fremont is located in Alameda County
      • 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 <2>
    • Hayward
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
  • San Francisco County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Purisima, with the one closest to Purisima listed first.
    • Stonestown
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonestown
      • Stonestown is located in San Francisco County
    • Doelger City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Doelger City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doelger City
      • Doelger City is located in San Francisco County
    • Golden Gate Heights
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golden Gate Heights
      • Golden Gate Heights is located in San Francisco County
    • Friendship Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Friendship Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship Village
      • Friendship Village is located in San Francisco County
    • San Francisco
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Amanico Ergina Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Amanico Ergina Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amanico Ergina Village
      • Amanico Ergina Village is located in San Francisco County
    • Chinatown
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chinatown
      • Chinatown is located in San Francisco County
    • Sydney Town ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sydney Town have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sydney Town
      • Sydney Town is located in San Francisco County
  • Santa Clara County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Purisima, with the one closest to Purisima listed first.
    • Stanford
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Escondido Village
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Escondido Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Escondido Village
      • Escondido Village is located in Santa Clara County
    • Los Altos Hills
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Palo Alto
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Ventura
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ventura
      • Ventura is located in Santa Clara County
    • Los Altos
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Castro City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Castro City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castro City
      • Castro City is located in Santa Clara County
    • Loyola
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Loyola have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loyola
      • Loyola is located in Santa Clara County
    • Mountain View
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Sunnyvale
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Cupertino
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Champagne Fountain
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Champagne Fountain
      • Champagne Fountain is located in Santa Clara County
    • Rancho Rinconada
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rancho Rinconada have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rancho Rinconada
      • Rancho Rinconada is located in Santa Clara County
  • Santa Cruz County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Purisima, with the one closest to Purisima listed first.
    • Boulder Creek
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Swanton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swanton
      • Swanton is located in Santa Cruz County
    • Brookdale
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Alma ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alma have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alma
      • Alma is located in Santa Cruz County
    • Ben Lomond
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Bonny Doon
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Davenport Landing
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davenport Landing
      • Davenport Landing is located in Santa Cruz County
    • Lompico
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lompico
      • Lompico is located in Santa Cruz County
    • Davenport
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Eccles ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Eccles. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eccles
      • Eccles is located in Santa Cruz County
    • Summit
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
      • Summit is located in Santa Cruz County
      • Summit has also been known as:
      • Loma Prieta
    • Zayante
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zayante
      • Zayante is located in Santa Cruz County
    • Felton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Purisima ...

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 91 newspapers that have been published in the area around Purisima.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Purisima, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Purisima.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Purisima:

Cemeteries Near Purisima ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Purisima.

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

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

  • Pilarcitos Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pilarcitos Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pilarcitos Cemetery
  • IOOF Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the IOOF Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the IOOF Cemetery
  • Skylawn Memorial Park
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Mt. Hope Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Hope Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Hope Cemetery
  • St. Anthony Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Anthony Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Anthony Cemetery
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Johns Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Johns Cemetery
  • Union Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Union Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Union Cemetery
  • Holy Cross Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Oakwood Community Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • The Oakwood Community Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Convent Of The Sacred Heart Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oakwood Community Cemetery
  • Alta Mesa Memorial Park
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
  • Golden Gate National Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Golden Gate National Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Golden Gate National Cemetery
  • Orange Memorial Park
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Orange Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Orange Memorial Park
  • Continue List   (45 more) ...
    • Chinese Cemetery
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • 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
    • Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Colma.
      • The Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Holy Cross Cemetery
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #8038 <6>
    • Cypress Lawn Cemetery
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Cypress Lawn Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Colma.
      • The Cypress Lawn Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Cypress Lawn Memorial Park
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cypress Lawn Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #7927 <6>

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.

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

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

  • Half Moon Bay
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • San Gregorio
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Woodside
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Searsville ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Searsville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Searsville
    • Searsville is located in San Mateo County
  • Pescadero
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Belmont
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Redwood City
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • San Carlos
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • San Mateo
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Fair Oaks
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fair Oaks have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fair Oaks
    • Fair Oaks is located in San Mateo County
  • Menlo Park
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Millbrae
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Mayfield
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mayfield have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayfield
      • Mayfield is located in Santa Clara County
    • Palo Alto
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • San Bruno
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)

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

The official website for San Mateo County: www.co.sanmateo.ca.us/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Purisima, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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>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.
<5>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Purisima) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Purisima. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.4041, Longitude: -122.4136       In this case, the coordinates for Purisima have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>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.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024