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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 Rail Road Flat (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 Rail Road Flat. 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 Rail Road Flat ...

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 Rail Road Flat: Rail Rd. Flt.

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 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.

Rail Road Flat is located in Calaveras 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 Calaveras County: Alpine, Amador, San Joaquin, Stanislaus & Tuolumne.

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

  • Calaveras County     (The home county of Rail Road Flat)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rail Road Flat, with the one closest to Rail Road Flat listed first.
    • Sandy Gulch
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Gulch
      • Sandy Gulch is located in Calaveras County
    • Wilseyville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Glencoe
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Bummerville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bummerville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bummerville
      • Bummerville is located in Calaveras County
    • West Point
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Mountain Ranch
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Cave City
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cave City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cave City
      • Cave City is located in Calaveras County
    • Sheep Ranch
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Arnold
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Lakemont Pines
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakemont Pines
      • Lakemont Pines is located in Calaveras County
    • Meadowmont
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowmont
      • Meadowmont is located in Calaveras County
    • Big Bar
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Bar
      • Big Bar is located in Calaveras County
    • Mokelumne Hill
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Alpine County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rail Road Flat, with the one closest to Rail Road Flat listed first.
    • Bear Valley
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Lake Alpine
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Alpine
      • Lake Alpine is located in Alpine County
  • Amador County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rail Road Flat, with the one closest to Rail Road Flat listed first.
    • Pioneer
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Electra ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Electra have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Electra
      • Electra is located in Amador County
    • Pine Grove
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Volcano
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Jackson
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Martell
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Sutter Creek
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Fiddletown
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Amador City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • River Pines
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Drytown
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Plymouth
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Ione
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ione
      • Ione is located in Amador County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,326 people
      • Former names for Ione:
      • Bedbug
      • Freeze Out
      • Hardscrabble
      • Ione City
      • Ione Valley
      • Jone City
      • Jone Valley
      • Rickeyville
      • Woosterville
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ione <1>
  • El Dorado County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rail Road Flat, with the one closest to Rail Road Flat listed first.
    • Fair Play
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Mount Aukum
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Grizzly Flatx
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Somerset
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Pleasant Valley
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Valley
      • Pleasant Valley is located in El Dorado County
    • Newtown
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newtown
      • Newtown is located in El Dorado County
    • Tiger Lily
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tiger Lily
      • Tiger Lily is located in El Dorado County
    • Camino
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Fresh Pond
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fresh Pond have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fresh Pond
      • Fresh Pond is located in El Dorado County
    • Pacific
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pacific have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pacific
      • Pacific is located in El Dorado County
    • Pollock Pines
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Diamond Springs
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • El Dorado
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Tuolumne County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rail Road Flat, with the one closest to Rail Road Flat listed first.
    • Columbia
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Columbia Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Columbia Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbia Village
      • Columbia Village is located in Tuolumne County
    • Martinez
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Martinez have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martinez
      • Martinez is located in Tuolumne County
    • Cedar Ridge
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Ridge
      • Cedar Ridge is located in Tuolumne County
    • Squabbletown
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Squabbletown have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Squabbletown
      • Squabbletown is located in Tuolumne County
    • Tuttletown
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuttletown
      • Tuttletown is located in Tuolumne County
    • Phoenix Lake - Cedar Ridge
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Phoenix Lake - Cedar Ridge. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phoenix Lake - Cedar Ridge
      • Phoenix Lake - Cedar Ridge is located in Tuolumne County
    • Greenley Oaks
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenley Oaks
      • Greenley Oaks is located in Tuolumne County
    • Rawhide
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rawhide
      • Rawhide is located in Tuolumne County
    • Sonora
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Mi-Wuk Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Twain Harte
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Cedar Rock Lodge
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Rock Lodge
      • Cedar Rock Lodge is located in Tuolumne County

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

Newspapers Published in Rail Road Flat ...

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 74 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rail Road Flat.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Rail Road Flat, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Rail Road Flat.

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 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 Rail Road Flat:

Cemeteries Near Rail Road Flat ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rail Road Flat.

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 Rail Road Flat covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Inedpendence Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Jesus Maria Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Mountain Ranch Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Catholic Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • 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.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Catholic Cemetery
  • Protestant Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Protestant Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Protestant Cemetery
  • Pine Grove Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Peoples Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Peoples Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Peoples Cemetery
  • Pioneer Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • 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
  • Catholic Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • 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.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Catholic Cemetery
  • Andreason Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Andreason Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Andreason Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #7839 <5>
  • Briseno Ranch Burial Ground
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • St. Sava Servian Orthodox Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (44 more) ...
    • Jackson Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Jackson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Jackson Cemetery
    • Indian Diggings Cemetery
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Indian Diggings Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Indian Diggings Cemetery
    • Catholic Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Rail Road Flat had a population of 77 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Glencoe
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • West Point
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Rich Gulch
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rich Gulch have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rich Gulch
    • Rich Gulch is located in Calaveras County
  • Mountain Ranch
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Sheep Ranch
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Volcano
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Pine Grove
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Mokelumne Hill
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • San Andreas
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Avery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Big Trees
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Trees
    • Big Trees is located in Calaveras County
  • Jackson
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Murphys
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Douglas Flat
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Sutter Creek
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)

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

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

The official website for Calaveras County: www.co.calaveras.ca.us/

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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Rail Road Flat) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rail Road Flat. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.3336, Longitude: -120.5200    
<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 Rail Road Flat, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024