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 Rainbow (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 Rainbow. 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 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.
Rainbow is located in Placer 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 Placer County: El Dorado, Nevada, Sacramento, Sutter, Yuba, Carson City (NV), Douglas (NV) & Washoe (NV).
Below are the counties that are near Rainbow. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Rainbow:
- Placer County (The home county of Rainbow)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rainbow, with the one closest to Rainbow listed first.
- Big Bend
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Big Bend is located in Placer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Bend
- Emigrant Gap
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Donner
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Donner is located in Placer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donner
- Soda Springs
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Soda Springs is located in Placer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soda Springs
- Andover ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Andover is located in Placer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Andover
- Last Chance ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Last Chance is located in Placer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Last Chance
- Greekstore
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Greekstore is located in Placer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greekstore
- Casa Loma
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Casa Loma is located in Placer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casa Loma
- Alta
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Dutch Flat
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Gold Run
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Lake Forest
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Lake Forest is located in Placer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Forest
- El Dorado County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rainbow, with the one closest to Rainbow listed first.
- Tahoma
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Quintette
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Quintette is located in El Dorado County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quintette
- Nevada County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rainbow, with the one closest to Rainbow listed first.
- Kingvale
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Kingvale is located in Nevada County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingvale
- Baltimore Town
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Baltimore Town is located in Nevada County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baltimore Town
- Soda Springs
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Meadow Lake ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Meadow Lake is located in Nevada County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Lake
- Summit City ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Summit City is located in Nevada County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit City
- Norden
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Donner Lake Village
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Donner Lake Village is located in Nevada County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donner Lake Village
- Donner Lake Village has also been known as:
- Donner Lake
- Donner Woods
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Donner Woods is located in Nevada County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donner Woods
- Marsh Mill
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Marsh Mill is located in Nevada County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marsh Mill
- Graniteville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Graniteville is located in Nevada County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graniteville
- Washington
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Prosser Lake Heights
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Prosser Lake Heights is located in Nevada County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prosser Lake Heights
- Plumas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rainbow, with the one closest to Rainbow listed first.
- Whitehawk
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Whitehawk is located in Plumas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitehawk
- Valley Ranch
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Valley Ranch is located in Plumas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Ranch
- Clio
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Shasta County
- Bear Valley ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Bear Valley is located in Shasta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Valley
- Sierra County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rainbow, with the one closest to Rainbow listed first.
- Sierra City
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Loganville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Loganville is located in Sierra County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loganville
- Sierraville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Alleghany
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Sattley
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Forest
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Forest is located in Sierra County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest
- Calpine
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Downieville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Goodyears Bar
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Calvada ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Calvada is located in Sierra County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvada
- Loyalton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Yuba County
- Camptonville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Washoe County (NV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rainbow, with the one closest to Rainbow listed first.
- Crystal Bay
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Bronco ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Bronco is located in Washoe County (NV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bronco
- Bronco has also been known as:
- Bronca
- Incline Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Rainbow, see our County-by-County Page for Rainbow.
Cemeteries Near Rainbow ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rainbow.
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 Rainbow - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Rainbow covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Rainbow, with the one closest to Rainbow listed first.
- Truckee Cemetery
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Dutch Flat Cemetery
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutch Flat Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Dutch Flat Cemetery is located in the vicinity of Alta
- Sierra City Cemetery
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Sierraville Cemetery
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Alleghany Cemetery
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Sattley Cemetery
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Pioneer Grove Cemetery
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Deadwood Cemetery
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Forest City Cemetery
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Iowa Hill Cemetery
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Pioneer Grave
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Downieville Cemetery
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (22 more) ...
- Foresthill Cemetery
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Foresthill Community Cemetery
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Goodyears Bar Cemetery
(25 miles [40.2 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.<4>
While we didn't find Rainbow in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Rainbow.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Rainbow, with the one closest to Rainbow listed first.
- Cisco
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Cisco is located in Placer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cisco
- Emigrant Gap
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Maybert ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Maybert is located in Nevada County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maybert
- Blue Canyon
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Blue Canyon is located in Placer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Canyon
- Westville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Westville is located in Placer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westville
- Graniteville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Graniteville is located in Nevada County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graniteville
- Washington
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Alta
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Towle
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Towle is located in Placer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Towle
- Truckee
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Sierra City
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Dutch Flat
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Moore's Flat
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Moore's Flat is located in Nevada County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moore's Flat
- Gold Run
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Alleghany
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Rainbow. See our List of 1890's Communities around Rainbow.
Newspapers Published in Rainbow ...
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 42 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rainbow.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Rainbow, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Rainbow.
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 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 Rainbow:
- Websites specific to California
- Pages specific to Placer County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- El Dorado County
- Nevada County
- Plumas County
- Shasta County
- Sierra County
- Yuba County
- Washoe 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> | 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- Rainbow) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <4> | 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 Rainbow, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |