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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

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

We've added Ralston to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Ralston, 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 Ralston (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 Ralston. 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 southeast 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 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 east 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.

Although our information shows that the community of Ralston is historic, it would have been located within present day 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 Ralston. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Ralston:

  • Placer County     (The home county of Ralston)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ralston, with the one closest to Ralston listed first.
    • Michigan Bluff
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Michigan Bluff is located in Placer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Michigan Bluff
    • Foresthill
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Last Chance ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Last Chance is located in Placer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Last Chance
    • Greekstore
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Greekstore is located in Placer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greekstore
    • Yankee Jims
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Yankee Jims is located in Placer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yankee Jims
    • Iowa Hill
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Casa Loma
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Casa Loma is located in Placer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casa Loma
    • Alta
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Gold Run
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Secret Town
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Secret Town is located in Placer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Secret Town
    • Chicago Park ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Chicago Park is located in Placer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chicago Park
    • Colfax
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Applegate
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
  • El Dorado County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ralston, with the one closest to Ralston listed first.
    • Quintette
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Quintette is located in El Dorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quintette
    • Georgetown
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Fornis
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Fornis is located in El Dorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fornis
    • Garden Valley
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Greenwood
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Kelsey
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Kelsey is located in El Dorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelsey
    • Pollock Pines
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Camino
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Sportsman Hall ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Sportsman Hall is located in El Dorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sportsman Hall
    • Fresh Pond
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Fresh Pond is located in El Dorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fresh Pond
    • Coloma
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Lotus
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Cool
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
  • Nevada County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ralston, with the one closest to Ralston listed first.
    • Chicago Park
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • You Bet ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • You Bet is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for You Bet
    • Lake of the Pines
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Lake of the Pines is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake of the Pines
    • Alta Sierra
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Alta Sierra is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alta Sierra
    • Cedar Ridge
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Kres
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Kres is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kres
    • Scotts Flat
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Scotts Flat is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotts Flat
    • Union Hill
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Union Hill is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Hill
    • Gold Flat
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Gold Flat is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gold Flat
    • Kingvale
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Kingvale is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingvale
    • Glenbrook
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Glenbrook is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenbrook
    • Grass Valley
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Nevada City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Shasta County
    • Bear Valley ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Bear Valley is located in Shasta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Valley

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

Cemeteries Near Ralston ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ralston.

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 Ralston - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Ralston covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Pioneer Graves Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Deadwood Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Pioneer Grave
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Josephine Mine Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Foresthill Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Foresthill Community Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Georgetown Pioneer Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Iowa Hill Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Spanish Dry Diggings Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Greenwood Pioneer Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Colfax Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Colfax Indian Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (31 more) ...
    • Dutch Flat Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • 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
    • Catholic Cemetery
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • James Marshall Gravesite
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)

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

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

  • Michigan Bluff
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Michigan Bluff is located in Placer County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Michigan Bluff
  • Georgetown
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Yankee Jims
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Yankee Jims is located in Placer County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yankee Jims
  • Westville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Westville is located in Placer County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westville
  • Garden Valley
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Towle
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Towle is located in Placer County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Towle
  • Alta
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Gold Run
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Kelsey
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Kelsey is located in El Dorado County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelsey
  • Dutch Flat
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Colfax
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Weimar
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Blue Canyon
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Blue Canyon is located in Placer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Canyon
    • Lotus
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Coloma
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Ralston ...

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 57 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ralston.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ralston, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Ralston.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Ralston:

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 Ralston, 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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Ralston) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<4>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.