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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 Rancho Palos Verdes (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 Rancho Palos Verdes. 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 doctors and hospitals 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.

Rancho Palos Verdes 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 Rancho Palos Verdes. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Rancho Palos Verdes:

  • Los Angeles County     (The home county of Rancho Palos Verdes)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rancho Palos Verdes, with the one closest to Rancho Palos Verdes listed first.
    • Abalone Cove ‑ Historic
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abalone Cove
      • Abalone Cove is located in Los Angeles County
    • Portuguese Bend
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portuguese Bend
      • Portuguese Bend is located in Los Angeles County
    • Rolling Hills
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Miraleste
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Miraleste have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miraleste
      • Miraleste is located in Los Angeles County
    • Palos Verdes Estates
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Rolling Hills Estates
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Hollywood Riviera
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollywood Riviera
      • Hollywood Riviera is located in Los Angeles County
    • San Pedro
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Pedro
      • San Pedro is located in Los Angeles County
    • Lomita
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lomita
      • Lomita is located in Los Angeles County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 19,851 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lomita <1>
    • Dana Strand Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dana Strand Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dana Strand Village
      • Dana Strand Village is located in Los Angeles County
    • Redondo Beach
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Torrance
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Torrance
      • Torrance is located in Los Angeles County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 141,553 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Torrance <1>
    • Harbor City
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harbor City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harbor City
      • Harbor City is located in Los Angeles County
  • Orange County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rancho Palos Verdes, with the one closest to Rancho Palos Verdes listed first.
    • Seal Beach
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Rossmoor
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rossmoor have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rossmoor
      • Rossmoor is located in Orange County
    • Surfside
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Los Alamitos
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Sunset Beach
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Cypress
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • La Palma
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Barber City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Barber City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barber City
      • Barber City is located in Orange County
    • Westminster
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Wintersburg
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wintersburg
      • Wintersburg is located in Orange County
    • Buena Park
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Green Lantern Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Lantern Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Lantern Village
      • Green Lantern Village is located in Orange County
    • Huntington Beach
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)

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

Newspapers Published in Rancho Palos Verdes ...

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 141 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rancho Palos Verdes.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Rancho Palos Verdes, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Rancho Palos Verdes.

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 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 Rancho Palos Verdes:

Cemeteries Near Rancho Palos Verdes ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rancho Palos Verdes.

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 Rancho Palos Verdes covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Green Hills Memorial Park
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Harbor View Memorial Park
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Wilmington Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Wilmington Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Wilmington.
    • The Wilmington Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Historic Wilmington Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wilmington Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #152636 <4>
  • Pacific Crest Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Roosevelt Memorial Park
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Long Beach Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • The Long Beach Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Long Beach Municipal Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Long Beach Cemetery
  • Sunnyside Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Table Top Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Table Top Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Table Top Cemetery
  • Woodlawn Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Woodlawn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Woodlawn Cemetery
  • Lincoln Memorial Park
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lincoln Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lincoln Memorial Park
  • All Souls Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the All Souls Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the All Souls Cemetery
  • Long Beach Forest Lawn Park Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • The Long Beach Forest Lawn Park Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Forest Lawn Memorial Cemetery - Long Beach
    • Forest Lawn Memorial Park - Long Beach
    • Long Beach Forest Lawn Memorial Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Long Beach Forest Lawn Park Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #180662 <4>
  • Continue List   (49 more) ...

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.<5>

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

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

  • San Pedro
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Pedro
    • San Pedro is located in Los Angeles County
  • Redondo Beach
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Wilmington
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmington
    • Wilmington is located in Los Angeles County
  • Thenard
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thenard have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thenard
    • Thenard is located in Los Angeles County
  • Gardena
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gardena
    • Gardena is located in Los Angeles County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 58,498 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gardena <1>
  • Moneta
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moneta have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moneta
    • Moneta is located in Los Angeles County
  • Long Beach
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Dominguez
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dominguez have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dominguez
    • Dominguez is located in Los Angeles County
  • Compton
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Compton
    • Compton is located in Los Angeles County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 93,967 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Compton <1>
  • South Los Angeles
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Los Angeles
    • South Los Angeles is located in Los Angeles County
  • Inglewood
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
  • Clearwater
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clearwater have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clearwater
    • Clearwater is located in Los Angeles County
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Lynwood
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • 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 <1>
    • Hyde Park
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hyde Park
      • Hyde Park is located in Los Angeles County
    • Florence
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
      • Florence 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 Rancho Palos Verdes. See our List of 1890's Communities around Rancho Palos Verdes.

The official website for Rancho Palos Verdes: www.palosverdes.com/rpv/

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

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Rancho Palos Verdes) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rancho Palos Verdes. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.7453, Longitude: -118.3898    
<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.
<5>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 Rancho Palos Verdes, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024