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 Rinconada (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 Rinconada. 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 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 Rinconada is located in Santa Clara 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 Santa Clara County: Alameda, Merced, San Benito, San Mateo, Santa Cruz & Stanislaus.
Below are the counties that are near Rancho Rinconada. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Rancho Rinconada:
- Santa Clara County (The home county of Rancho Rinconada)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rancho Rinconada, with the one closest to Rancho Rinconada listed first.
- Cupertino
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Champagne Fountain
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Champagne Fountain is located in Santa Clara County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Champagne Fountain
- Fruitdale
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Fruitdale is located in Santa Clara County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruitdale
- Santa Clara
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Saratoga
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Campbell
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Buena Vista
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Buena Vista is located in Santa Clara County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
- Burbank
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Burbank is located in Santa Clara County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burbank
- Sunnyvale
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Loyola
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Loyola is located in Santa Clara County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loyola
- Los Gatos
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Cambrian Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Cambrian Park is located in Santa Clara County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambrian Park
- Alameda County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rancho Rinconada, with the one closest to Rancho Rinconada listed first.
- Drawbridge ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Drawbridge is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drawbridge
- Former name for Drawbridge:
- Saline City
- Albrae ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Albrae is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albrae
- Larkins Landing ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Larkins Landing is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larkins Landing
- Newark
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Fremont
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Fremont is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fremont
- 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 <1>
- Alvarado ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Alvarado is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alvarado
- Union City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Union City is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 74,501 people
- Former name for Union City:
- Decoto
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Union City <1>
- Scotts Corner
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Scotts Corner is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotts Corner
- Sunol
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Mount Eden
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Hayward
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Russell City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Russell City is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell City
- San Mateo County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rancho Rinconada, with the one closest to Rancho Rinconada listed first.
- Ladera
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Ladera is located in San Mateo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ladera
- The Willows
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- The Willows is located in San Mateo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Willows
- East Palo Alto
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Menlo Park
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- West Menlo Park
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Portola Valley
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Atherton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Searsville ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Searsville is located in San Mateo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Searsville
- La Honda
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- North Fair Oaks
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- North Fair Oaks is located in San Mateo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Fair Oaks
- Woodside
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Adobe Corner
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Adobe Corner is located in San Mateo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adobe Corner
- Santa Cruz County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rancho Rinconada, with the one closest to Rancho Rinconada listed first.
- Alma ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Alma is located in Santa Cruz County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alma
- Summit
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Summit is located in Santa Cruz County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
- Summit has also been known as:
- Loma Prieta
- Laurel
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Laurel is located in Santa Cruz County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel
- Glenwood
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Glenwood is located in Santa Cruz County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood
- Lompico
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Lompico is located in Santa Cruz County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lompico
- Boulder Creek
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Brookdale
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- The Willows
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- The Willows is located in Santa Cruz County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Willows
- Zayante
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Zayante is located in Santa Cruz County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zayante
- Ben Lomond
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Eccles ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Eccles is located in Santa Cruz County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eccles
- Scotts Valley
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Rancho Rinconada, see our County-by-County Page for Rancho Rinconada.
Cemeteries Near Rancho Rinconada ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rancho Rinconada.
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 Rancho Rinconada - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Rancho Rinconada covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Rancho Rinconada, with the one closest to Rancho Rinconada listed first.
- Mission City Memorial Park
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Santa Clara Mission Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Madronia Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Gates of Heaven Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Los Gatos Memorial Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Oak Hill Memorial Park
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Calvary Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvary Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Calvary Cemetery is located in Alum Rock.
- Alta Mesa Memorial Park
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- St. Johns Catholic Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Cedar Lawn Memorial Park
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Lawn Memorial Park
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Cedar Lawn Memorial Park is a large cemetery that is located in Fremont.
- The Cedar Lawn Memorial Park has also been known as:
- Cedar Lawn Memorial Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #7892 <2>
- Hidalgo Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Old Mexican Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (49 more) ...
- Hacienda Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Holy Cross Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- St. Josephs Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
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.<3>
While we didn't find Rancho Rinconada in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Rancho Rinconada.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Rancho Rinconada, with the one closest to Rancho Rinconada listed first.
- Saratoga
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Campbell
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Santa Clara
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Lawrence
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Lawrence is located in Santa Clara County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawrence
- Los Gatos
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- San Jose
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- College Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- College Park is located in Santa Clara County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for College Park
- Agnew
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Agnew is located in Santa Clara County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agnew
- Mountain View
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Alviso
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Guadalupe ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Guadalupe is located in Santa Clara County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guadalupe
- Alamitos
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Alamitos is located in Santa Clara County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alamitos
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Berryessa
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Berryessa is located in Santa Clara County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berryessa
- Milpitas
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Greystone ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Greystone is located in Santa Clara County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greystone
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Rancho Rinconada. See our List of 1890's Communities around Rancho Rinconada.
Newspapers Published in Rancho Rinconada ...
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 48 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rancho Rinconada.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Rancho Rinconada, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Rancho Rinconada.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Rancho Rinconada:
- Websites specific to California
- Pages specific to Santa Clara County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alameda County
- San Mateo County
- Santa Cruz 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> | 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 Rinconada, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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 drawn from Point A (ie- Rancho Rinconada) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |