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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 Trabuco (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 Trabuco. 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.

Rancho Trabuco is located in Orange 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 Orange County: Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino & San Diego.

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

  • Orange County     (The home county of Rancho Trabuco)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rancho Trabuco, with the one closest to Rancho Trabuco listed first.
    • Trabuco Canyon
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Portola Hills
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Portola Hills is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portola Hills
    • Rancho Santa Margarita
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Modjeska
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Modjeska is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Modjeska
    • Foothill Ranch
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Coto de Caza
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Las Flores
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Las Flores is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Las Flores
    • Trabuco Highlands
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Trabuco Highlands is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trabuco Highlands
    • Lake Forest
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Mission Viejo
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Silverado Canyon ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Silverado Canyon is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silverado Canyon
    • Silverado
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Laguna Hills
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Los Angeles County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rancho Trabuco, with the one closest to Rancho Trabuco listed first.
    • Diamond Bar
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Pomona
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Pomona is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pomona
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 149,212 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pomona <1>
    • East La Mirada
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • East La Mirada is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East La Mirada
    • Hawaiian Gardens
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • La Habra Heights
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • La Habra Heights is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Habra Heights
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,212 people
    • La Mirada
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Rowland Heights
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Walnut
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Walnut is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 29,324 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Walnut <1>
    • Spadra
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Spadra is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spadra
    • Carmenita
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Carmenita is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carmenita
    • Cerritos
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • South San Jose Hills
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • South San Jose Hills is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South San Jose Hills
    • Naples
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Naples is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naples
  • Riverside County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rancho Trabuco, with the one closest to Rancho Trabuco listed first.
    • Temescal
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Temescal is located in Riverside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Temescal
    • El Cerrito
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • El Cerrito is located in Riverside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for El Cerrito
    • Lakeland Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Lakeland Village is located in Riverside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeland Village
    • Corona
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Corona is located in Riverside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corona
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 170,996 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Corona <1>
    • Porphyry ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Porphyry is located in Riverside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porphyry
    • Lake Elsinore
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Home Gardens
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Home Gardens is located in Riverside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Home Gardens
    • Sedco Hills
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Sedco Hills is located in Riverside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedco Hills
    • Meadowbrook
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Meadowbrook is located in Riverside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowbrook
    • Norco
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Norco is located in Riverside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norco
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 27,892 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Norco <1>
    • Canyon Lake
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Wildomar
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Arlington
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Arlington is located in Riverside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington
  • San Bernardino County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rancho Trabuco, with the one closest to Rancho Trabuco listed first.
    • Los Serranos
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Los Serranos is located in San Bernardino County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Los Serranos
    • Chino Hills
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Chino
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Chino is located in San Bernardino County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chino
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 92,290 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chino <1>
    • Ontario
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Ontario is located in San Bernardino County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ontario
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 183,393 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ontario <1>
    • Racimo
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Racimo is located in San Bernardino County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Racimo
    • Southridge Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Southridge Village is located in San Bernardino County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southridge Village
    • Declez
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Declez is located in San Bernardino County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Declez
    • Guasti
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Montclair
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Montclair is located in San Bernardino County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montclair
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 40,600 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Montclair <1>
    • Rancho Cucamonga
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • Rochester
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Rochester is located in San Bernardino County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochester
    • Upland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Upland is located in San Bernardino County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 77,850 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Upland <1>
  • San Diego County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rancho Trabuco, with the one closest to Rancho Trabuco listed first.
    • San Onofre
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Las Flores ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Las Flores is located in San Diego County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Las Flores
    • DeLuz
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • DeLuz is located in San Diego County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for DeLuz
    • Fallbrook
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Rancho Trabuco ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rancho Trabuco.

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

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

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

  • El Toro Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Ascension Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Mission Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Cemetery of the Holy Sepulchre
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Pacific View Memorial Park
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • Sunny Shope Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Corona Sunnyslope Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Santa Ana Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santa Ana Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Santa Ana Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Santa Ana.
    • The Santa Ana Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #8351 <2>
  • Elsinore Valley Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
  • St. John's Lutheran Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. John's Lutheran Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the St. John's Lutheran Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Santa Ana.
    • The St. John's Lutheran Cemetery has also been known as:
    • New St. John Lutheran Cemetery
    • New St. John's Lutheran Cemetery
    • St. Johns Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #8324 <2>
  • Fairhaven Memorial Park
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Yorba Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (34 more) ...
    • Harbor Lawn - Mt. Olive Memorial Park
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Melrose Abbey Cemetery
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Wildomar Cemetery
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)

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

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

  • Modjeska
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Modjeska is located in Orange County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Modjeska
  • Irvine
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • El Modena
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • El Modena is located in Orange County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for El Modena
  • Villa Park
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Wanda ‑ Historic
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Wanda is located in Orange County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wanda
  • McPherson
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • McPherson is located in Orange County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McPherson
  • Santa Ana
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
  • Orange
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Marlboro
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Marlboro is located in Orange County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlboro
  • San Onofre
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
  • Yorba
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Yorba is located in Orange County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorba
  • Olive
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Olive is located in Orange County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olive
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Newport Beach
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Miraflores
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Miraflores is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miraflores
    • Anaheim
      (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 Rancho Trabuco. See our List of 1890's Communities around Rancho Trabuco.

Newspapers Published in Rancho Trabuco ...

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 45 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rancho Trabuco.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Rancho Trabuco, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Rancho Trabuco.

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 Trabuco:

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 Trabuco, 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 Trabuco) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.