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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 Rotavele (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 Rotavele. 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.

Rotavele is located in Glenn 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 Glenn County: Butte, Colusa, Lake, Mendocino & Tehama.

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

  • Glenn County     (The home county of Rotavele)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rotavele, with the one closest to Rotavele listed first.
    • Hamilton City
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Capay
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Capay is located in Glenn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capay
    • Orland
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Glenn
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Artois
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Butte City
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Willows
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Afton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Afton is located in Glenn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Afton
    • Elk Creek
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Newville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Newville is located in Glenn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newville
  • Butte County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rotavele, with the one closest to Rotavele listed first.
    • Nord ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Nord is located in Butte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nord
    • Dayton
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Dayton is located in Butte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dayton
    • Chico
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Chico is located in Butte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chico
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 102,867 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chico <1>
    • Durham
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Nelson
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Richvale
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Paradise
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Forest Ranch
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Forest Ranch is located in Butte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Ranch
    • Irish Town
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Irish Town is located in Butte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irish Town
    • Elsey
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Oroville Junction
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Oroville Junction is located in Butte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oroville Junction
    • Nimshew
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Nimshew is located in Butte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nimshew
    • Lorraine ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Lorraine is located in Butte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lorraine
  • Colusa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rotavele, with the one closest to Rotavele listed first.
    • Princeton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Colusa Rancheria
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Colusa Rancheria is located in Colusa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colusa Rancheria
    • Maxwell
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Sutter County
    • Pennington
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Pennington is located in Sutter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennington
  • Tehama County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rotavele, with the one closest to Rotavele listed first.
    • Kirkwood
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Kirkwood is located in Tehama County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirkwood
    • Vina
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Corning
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Los Molinos
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Tehama
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Gerber
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Proberta
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Flournoy
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Rotavele ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rotavele.

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

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

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

  • Monroeville Pioneer Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Martin Family Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Dayton Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dayton Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Dayton Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the northeast of Dayton.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2144284 <2>
  • Orland Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Catholic Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Orland Catholic Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orland Catholic Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Orland Catholic Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southeast of Orland.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #7887 <2>
  • Mechoopda Indian Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Oddfellows Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Germantown Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Chico Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chico Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Chico Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Chico.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #7900 <2>
  • Glen Oaks Memorial Park
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Orland Masonic Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (43 more) ...
    • Durham Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Pine Creek Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Creek Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Pine Creek Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 11 miles [17.7 km]<3> to the northwest of Chico.
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #8268 <2>
    • Catholic Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 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.<4>

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

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

  • Nord ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Nord is located in Butte County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nord
  • Jacinto
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Jacinto is located in Glenn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacinto
  • Anita
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Anita is located in Butte County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anita
  • Chico
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Chico is located in Butte County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chico
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 102,867 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chico <1>
  • Durham
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Cana
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Cana is located in Butte County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cana
  • Orland
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Kirkwood
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Kirkwood is located in Tehama County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirkwood
  • Willows
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Butte City
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
  • Nelson
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Vina
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Afton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Afton is located in Glenn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Afton
    • Corning
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Paradise
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)

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

Newspapers Published in Rotavele ...

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 38 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rotavele.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Rotavele, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Rotavele.

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 helpful 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 Rotavele:

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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Rotavele) 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 Rotavele, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.