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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 Rough and Ready (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 Rough and Ready. 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 northeast 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 north.

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 north 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.

Rough and Ready is located in Nevada 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 Nevada County: Placer, Sierra, Yuba & Washoe (NV).

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

  • Nevada County     (The home county of Rough and Ready)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rough and Ready, with the one closest to Rough and Ready listed first.
    • Bitney Corner
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bitney Corner
      • Bitney Corner is located in Nevada County
    • Newtown
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newtown
      • Newtown is located in Nevada County
    • The Oaks
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Oaks
      • The Oaks is located in Nevada County
    • Penn Valley
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Lake Wildwood
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Wildwood
      • Lake Wildwood is located in Nevada County
    • Grass Valley
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Spring Hill
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
      • Spring Hill is located in Nevada County
    • Glenbrook
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenbrook
      • Glenbrook is located in Nevada County
    • Union Hill
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Hill
      • Union Hill is located in Nevada County
    • Bridgeport
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeport
      • Bridgeport is located in Nevada County
    • Cedar Ridge
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Birchville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birchville
      • Birchville is located in Nevada County
  • Butte County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rough and Ready, with the one closest to Rough and Ready listed first.
    • Bangor
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Clipper Mills
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Oroleve
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oroleve
      • Oroleve is located in Butte County
    • Robinson Mill
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinson Mill
      • Robinson Mill is located in Butte County
    • Evansville ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Evansville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evansville
      • Evansville is located in Butte County
    • Forbestown
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Honcut
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Feather Falls
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Palermo
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Lumpkin ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lumpkin have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lumpkin
      • Lumpkin is located in Butte County
    • South Fork ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Fork have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Fork
      • South Fork is located in Butte County
    • Robinsons Corner
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinsons Corner
      • Robinsons Corner is located in Butte County
  • El Dorado County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rough and Ready, with the one closest to Rough and Ready listed first.
    • Cool
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Greenwood
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Fornis
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fornis
      • Fornis is located in El Dorado County
    • Georgetown
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Pilot Hill
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Garden Valley
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Placer County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rough and Ready, with the one closest to Rough and Ready listed first.
    • Chicago Park ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Chicago Park. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chicago Park
      • Chicago Park is located in Placer County
    • Colfax
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Secret Town
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Secret Town have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Secret Town
      • Secret Town is located in Placer County
    • Gold Run
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Dutch Flat
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Weimar
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Alta
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Meadow Vista
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Applegate
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Iowa Hill
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Casa Loma
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casa Loma
      • Casa Loma is located in Placer County
    • Clipper Gap
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clipper Gap
      • Clipper Gap is located in Placer County
  • Santa Cruz County
  • Shasta County
    • Bear Valley ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bear Valley. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Valley
      • Bear Valley is located in Shasta County
  • Sierra County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rough and Ready, with the one closest to Rough and Ready listed first.
    • Brandy City ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brandy City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandy City
      • Brandy City is located in Sierra County
    • Alleghany
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Forest
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest
      • Forest is located in Sierra County
    • Goodyears Bar
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Downieville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Sutter County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rough and Ready, with the one closest to Rough and Ready listed first.
    • Yuba City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Bogue
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bogue
      • Bogue is located in Sutter County
    • South Yuba City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Yuba City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Yuba City
      • South Yuba City is located in Sutter County
    • Rio Oso
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Live Oak
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Live Oak
      • Live Oak is located in Sutter County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,048 people
    • Tierra Buena
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tierra Buena have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tierra Buena
      • Tierra Buena is located in Sutter County
  • Yuba County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rough and Ready, with the one closest to Rough and Ready listed first.
    • Smartville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Timbuctoo ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timbuctoo
      • Timbuctoo is located in Yuba County
    • Dobbins
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Oregon House
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Bullards Bar ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bullards Bar have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bullards Bar
      • Bullards Bar is located in Yuba County
    • Foster Bar ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Foster Bar have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foster Bar
      • Foster Bar is located in Yuba County
    • Garden Valley ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garden Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Valley
      • Garden Valley is located in Yuba County
    • Browns Valley
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Camptonville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Loma Rica
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loma Rica
      • Loma Rica is located in Yuba County
    • Challenge
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Brownsville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Rough and Ready ...

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 54 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rough and Ready.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Rough and Ready, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Rough and Ready.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Rough and Ready:

Cemeteries Near Rough and Ready ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rough and Ready.

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 Rough and Ready covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Rough & Ready Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rough & Ready Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rough & Ready Cemetery
  • Catholic Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Catholic Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Catholic Cemetery is located in Grass Valley.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Catholic Cemetery
  • Greenwood Memorial Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Greenwood Memorial Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Greenwood Memorial Cemetery
  • St. Patricks Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Patricks Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Patricks Cemetery
  • Elm Ridge Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Elm Ridge Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Elm Ridge Cemetery
  • Pioneer Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pioneer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pioneer Cemetery
  • Deer Creek Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Deer Creek Cemetery is located outside and to the east of Nevada City.
    • The Deer Creek Cemetery has also been known as:
    • New Odd Fellows Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Deer Creek Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2400769 <5>
  • Pine Grove Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Forest View Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Smartville Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Smartville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Smartville Cemetery
  • McGanney Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Kneebone Family Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (56 more) ...
    • Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Colfax Indian Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Colfax Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Colfax Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Colfax Cemetery

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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Rough and Ready had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Union Hill
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Hill
    • Union Hill is located in Nevada County
  • Glenbrook
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenbrook
    • Glenbrook is located in Nevada County
  • Nevada City
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Kres
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kres have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kres
    • Kres is located in Nevada County
  • Sweetland
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sweetland have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweetland
    • Sweetland is located in Nevada County
  • Smartville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Buena Vista ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buena Vista have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
    • Buena Vista is located in Nevada County
  • North San Juan
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Dobbins
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Chicago Park
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Oregon House
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Wolf
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wolf have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf
    • Wolf is located in Nevada County
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • You Bet ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for You Bet have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for You Bet
      • You Bet is located in Nevada County
    • North Columbia
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Columbia have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Columbia
      • North Columbia is located in Nevada County
    • Bullards Bar ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bullards Bar have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bullards Bar
      • Bullards Bar is located in Yuba County

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

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Rough and Ready. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Nevada County: www.new.mynevadacounty.com/

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>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<3>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.
<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- Rough and Ready) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rough and Ready. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.2298, Longitude: -121.1377    
<5>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.
<6>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 Rough and Ready, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024