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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 Saint Francis Square (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 Saint Francis Square. 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.

Name Variations for Saint Francis Square ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Saint Francis Square: St. Francis Sq. (or less commonly used: St. Francis Sqr.)

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

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 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.

Saint Francis Square is located in San Francisco County.

To see how the shape of California's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

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

  • San Francisco County     (The home county of Saint Francis Square)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saint Francis Square, with the one closest to Saint Francis Square listed first.
    • Friendship Village
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Friendship Village is located in San Francisco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship Village
    • San Francisco
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Amanico Ergina Village
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Amanico Ergina Village is located in San Francisco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amanico Ergina Village
    • Chinatown
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Chinatown is located in San Francisco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chinatown
    • Sydney Town ‑ Historic
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Sydney Town is located in San Francisco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sydney Town
    • Mission District
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Mission District is located in San Francisco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mission District
    • Doelger City
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Doelger City is located in San Francisco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doelger City
    • Golden Gate Heights
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Golden Gate Heights is located in San Francisco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golden Gate Heights
    • Stonestown
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Stonestown is located in San Francisco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonestown
  • Alameda County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saint Francis Square, with the one closest to Saint Francis Square listed first.
    • Campbell Village
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Campbell Village is located in Alameda County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell Village
    • Oakland
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • West Oakland
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • West Oakland is located in Alameda County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Oakland
    • Emeryville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Brooklyn ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Brooklyn is located in Alameda County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklyn
      • Former names for Brooklyn:
      • Antonio
      • Clinton
    • Berkeley
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • South Berkeley
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • South Berkeley is located in Alameda County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Berkeley
      • Former name for South Berkeley:
      • Lorin
    • University Village
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • University Village is located in Alameda County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University Village
    • Alameda
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Albany
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Normandy Village
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Normandy Village is located in Alameda County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Normandy Village
    • Rochedale Village
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Rochedale Village is located in Alameda County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochedale Village
    • East Oakland ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • East Oakland is located in Alameda County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Oakland
  • Contra Costa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saint Francis Square, with the one closest to Saint Francis Square listed first.
    • Point Richmond
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Atchison Village
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Atchison Village is located in Contra Costa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atchison Village
    • Nystrom Village
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Nystrom Village is located in Contra Costa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nystrom Village
    • Easter Hill Village
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Easter Hill Village is located in Contra Costa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easter Hill Village
    • Richmond
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Richmond is located in Contra Costa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmond
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 110,038 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Richmond <1>
    • El Cerrito
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Kensington
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • East Richmond Heights
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • East Richmond Heights is located in Contra Costa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Richmond Heights
    • San Pablo
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Rollingwood
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Rollingwood is located in Contra Costa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rollingwood
    • Orinda Village
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Orinda Village is located in Contra Costa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orinda Village
    • Orinda
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Orinda is located in Contra Costa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orinda
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 19,557 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Orinda <1>
    • El Sobrante
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Marin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saint Francis Square, with the one closest to Saint Francis Square listed first.
    • Fort McDowell
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Fort McDowell is located in Marin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort McDowell
    • Sausalito
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Belvedere
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Tiburon
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Marin City
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Marin City is located in Marin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marin City
    • Manzanita
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Manzanita is located in Marin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manzanita
    • Strawberry
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Strawberry is located in Marin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strawberry
    • Paradise Cay
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Paradise Cay is located in Marin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise Cay
    • Bel Aire
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Bel Aire is located in Marin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bel Aire
    • Muir Beach
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Tamalpais - Homestead Valley
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Mill Valley
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Corte Madera
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Napa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saint Francis Square, with the one closest to Saint Francis Square listed first.
    • American Canyon
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Lombard
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Lombard is located in Napa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lombard
    • Merazo
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Merazo is located in Napa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merazo
    • Middleton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Middleton is located in Napa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middleton
  • San Mateo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saint Francis Square, with the one closest to Saint Francis Square listed first.
    • Brisbane
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Colma
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Colma is located in San Mateo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colma
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,689 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Colma <1>
    • Daly City
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Broadmoor Village
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Broadmoor Village is located in San Mateo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broadmoor Village
    • Broadmoor
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Broadmoor is located in San Mateo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broadmoor
    • Westlake
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Westlake is located in San Mateo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westlake
    • South San Francisco
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • San Bruno
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Fairway Park
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Fairway Park is located in San Mateo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairway Park
    • Pacifica
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Millbrae
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Burlingame
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Hillsborough
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
  • Santa Clara County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saint Francis Square, with the one closest to Saint Francis Square listed first.
    • Escondido Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Escondido Village is located in Santa Clara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Escondido Village
    • Palo Alto
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Stanford
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Ventura
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Ventura is located in Santa Clara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ventura
  • Solano County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saint Francis Square, with the one closest to Saint Francis Square listed first.
    • Mare Island ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Mare Island is located in Solano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mare Island
    • Benicia
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Guadalcanal Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Guadalcanal Village is located in Solano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guadalcanal Village
    • Vallejo
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
  • Sonoma County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saint Francis Square, with the one closest to Saint Francis Square listed first.
    • Sears Point
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Sears Point is located in Sonoma County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sears Point
    • McGill
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • McGill is located in Sonoma County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGill
    • Lakeville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Lakeville is located in Sonoma County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeville
    • Wingo ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Wingo is located in Sonoma County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wingo

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

Cemeteries Near Saint Francis Square ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Saint Francis Square.

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 Saint Francis Square - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Yerba Buena Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • San Francisco National Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Francisco National Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the San Francisco National Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in San Francisco.
    • The San Francisco National Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Post Cemetery
    • Presidio Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #8344 <2>
  • Woodlawn Memorial Park
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Greenlawn Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Italian Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Japanese Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Olivet Memorial Park
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Salem Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Cypress Lawn Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cypress Lawn Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Cypress Lawn Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Colma.
    • The Cypress Lawn Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Cypress Lawn Memorial Park
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #7927 <2>
  • Hills of Eternity Memorial Park
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Home of Peace Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Serbian Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Serbian Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Serbian Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Colma.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #8362 <2>
  • Continue List   (62 more) ...
    • Golden Hill Memorial Park
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Colma.
      • The Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Holy Cross Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #8038 <2>
    • Hoy Sun Memorial Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)

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 Saint Francis Square in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Saint Francis Square.

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

  • San Francisco
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Sausalito
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Tiburon
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Hilarita
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Hilarita is located in Marin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilarita
  • Oakland
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • West Oakland
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • West Oakland is located in Alameda County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Oakland
  • Emeryville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Manzanita
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Manzanita is located in Marin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manzanita
  • Baden
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Baden is located in San Mateo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baden
  • Brooklyn ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Brooklyn is located in Alameda County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklyn
    • Former names for Brooklyn:
    • Antonio
    • Clinton
  • Berkeley
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • West Berkeley
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • West Berkeley is located in Alameda County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Berkeley
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Alto
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Alto is located in Marin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alto
    • San Bruno
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Alameda
      (10 miles [16.1 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 Saint Francis Square. See our List of 1890's Communities around Saint Francis Square.

Newspapers Published in Saint Francis Square ...

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 114 newspapers that have been published in the area around Saint Francis Square.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Saint Francis Square, there are papers which were published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Saint Francis Square.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Saint Francis Square:

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 Saint Francis Square, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Saint Francis Square) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.