RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of California >> Los Angeles County >> San Fernando >> Genealogy HelperIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
California

The Commemorative Quarter for California





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 San Fernando (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 San Fernando. 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.

San Fernando is located in Los Angeles 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 Los Angeles County: Kern, Orange, San Bernardino & Ventura.

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

  • Los Angeles County     (The home county of San Fernando)
    • The following are listed by their distance from San Fernando, with the one closest to San Fernando listed first.
    • Pacoima
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pacoima
      • Pacoima is located in Los Angeles County
    • Sylmar
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sylmar have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylmar
      • Sylmar is located in Los Angeles County
    • Achois ‑ Historic
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Achois
      • Achois is located in Los Angeles County
    • Mission Hills
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mission Hills
      • Mission Hills is located in Los Angeles County
    • Arleta
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arleta
      • Arleta is located in Los Angeles County
    • Panorama City
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panorama City
      • Panorama City is located in Los Angeles County
    • North Hills
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Hills
      • North Hills is located in Los Angeles County
      • Former names for North Hills:
      • Mission Acres
      • Sepulveda
      • North Hills has also been known as:
      • North Hills East
      • North Hills West
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for North Hills <2>
    • Granada Hills
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granada Hills
      • Granada Hills is located in Los Angeles County
    • Lake View Terrace
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Sun Valley
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sun Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sun Valley
      • Sun Valley is located in Los Angeles County
    • Northridge
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northridge
      • Northridge is located in Los Angeles County
    • Van Nuys
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Van Nuys
      • Van Nuys is located in Los Angeles County
    • North Hollywood
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Hollywood
      • North Hollywood is located in Los Angeles County
  • Ventura County
    • The following are listed by their distance from San Fernando, with the one closest to San Fernando listed first.
    • Simi Valley
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Oak Park
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Piru
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Buckhorn
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckhorn
      • Buckhorn is located in Ventura County
    • Thousand Oaks
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Greenwich Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenwich Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwich Village
      • Greenwich Village is located in Ventura County
    • Moorpark
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Mountclef Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mountclef Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountclef Village
      • Mountclef Village is located in Ventura County
    • Newbury Park
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Bardsdale
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bardsdale
      • Bardsdale is located in Ventura County
    • Fillmore
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Casa Conejo
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Casa Conejo have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casa Conejo
      • Casa Conejo is located in Ventura County
    • Lagol
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lagol
      • Lagol is located in Ventura County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of San Fernando ...

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 137 newspapers that have been published in the area around San Fernando.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of San Fernando. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of San Fernando and those printed in the larger area surrounding San Fernando.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<3> of San Fernando.

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 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 San Fernando:

Cemeteries Near San Fernando ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of San Fernando.

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 San Fernando covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • San Fernando Mission Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the San Fernando Mission Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Mission Hills.
    • The San Fernando Mission Cemetery has also been known as:
    • San Fernando Mission Catholic Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the San Fernando Mission Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #109027 <4>
  • Eden Memorial Park
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Pioneer Memorial Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pioneer Memorial Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pioneer Memorial Cemetery
  • Sholom Memorial Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sholom Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sholom Memorial Park
  • Glen Haven Memorial Park
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Glen Haven Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Glen Haven Memorial Park
  • Eternal Valley Memorial Park
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Valhalla Memorial Park
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Valhalla Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Valhalla Memorial Park
  • Verdugo Hills Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Verdugo Hills Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Verdugo Hills Cemetery
  • Oakwood Memorial Park
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Hollywood Hills Forest Lawn Memorial Park
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • The Hollywood Hills Forest Lawn Memorial Park has also been known as:
    • Forest Lawn Memorial Cemetery - Hollywood Hills
    • Forest Lawn Memorial Park - Hollywood Hills
    • Hollywood Hills Forest Lawn Memorial Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hollywood Hills Forest Lawn Memorial Park
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #7975 <4>
  • Mt. Sinai Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Grand View Memorial Park
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Grand View Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Grand View Memorial Park
  • Continue List   (47 more) ...
    • Mt. Sinai Memorial Park, Simi Valley
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Hollywood Forever Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • The Hollywood Forever Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Beth Olam Cemetery
      • Beth Olam Mausoleum
      • Hollywood Memorial Cemetery
      • Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hollywood Forever Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #8033 <4>
    • Los Angeles National Cemetery
      (15 miles [24.1 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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that San Fernando had a population of 296 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, San Fernando had a population of 24,302 people.

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

  • Pacoima
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pacoima
    • Pacoima is located in Los Angeles County
  • Sunland
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunland
    • Sunland is located in Los Angeles County
  • Newhall
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Chatsworth
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatsworth
    • Chatsworth is located in Los Angeles County
  • Honby
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honby
    • Honby is located in Los Angeles County
  • Burbank
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burbank
    • Burbank is located in Los Angeles County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 101,866 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Burbank <2>
  • Saugus
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Lang
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lang have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lang
    • Lang is located in Los Angeles County
  • Verdugo City
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • La Crescenta
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • West Glendale
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Glendale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Glendale
    • West Glendale is located in Los Angeles County
  • Russ
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Russ have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russ
    • Russ is located in Los Angeles County
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Glendale
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendale
      • Glendale is located in Los Angeles County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 197,747 people
      • Former name for Glendale:
      • Tropico
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Glendale <2>
    • La Canada - Flintridge
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Canada - Flintridge
      • La Canada - Flintridge is located in Los Angeles County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 19,730 people
      • La Canada - Flintridge has also been known as:
      • La Canada
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for La Canada - Flintridge <2>
    • Ravenna
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ravenna have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ravenna
      • Ravenna is located in Los Angeles County

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

The official website for San Fernando: www.ci.san-fernando.ca.us/

The official website for Los Angeles County: www.lacounty.info/

The official website for State of California: https://www.ca.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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- San Fernando) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in San Fernando. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.2816, Longitude: -118.4401    
<4>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.
<5>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 San Fernando, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

Copyright 2024
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024