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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 San Miguel (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 Miguel. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

San Miguel is located in Sonoma 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 Sonoma County: Contra Costa, Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Napa & Solano.

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

  • Sonoma County     (The home county of San Miguel)
    • The following are listed by their distance from San Miguel, with the one closest to San Miguel listed first.
    • Fulton
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Mark West Springs
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Mark West Springs is located in Sonoma County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mark West Springs
    • Windsor
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Santa Rosa
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Trenton
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Trenton is located in Sonoma County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trenton
    • Montgomery Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Montgomery Village is located in Sonoma County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montgomery Village
    • Roseland
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Roseland is located in Sonoma County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseland
    • South Santa Rosa
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • South Santa Rosa is located in Sonoma County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Santa Rosa
    • Graton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Sebastopol
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Forestville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Melita
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Melita is located in Sonoma County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melita
    • Bellevue
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Bellevue is located in Sonoma County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellevue
  • Lake County
    • The following are listed by their distance from San Miguel, with the one closest to San Miguel listed first.
    • Middletown
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Cobb
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Pine Grove
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Pine Grove is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Grove
    • Glenbrook
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Glenbrook is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenbrook
    • Hidden Valley Lake
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Hidden Valley Lake is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hidden Valley Lake
    • Salminas Resort
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Salminas Resort is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salminas Resort
    • Seigler Springs
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Seigler Springs is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seigler Springs
    • Glenview
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Glenview is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenview
    • Lower Lake
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Marin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from San Miguel, with the one closest to San Miguel listed first.
    • Tomales
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Dillon Beach
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Nicks Cove
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Nicks Cove is located in Marin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicks Cove
    • Hamlet
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Hamlet is located in Marin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamlet
    • Marshall
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Millerton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Millerton is located in Marin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerton
    • Inverness
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Novato
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Old Town
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Old Town is located in Marin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Town
    • Point Reyes Station
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Nicasio
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Tocaloma
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Tocaloma is located in Marin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tocaloma
    • Black Point - Green Point
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Napa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from San Miguel, with the one closest to San Miguel listed first.
    • Woodleaf
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Woodleaf is located in Napa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodleaf
    • Calistoga
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Deer Park
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Saint Helena
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Angwin
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Rutherford
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Oakville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Pope Valley
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Yountville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Union
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Union is located in Napa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
    • Merazo
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Merazo is located in Napa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merazo
    • Las Putas ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Las Putas is located in Napa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Las Putas
    • Napa
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Napa is located in Napa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Napa
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 77,032 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Napa <1>

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

Cemeteries Near San Miguel ...

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

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 San Miguel - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Fulton Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Faught Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Steele Family Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Santa Rosa Memorial Park - Shiloh Road Addition
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Moke Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Santa Rosa Odd Fellows Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Santa Rosa Rural Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Stanley Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Santa Rosa Memorial Park
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Shomrei Torah Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Forestview Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Chapel of the Chimes Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (68 more) ...
    • Calvary Catholic Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Santa Rosa Calvary Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Green Valley Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 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.<3>

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

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

  • Fulton
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Santa Rosa
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Windsor
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Trenton
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Trenton is located in Sonoma County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trenton
  • Forestville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Melita
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Melita is located in Sonoma County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melita
  • Kellogg
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Kellogg is located in Sonoma County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellogg
  • Occidental
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Freestone
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Cotati
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Calistoga
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Stony Point
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Stony Point is located in Sonoma County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Point
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Guerneville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Bloomfield
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Bloomfield is located in Sonoma County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomfield
    • Wildwood ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Wildwood is located in Sonoma County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildwood

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

Newspapers Published in San Miguel ...

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 123 newspapers that have been published in the area around San Miguel.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of San Miguel, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for San Miguel.

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 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 Miguel:

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 San Miguel, 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- San Miguel) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.