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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 Santa Rosa (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 Santa Rosa. 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.

Santa Rosa is located in Sonoma County and is the County Seat.

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 Sonoma County: Contra Costa, Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Napa & Solano.

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

  • Sonoma County     (The home county of Santa Rosa)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Santa Rosa, with the one closest to Santa Rosa listed first.
    • Montgomery Village
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Montgomery Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montgomery Village
      • Montgomery Village is located in Sonoma County
    • Roseland
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Roseland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseland
      • Roseland is located in Sonoma County
    • Bellevue
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellevue
      • Bellevue is located in Sonoma County
    • South Santa Rosa
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Santa Rosa have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Santa Rosa
      • South Santa Rosa is located in Sonoma County
    • Melita
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melita
      • Melita is located in Sonoma County
    • Fulton
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Rohnert Park
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Sebastopol
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Mark West Springs
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mark West Springs
      • Mark West Springs is located in Sonoma County
    • Trenton
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trenton
      • Trenton is located in Sonoma County
    • Cotati
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Graton
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Lake County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Santa Rosa, with the one closest to Santa Rosa listed first.
    • Middletown
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Hidden Valley Lake
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hidden Valley Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hidden Valley Lake
      • Hidden Valley Lake is located in Lake County
    • Cobb
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Pine Grove
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Grove
      • Pine Grove is located in Lake County
    • Glenbrook
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenbrook
      • Glenbrook is located in Lake County
    • Salminas Resort
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salminas Resort
      • Salminas Resort is located in Lake County
    • Seigler Springs
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seigler Springs
      • Seigler Springs is located in Lake County
  • Marin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Santa Rosa, with the one closest to Santa Rosa listed first.
    • Tomales
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Dillon Beach
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Hamlet
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hamlet have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamlet
      • Hamlet is located in Marin County
    • Nicks Cove
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicks Cove
      • Nicks Cove is located in Marin County
    • Marshall
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Millerton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerton
      • Millerton is located in Marin County
    • Inverness
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Novato
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Old Town
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Old Town have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Town
      • Old Town is located in Marin County
    • Nicasio
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Point Reyes Station
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Black Point - Green Point
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Napa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Santa Rosa, with the one closest to Santa Rosa listed first.
    • Calistoga
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Woodleaf
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodleaf have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodleaf
      • Woodleaf is located in Napa County
    • Saint Helena
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Deer Park
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Rutherford
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Oakville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Angwin
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Yountville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Pope Valley
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Union
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
      • Union is located in Napa County
    • Napa
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Napa
      • Napa is located in Napa County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 77,032 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Napa <2>
    • Merazo
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merazo
      • Merazo is located in Napa County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Santa Rosa ...

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 91 newspapers that have been published in the area around Santa Rosa.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Santa Rosa. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Santa Rosa and those printed in the larger area surrounding Santa Rosa.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<3> of Santa Rosa.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start 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 Santa Rosa:

Cemeteries Near Santa Rosa ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Santa Rosa.

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 Santa Rosa covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Chapel of the Chimes Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Chapel of the Chimes Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Chapel of the Chimes Cemetery
  • Calvary Catholic Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Santa Rosa Calvary Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Santa Rosa Calvary Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Santa Rosa Calvary Cemetery
  • Santa Rosa Rural Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Moke Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Moke Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Moke Cemetery
  • Stanley Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Stanley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Stanley Cemetery
  • Santa Rosa Odd Fellows Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Santa Rosa Memorial Park
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Santa Rosa Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Santa Rosa Memorial Park
  • Bennett Valley Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bennett Valley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bennett Valley Cemetery
  • Fulton Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fulton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fulton Cemetery
  • Steele Family Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Faught Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Faught Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Faught Cemetery
  • Continue List   (67 more) ...
    • Sebastopol Memorial Lawn Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sebastopol Memorial Lawn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sebastopol Memorial Lawn Cemetery
    • Macedonia Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Macedonia Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Macedonia Cemetery
    • Pleasant Hills Memorial Park
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Hills Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Hills Memorial Park

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 Santa Rosa had a population of 5,220 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Santa Rosa had a population of 174,613 people.

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

  • Melita
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melita
    • Melita is located in Sonoma County
  • Fulton
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Cotati
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Trenton
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trenton
    • Trenton is located in Sonoma County
  • Stony Point
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Point
    • Stony Point is located in Sonoma County
  • Penngrove
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Wildwood ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wildwood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildwood
    • Wildwood is located in Sonoma County
  • Windsor
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Forestville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Freestone
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Bloomfield
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomfield
    • Bloomfield is located in Sonoma County
  • Ely ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ely have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ely
    • Ely is located in Sonoma County
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Glen Ellen
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Calistoga
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Occidental
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)

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

The official website for Santa Rosa: www.ci.santa-rosa.ca.us/

The official website for Sonoma County: www.sonoma-county.org/

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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Santa Rosa) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Santa Rosa. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.4375, Longitude: -122.7182    
<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 Santa Rosa, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024