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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 Simi Valley (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 Simi Valley. 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 Simi Valley ...

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 have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Simi Valley: Simi Vly. (or less commonly used: Simi Vally. or Simi Vlly.)

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 southwest 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 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 west 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.

Simi Valley is located in Ventura 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 Ventura County: Kern, Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo & Santa Barbara.

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

  • Ventura County     (The home county of Simi Valley)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Simi Valley, with the one closest to Simi Valley listed first.
    • Oak Park
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Moorpark
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Mountclef Village
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mountclef Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountclef Village
      • Mountclef Village is located in Ventura County
    • Greenwich Village
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenwich Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwich Village
      • Greenwich Village is located in Ventura County
    • Thousand Oaks
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Buckhorn
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckhorn
      • Buckhorn is located in Ventura County
    • Piru
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Newbury Park
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Bardsdale
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bardsdale
      • Bardsdale is located in Ventura County
    • Lagol
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lagol
      • Lagol is located in Ventura County
    • Fillmore
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Casa Conejo
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Casa Conejo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casa Conejo
      • Casa Conejo is located in Ventura County
  • Los Angeles County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Simi Valley, with the one closest to Simi Valley listed first.
    • Bell Canyon
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Chatsworth Lake Manor
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chatsworth Lake Manor have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatsworth Lake Manor
      • Chatsworth Lake Manor is located in Los Angeles County
    • Agoura Hills
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Agoura
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Westlake Village
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • West Hills
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Hills
      • West Hills is located in Los Angeles County
    • Chatsworth
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatsworth
      • Chatsworth is located in Los Angeles County
    • Hidden Hills
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Calabasas
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Canoga Park
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canoga Park
      • Canoga Park is located in Los Angeles County
    • Winnetka
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winnetka
      • Winnetka is located in Los Angeles County
    • Mentryville ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mentryville
      • Mentryville is located in Los Angeles County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Simi Valley ...

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 103 newspapers that have been published in the area around Simi Valley.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Simi Valley. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Simi Valley and those printed in the larger area surrounding Simi Valley.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 18 miles [29 km]<3> of Simi Valley.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start 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 Simi Valley:

Cemeteries Near Simi Valley ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Simi Valley.

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 Simi Valley covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Assumption Catholic Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Mt. Sinai Memorial Park, Simi Valley
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Olson Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Olson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Olson Cemetery
  • Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Memorial Park
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Oakwood Memorial Park
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Piru Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Piru Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Piru Cemetery
  • Bardsdale Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bardsdale Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Bardsdale Cemetery is located outside and to the southwest of Bardsdale.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bardsdale Cemetery
  • Conejo Mtn. Memorial Park
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Conejo Mtn. Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Conejo Mtn. Memorial Park
  • Eternal Valley Memorial Park
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
  • San Fernando Mission Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • 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
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
  • Pioneer Memorial Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pioneer Memorial Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pioneer Memorial Cemetery
  • Continue List   (22 more) ...
    • Santa Paula Cemetery
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Los Angeles National Cemetery
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Sholom Memorial Park
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sholom Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sholom 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 in 1895, Simi Valley had a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Simi Valley had a population of 125,168 people.

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

  • Buckhorn
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckhorn
    • Buckhorn is located in Ventura County
  • Chatsworth
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatsworth
    • Chatsworth is located in Los Angeles County
  • Piru
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Newbury Park
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Bardsdale
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bardsdale
    • Bardsdale is located in Ventura County
  • Fillmore
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Sespe Village
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sespe Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sespe Village
    • Sespe Village is located in Ventura County
  • Newhall
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Saugus
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Castaic
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Las Flores
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Las Flores have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Las Flores
    • Las Flores is located in Los Angeles County
  • Santa Paula
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • San Fernando
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Honby
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honby
      • Honby is located in Los Angeles County
    • Springville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Springville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springville
      • Springville is located in Ventura County

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

The official website for Simi Valley: www.ci.simi-valley.ca.us/

The official website for Ventura County: www.countyofventura.org/

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>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.
<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- Simi Valley) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Simi Valley. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.2718, Longitude: -118.7615    
<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 Simi Valley, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024