Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
So far, we found very little information about Somersville. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>
We've added Somersville to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Somersville, please Contact Us.
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 Somersville (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 Somersville. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors 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.
Although our information shows that the community of Somersville is historic, it would have been located within present day Contra Costa 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 Contra Costa County: Alameda, Marin, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Joaquin & Solano.
Below are the counties that are near Somersville. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Somersville:
- Contra Costa County (The home county of Somersville)
- The following are listed by their distance from Somersville, with the one closest to Somersville listed first.
- Antioch
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Empire ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Empire is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Empire
- Marsh Creek Springs
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Marsh Creek Springs is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marsh Creek Springs
- Clayton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Pittsburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- West Pittsburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- West Pittsburg is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Pittsburg
- Bay Point
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Oakley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Rock City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Rock City is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock City
- Brentwood
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Blackhawk
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Blackhawk is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackhawk
- Diablo
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Concord
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Alameda County
- The following are listed by their distance from Somersville, with the one closest to Somersville listed first.
- Komandorski Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Komandorski Village is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Komandorski Village
- San Ramon Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- San Ramon Village is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Ramon Village
- Dublin
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Altamont
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Altamont is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altamont
- Canyon
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Laddville ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Laddville is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laddville
- Livermore
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Pleasanton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Montclair
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Montclair is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montclair
- Allendale
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Allendale is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allendale
- Castro Valley
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Fairview
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Fairview is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Laurel
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Laurel is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel
- Napa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Somersville, with the one closest to Somersville listed first.
- American Canyon
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Lombard
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Lombard is located in Napa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lombard
- Middleton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Middleton is located in Napa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middleton
- Suscol ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Suscol is located in Napa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suscol
- Suscol has also been known as:
- Soscol
- Susqual
- Sacramento County
- The following are listed by their distance from Somersville, with the one closest to Somersville listed first.
- Isleton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Ryde
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Locke
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Locke is located in Sacramento County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locke
- Walnut Grove
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Vorden
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Vorden is located in Sacramento County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vorden
- Courtland
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- San Joaquin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Somersville, with the one closest to Somersville listed first.
- Terminous
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Terminous is located in San Joaquin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terminous
- Holt
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Ellis ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Ellis is located in San Joaquin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellis
- Tracy
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Tracy is located in San Joaquin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tracy
- Population from the 2020 Census: 95,025 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tracy <2>
- Country Club
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Country Club is located in San Joaquin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Club
- Wainwright Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Wainwright Village is located in San Joaquin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wainwright Village
- Lincoln Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Lincoln Village is located in San Joaquin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln Village
- Carnegie ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Carnegie is located in San Joaquin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carnegie
- Mokelumne City ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Mokelumne City is located in San Joaquin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mokelumne City
- Taison
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Taison is located in San Joaquin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taison
- Thornton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Banta
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Solano County
- The following are listed by their distance from Somersville, with the one closest to Somersville listed first.
- Birds Landing
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Rio Vista
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Benicia
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Denverton
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Denverton is located in Solano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denverton
- Solano City ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Solano City is located in Solano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Solano City
- Suisun City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Suisun City is located in Solano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suisun City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 29,305 people
- Suisun City has also been known as:
- Suisun
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Suisun City <2>
- Travis Field
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Travis Field is located in Solano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Travis Field
- Fairfield
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Vallejo
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Cannon ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Cannon is located in Solano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannon
- Mare Island ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Mare Island is located in Solano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mare Island
- Guadalcanal Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Guadalcanal Village is located in Solano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guadalcanal Village
- Green Valley
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Somersville, see our County-by-County Page for Somersville.
Cemeteries Near Somersville ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Somersville.
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 Somersville - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Somersville covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Somersville, with the one closest to Somersville listed first.
- Rose Hill Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- New Holy Cross Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Holy Cross Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holy Cross Cemetery
- The Holy Cross Cemetery has also been known as:
- Holly Cross Cemetery
- Live Oak Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Oak View Memorial Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- St. Stephen Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Memory Gardens Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Byron Brentwood Knightson Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Union Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Union Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southeast of Brentwood.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #188400 <3>
- Lafayette Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Oakmont Memorial Park
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakmont Memorial Park
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Oakmont Memorial Park is a very large cemetery that is located outside and to the west of Pleasant Hill.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #8221 <3>
- Oakmount Memorial Park
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Continue List (47 more) ...
- Queen of Haven Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Queen of Heaven Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Alhambra Cemetery
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alhambra Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Alhambra Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the west of Martinez.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #7834 <3>
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.
Somersville itself is historic and was described in the Rand McNally Atlas as having a population of 371 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Somersville, with the one closest to Somersville listed first.
- Nortonville ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Nortonville is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nortonville
- Stewartville ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Stewartville is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stewartville
- Clayton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Cornwall
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Cornwall is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornwall
- Antioch
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- McAvoy
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- McAvoy is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McAvoy
- Bay Point
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Collinsville ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Collinsville is located in Solano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collinsville
- Brentwood
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Concord
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Walnut Creek
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Alamo
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Danville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Danville is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 44,883 people
- Former name for Danville:
- Inmanville
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Danville <2>
- Pacheco
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Birds Landing
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Somersville. See our List of 1890's Communities around Somersville.
Newspapers Published in Somersville ...
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 160 newspapers that have been published in the area around Somersville.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Somersville, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Somersville.
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 websites either 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 Somersville:
- Websites specific to California
- Pages specific to Contra Costa County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alameda County
- Napa County
- Sacramento County
- San Joaquin County
- Solano County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for California
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Somersville, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Somersville) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |