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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 South Oroville (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 South Oroville. 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 South Oroville ...

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 occur.

For example, a typical abbreviation for South Oroville: S. Oroville

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 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.

South Oroville is located in Butte 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 Butte County: Colusa, Glenn, Plumas, Sutter, Tehama & Yuba.

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

  • Butte County     (The home county of South Oroville)
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Oroville, with the one closest to South Oroville listed first.
    • Oroville
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Lynchburg ‑ Historic
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Lynchburg is located in Butte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynchburg
    • Thermalito
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Thermalito is located in Butte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thermalito
    • Longs Bar ‑ Historic
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Longs Bar is located in Butte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longs Bar
    • Palermo
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Wyandotte
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Wyandotte is located in Butte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyandotte
    • Lorraine ‑ Historic
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Lorraine is located in Butte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lorraine
    • Oroville Junction
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Oroville Junction is located in Butte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oroville Junction
    • Oregon City
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Oregon City is located in Butte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oregon City
      • Former name for Oregon City:
      • Bloomingdale
    • Bidwell ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Bidwell is located in Butte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bidwell
    • Bidwell Bar ‑ Historic
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Bidwell Bar is located in Butte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bidwell Bar
    • East Biggs
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • East Biggs is located in Butte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Biggs
  • Colusa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Oroville, with the one closest to South Oroville listed first.
    • Princeton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Colusa Rancheria
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Colusa Rancheria is located in Colusa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colusa Rancheria
  • Glenn County
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Oroville, with the one closest to South Oroville listed first.
    • Afton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Afton is located in Glenn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Afton
    • Butte City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Glenn
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Hamilton City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Nevada County
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Oroville, with the one closest to South Oroville listed first.
    • Bridgeport
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Bridgeport is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeport
    • Birchville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Birchville is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birchville
    • North San Juan
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Lake Wildwood
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Lake Wildwood is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Wildwood
    • Penn Valley
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Rough and Ready
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Bitney Corner
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Bitney Corner is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bitney Corner
    • Newtown
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Newtown is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newtown
  • Santa Cruz County
  • Sierra County
    • Brandy City ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Brandy City is located in Sierra County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandy City
  • Sutter County
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Oroville, with the one closest to South Oroville listed first.
    • Live Oak
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Live Oak is located in Sutter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Live Oak
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,048 people
    • Pennington
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Pennington is located in Sutter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennington
    • Tierra Buena
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Tierra Buena is located in Sutter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tierra Buena
    • Yuba City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Sutter
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • South Yuba City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • South Yuba City is located in Sutter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Yuba City
    • Bogue
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Bogue is located in Sutter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bogue
    • Tarke
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Tarke is located in Sutter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tarke
  • Yuba County
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Oroville, with the one closest to South Oroville listed first.
    • Rackerby
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Iowa City
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Iowa City is located in Yuba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iowa City
    • Loma Rica
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Loma Rica is located in Yuba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loma Rica
    • Brownsville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Challenge
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Oregon House
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Browns Valley
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Dobbins
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Bullards Bar ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Bullards Bar is located in Yuba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bullards Bar
    • Foster Bar ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Foster Bar is located in Yuba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foster Bar
    • Dantoni
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Dantoni is located in Yuba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dantoni
    • Timbuctoo ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Timbuctoo is located in Yuba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timbuctoo

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

Cemeteries Near South Oroville ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of South Oroville.

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 South Oroville - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Memorial Park
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Memorial Park
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Memorial Park is a very large cemetery that is located outside and to the south of Oroville.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #8154 <2>
  • Oroville Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Butte County Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Pioneer Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Thompson Flat Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Hamilton Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Oregon City Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Oak Grove Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Gridley - Biggs Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gridley - Biggs Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Gridley - Biggs Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located less than 2 miles<3> to the northeast of Gridley.
    • The Gridley - Biggs Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Biggs Cemetery
    • Live Oak Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #8006 <2>
  • Bangor Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bangor Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Bangor Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southwest of Bangor.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2220275 <2>
  • Cherokee Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherokee Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Cherokee Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 9 miles [14.5 km]<3> to the north of Oroville.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1967787 <2>
  • Clear Creek Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (52 more) ...
    • Honcut Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Upham Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Indian Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)

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.<4>

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

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

  • Oroville
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Palermo
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Wyandotte
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Wyandotte is located in Butte County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyandotte
  • Hurleton
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Hurleton is located in Butte County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hurleton
  • Bigg's
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Bangor
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Enterprise ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Enterprise is located in Butte County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enterprise
  • Cherokee ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Cherokee is located in Butte County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherokee
  • Honcut
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Nelson
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Pentz
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Pentz is located in Butte County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pentz
  • Gridley
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Honcut
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Honcut is located in Yuba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honcut
    • Big Bend
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Big Bend is located in Butte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Bend
    • Yankee Hill
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Yankee Hill is located in Butte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yankee Hill

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

Newspapers Published in South Oroville ...

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 41 newspapers that have been published in the area around South Oroville.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of South Oroville, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for South Oroville.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 South Oroville:

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>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 drawn from Point A (ie- South Oroville) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<4>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 South Oroville, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.