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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 Todd 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 Todd 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 Todd 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 occur.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Todd Valley: Todd Vly. (or less commonly used: Todd Vally. or Todd 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Todd Valley is located in Placer 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 Placer County: El Dorado, Nevada, Sacramento, Sutter, Yuba, Carson City (NV), Douglas (NV) & Washoe (NV).

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

  • Placer County     (The home county of Todd Valley)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Todd Valley, with the one closest to Todd Valley listed first.
    • Yankee Jims
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Yankee Jims is located in Placer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yankee Jims
    • Foresthill
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Michigan Bluff
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Michigan Bluff is located in Placer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Michigan Bluff
    • Iowa Hill
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Applegate
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Weimar
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Colfax
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Chicago Park ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Chicago Park is located in Placer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chicago Park
    • Clipper Gap
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Clipper Gap is located in Placer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clipper Gap
    • Meadow Vista
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Secret Town
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Secret Town is located in Placer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Secret Town
    • Bowman
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Gold Run
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • El Dorado County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Todd Valley, with the one closest to Todd Valley listed first.
    • Georgetown
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Fornis
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Fornis is located in El Dorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fornis
    • Greenwood
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Garden Valley
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Quintette
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Quintette is located in El Dorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quintette
    • Cool
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Coloma
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Kelsey
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Kelsey is located in El Dorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelsey
    • Lotus
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Pilot Hill
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Gold Hill
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Gold Hill is located in El Dorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gold Hill
    • Placerville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Jayhawk
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Jayhawk is located in El Dorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jayhawk
  • Nevada County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Todd Valley, with the one closest to Todd Valley listed first.
    • Chicago Park
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Lake of the Pines
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Lake of the Pines is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake of the Pines
    • You Bet ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • You Bet is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for You Bet
    • Alta Sierra
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Alta Sierra is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alta Sierra
    • Cedar Ridge
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Kres
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Kres is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kres
    • Union Hill
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Union Hill is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Hill
    • Grass Valley
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Glenbrook
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Glenbrook is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenbrook
    • Gold Flat
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Gold Flat is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gold Flat
    • The Oaks
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • The Oaks is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Oaks
    • Spring Hill
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Spring Hill is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
    • Nevada City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Sacramento County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Todd Valley, with the one closest to Todd Valley listed first.
    • Mormon Island ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Mormon Island is located in Sacramento County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mormon Island
    • Represa
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Represa is located in Sacramento County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Represa
    • Folsom
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Folsom is located in Sacramento County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Folsom
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 82,726 people
      • Folsom has also been known as:
      • Folsom City
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Folsom <1>
    • Folsom Junction
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Folsom Junction is located in Sacramento County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Folsom Junction
    • Natoma
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Natoma is located in Sacramento County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Natoma
    • Orangevale
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Prairie City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Prairie City is located in Sacramento County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie City
    • Citrus Heights
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Shasta County
    • Bear Valley ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Bear Valley is located in Shasta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Valley
  • Yuba County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Todd Valley, with the one closest to Todd Valley listed first.
    • Smartville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Timbuctoo ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Timbuctoo is located in Yuba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timbuctoo
    • Wheatland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)

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

Cemeteries Near Todd Valley ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Todd 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.

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 Todd Valley - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

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 Todd Valley in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Todd Valley.

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

  • Yankee Jims
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Yankee Jims is located in Placer County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yankee Jims
  • Georgetown
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Michigan Bluff
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Michigan Bluff is located in Placer County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Michigan Bluff
  • Weimar
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Colfax
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Clipper Gap
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Clipper Gap is located in Placer County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clipper Gap
  • Garden Valley
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Cool
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Chicago Park
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Gold Run
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Auburn
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Coloma
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Kelsey
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Kelsey is located in El Dorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelsey
    • You Bet ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • You Bet is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for You Bet
    • Pilot Hill
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Todd 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 38 newspapers that have been published in the area around Todd Valley.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Todd Valley, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Todd Valley.

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 professional and volunteer 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 Todd Valley:

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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Todd Valley) 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 Todd Valley, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.