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 Valdez (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 Valdez. 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 and 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.
Valdez is located in Yolo 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 Yolo County: Colusa, Lake, Napa, Sacramento, Solano & Sutter.
Below are the counties that are near Valdez. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Valdez:
- Yolo County (The home county of Valdez)
- The following are listed by their distance from Valdez, with the one closest to Valdez listed first.
- Greendale
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Greendale is located in Yolo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greendale
- Clarksburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- El Macero
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Swingle
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Swingle is located in Yolo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swingle
- Davis
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- West Sacramento
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Broderick
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Bryte
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Plainfield
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Plainfield is located in Yolo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainfield
- Winters
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Woodland
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Yolo
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Contra Costa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Valdez, with the one closest to Valdez listed first.
- Bethel Island
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Oakley
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Knightsen
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Antioch
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Empire ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Empire is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Empire
- Pittsburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Bixler
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Bixler is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bixler
- Brentwood
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Bay Point
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- West Pittsburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- West Pittsburg is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Pittsburg
- Discovery Bay
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Port Chicago ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Port Chicago is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Chicago
- Clyde
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Clyde is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clyde
- Placer County
- Riego
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Riego is located in Placer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riego
- Sacramento County
- The following are listed by their distance from Valdez, with the one closest to Valdez listed first.
- Courtland
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Hood
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Vorden
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Vorden is located in Sacramento County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vorden
- Ryde
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Locke
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Locke is located in Sacramento County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locke
- Walnut Grove
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Franklin
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Franklin is located in Sacramento County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
- Laguna West - Lakeside
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Freeport
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Freeport is located in Sacramento County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeport
- Isleton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Laguna
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Laguna is located in Sacramento County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laguna
- Arno ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Arno is located in Sacramento County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arno
- Elk Grove
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- San Joaquin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Valdez, with the one closest to Valdez listed first.
- Mokelumne City ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Mokelumne City is located in San Joaquin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mokelumne City
- Thornton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Taison
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Taison is located in San Joaquin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taison
- Terminous
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Terminous is located in San Joaquin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terminous
- Acampo
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- North Woodbridge
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- North Woodbridge is located in San Joaquin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Woodbridge
- South Woodbridge
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- South Woodbridge is located in San Joaquin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Woodbridge
- Woodbridge
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Henderson Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Henderson Village is located in San Joaquin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henderson Village
- Lodi
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Lodi is located in San Joaquin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lodi
- Population from the 2020 Census: 68,186 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lodi <1>
- Victor
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Lincoln Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Lincoln Village is located in San Joaquin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln Village
- Lockeford
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Solano County
- The following are listed by their distance from Valdez, with the one closest to Valdez listed first.
- Oxford
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Oxford is located in Solano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxford
- Rio Vista
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Dixon
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Batavia
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Batavia is located in Solano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Batavia
- Solano City ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Solano City is located in Solano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Solano City
- Elmira
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Denverton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Denverton is located in Solano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denverton
- Travis Field
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Travis Field is located in Solano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Travis Field
- Cannon ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Cannon is located in Solano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannon
- Leisure Town
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Leisure Town is located in Solano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leisure Town
- Allendale
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Allendale is located in Solano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allendale
- Birds Landing
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Hartley
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Hartley is located in Solano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartley
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Valdez, see our County-by-County Page for Valdez.
Cemeteries Near Valdez ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Valdez.
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 Valdez - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Valdez covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Valdez, with the one closest to Valdez listed first.
- Franklin Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Tremont Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Masonic Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- South East Lawn Memorial Park
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- San Joaquin Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Silveyville Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Hicksville Cemetery
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- St. Rose Cemetery
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Sacramento Valley National Cemetery
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Davis Cemetery
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davis Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Davis Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Davis.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #7930 <2>
- Elder Creek Cemetery
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Home of Peace Cemetery
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (51 more) ...
- Sacramento Memorial Lawn Cemetery
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Galt - Arno Cemetery
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Sacramento County Cemetery
(17 miles [27.4 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.<3>
While we didn't find Valdez in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Valdez.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Valdez, with the one closest to Valdez listed first.
- Courtland
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Walnut Grove
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Maine Prairie
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Maine Prairie is located in Solano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maine Prairie
- Franklin
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Franklin is located in Sacramento County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
- Isleton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Freeport
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Freeport is located in Sacramento County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeport
- Binghamton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Binghamton is located in Solano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Binghamton
- Rio Vista
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- New Hope
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- New Hope is located in San Joaquin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hope
- Taison
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Taison is located in San Joaquin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taison
- Arno ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Arno is located in Sacramento County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arno
- McConnel
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- McConnel is located in Sacramento County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McConnel
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Elk Grove
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Dixon
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Batavia
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Batavia is located in Solano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Batavia
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Valdez. See our List of 1890's Communities around Valdez.
Newspapers Published in Valdez ...
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 175 newspapers that have been published in the area around Valdez.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Valdez, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Valdez.
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 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 Valdez:
- Websites specific to California
- Pages specific to Yolo County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Contra Costa County
- Placer County
- Sacramento County
- San Joaquin County
- Solano County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for California
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> | 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 Valdez, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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- Valdez) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |