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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 Valley Crossing (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 Valley Crossing. 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 Valley Crossing ...

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 Valley Crossing: Valley Xing.

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 northwest 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 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 west 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.

Valley Crossing is located in Sonoma 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 Sonoma County: Contra Costa, Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Napa & Solano.

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

  • Sonoma County     (The home county of Valley Crossing)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Valley Crossing, with the one closest to Valley Crossing listed first.
    • Annapolis
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Sea Ranch
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Stewarts Point
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Fort Ross
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fort Ross have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Ross
      • Fort Ross is located in Sonoma County
    • Cazadero
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Cloverdale
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Preston
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Preston have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Preston
      • Preston is located in Sonoma County
    • Jenner
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Duncans Mills
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Guerneville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Monte Rio
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Rio Nido
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Mendocino County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Valley Crossing, with the one closest to Valley Crossing listed first.
    • Gualala
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Anchor Bay
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Fish Rock
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fish Rock
      • Fish Rock is located in Mendocino County
    • Signal Port
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Signal Port
      • Signal Port is located in Mendocino County
      • Signal Port has also been known as:
      • Hardscratch
    • Hermitage ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hermitage. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hermitage
      • Hermitage is located in Mendocino County
    • Yorkville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Point Arena
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Boonville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Manchester
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Stronetta
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stronetta
      • Stronetta is located in Mendocino County
    • Hopland
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Philo
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)

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

Newspapers Published in Valley Crossing ...

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 55 newspapers that have been published in the area around Valley Crossing.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Valley Crossing, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Valley Crossing.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Valley Crossing:

Cemeteries Near Valley Crossing ...

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

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

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

  • Stewarts Point Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Annapolis Church Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Sugarloaf Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sugarloaf Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sugarloaf Cemetery
  • Cooper Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cooper Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cooper Cemetery
  • Bourn Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Bourn Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bourn Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #7860 <5>
  • Fish Rock Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Ruoff - Thomas Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ruoff - Thomas Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ruoff - Thomas Cemetery
  • Benitz Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Benitz Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Benitz Cemetery
  • Seaview Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Seaview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Seaview Cemetery
  • Ornbaun Springs Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ornbaun Springs Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ornbaun Springs Cemetery
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Evergreen Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Evergreen Cemetery
  • Manchester / Point Area Pomo Indian Cemetery
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (11 more) ...
    • Cloverdale Cemetery
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Cloverdale Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the northeast of Cloverdale.
      • The Cloverdale Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Haywards Cemetery
      • Mt. Olive Cemetery
      • Riverside Cemetery
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cloverdale Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #991087 <5>
    • Duncans Mills Cemetery
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Duncans Mills Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Duncans Mills Cemetery
    • Hopland Cemetery
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hopland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hopland Cemetery

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.<6>

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

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

  • Gualala
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Fish Rock
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fish Rock
    • Fish Rock is located in Mendocino County
  • Seaview
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seaview have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seaview
    • Seaview is located in Sonoma County
  • Fort Ross
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fort Ross have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Ross
    • Fort Ross is located in Sonoma County
  • Hermitage ‑ Historic
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hermitage. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hermitage
    • Hermitage is located in Mendocino County
  • Yorkville
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Point Arena
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Cazadero
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Boonville
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
  • Cloverdale
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
  • Preston
    (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Preston have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Preston
    • Preston is located in Sonoma County
  • Manchester
    (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (8 more) ...
    • Asti
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Asti have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asti
      • Asti is located in Sonoma County
    • Pieta
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pieta have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pieta
      • Pieta is located in Mendocino County
    • Hopland
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)

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

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Valley Crossing. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Sonoma County: www.sonoma-county.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>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<4>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Valley Crossing) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Valley Crossing. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.6996, Longitude: -123.4136       In this case, the coordinates for Valley Crossing have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>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.
<6>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 Valley Crossing, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024