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 Walnut Heights (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 Walnut Heights. 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 Walnut Heights ...
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 Walnut Heights: Walnut Hts. (in Canada, 'Hgts.' is the more common abbreviation.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Walnut Heights. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Walnut Heights.
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 and doctors 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.
Walnut Heights is located in 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 Walnut Heights. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Walnut Heights:
- Contra Costa County (The home county of Walnut Heights)
- The following are listed by their distance from Walnut Heights, with the one closest to Walnut Heights listed first.
- Walnut Creek
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Alamo
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Waldon
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Waldon is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldon
- Lafayette
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Pleasant Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Danville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- 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 <1>
- Diablo
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Moraga
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Moraga is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moraga
- Population from the 2020 Census: 16,967 people
- Former name for Moraga:
- Willow Springs
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moraga <1>
- Rock City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Rock City is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock City
- Concord
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Clayton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Orinda Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Orinda Village is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orinda Village
- Orinda
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Alameda County
- The following are listed by their distance from Walnut Heights, with the one closest to Walnut Heights listed first.
- Canyon
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Laurel
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Laurel is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel
- Montclair
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Montclair is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montclair
- Allendale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Allendale is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allendale
- Havenscourt
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Havenscourt is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Havenscourt
- Piedmont
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- East Oakland ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- East Oakland is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Oakland
- Fruitvale
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Fruitvale is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruitvale
- Former names for Fruitvale:
- Brays
- Fruit Vale
- San Leandro
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Normandy Village
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Normandy Village is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Normandy Village
- Rochedale Village
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Rochedale Village is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochedale Village
- Brookfield Village
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Brookfield Village is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookfield Village
- Berkeley
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Marin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Walnut Heights, with the one closest to Walnut Heights listed first.
- Fort McDowell
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Fort McDowell is located in Marin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort McDowell
- Belvedere
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Tiburon
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Paradise Cay
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Paradise Cay is located in Marin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise Cay
- San Quentin
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Sausalito
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Bel Aire
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Bel Aire is located in Marin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bel Aire
- Marin City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Marin City is located in Marin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marin City
- Strawberry
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Strawberry is located in Marin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strawberry
- Corte Madera
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Manzanita
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Manzanita is located in Marin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manzanita
- Greenbrae
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Larkspur
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Napa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Walnut Heights, with the one closest to Walnut Heights listed first.
- American Canyon
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Lombard
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Lombard is located in Napa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lombard
- Middleton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Middleton is located in Napa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middleton
- Suscol ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 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
- Merazo
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Merazo is located in Napa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merazo
- San Francisco County
- The following are listed by their distance from Walnut Heights, with the one closest to Walnut Heights listed first.
- Sydney Town ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Sydney Town is located in San Francisco County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sydney Town
- Chinatown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Chinatown is located in San Francisco County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chinatown
- Friendship Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Friendship Village is located in San Francisco County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship Village
- Mission District
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Mission District is located in San Francisco County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mission District
- San Francisco
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Amanico Ergina Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Amanico Ergina Village is located in San Francisco County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amanico Ergina Village
- Golden Gate Heights
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Golden Gate Heights is located in San Francisco County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golden Gate Heights
- Stonestown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Stonestown is located in San Francisco County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonestown
- Doelger City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Doelger City is located in San Francisco County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doelger City
- San Mateo County
- The following are listed by their distance from Walnut Heights, with the one closest to Walnut Heights listed first.
- Brisbane
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Foster City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- South San Francisco
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Broadmoor Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Broadmoor Village is located in San Mateo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broadmoor Village
- Broadmoor
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Broadmoor is located in San Mateo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broadmoor
- Burlingame
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Colma
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Daly City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Millbrae
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- San Bruno
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- San Mateo
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Hillsborough
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Laurel
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Laurel is located in San Mateo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel
- Santa Clara County
- Palo Alto
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Solano County
- The following are listed by their distance from Walnut Heights, with the one closest to Walnut Heights listed first.
- Benicia
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Mare Island ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Mare Island is located in Solano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mare Island
- Vallejo
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Birds Landing
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Guadalcanal Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Guadalcanal Village is located in Solano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guadalcanal Village
- Denverton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Denverton is located in Solano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denverton
- Suisun City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- 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 <1>
- Fairfield
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Green Valley
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Solano City ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Solano City is located in Solano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Solano City
- Rio Vista
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Mankas Corner
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Mankas Corner is located in Solano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mankas Corner
- Travis Field
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Travis Field is located in Solano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Travis Field
- Sonoma County
- The following are listed by their distance from Walnut Heights, with the one closest to Walnut Heights listed first.
- Sears Point
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Sears Point is located in Sonoma County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sears Point
- McGill
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- McGill is located in Sonoma County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGill
- Wingo ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Wingo is located in Sonoma County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wingo
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Walnut Heights, see our County-by-County Page for Walnut Heights.
Cemeteries Near Walnut Heights ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Walnut Heights.
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 Walnut Heights - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Walnut Heights covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Walnut Heights, with the one closest to Walnut Heights listed first.
- Lafayette Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Oakmont Memorial Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- 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 <2>
- Oakmount Memorial Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Queen of Haven Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Queen of Heaven Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Live Oak Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- St. Stephen Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Memory Gardens Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- St. Mary's Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Mountain View Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Home of Peace Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Evergreen Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (74 more) ...
- Evergreen Mausoleum
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Catholic Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Mt. Calvary Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
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 Walnut Heights in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Walnut Heights.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Walnut Heights, with the one closest to Walnut Heights listed first.
- Walnut Creek
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Alamo
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Lafayette
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Danville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- 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 <1>
- Pacheco
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Clayton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Concord
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- San Ramon
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Seminary Park
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Seminary Park is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seminary Park
- Martinez
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Nortonville ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Nortonville is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nortonville
- Avon
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Avon is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avon
- Continue List (18 more) ...
- East Oakland ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- East Oakland is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Oakland
- Fruitvale
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Fruitvale is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruitvale
- Former names for Fruitvale:
- Brays
- Fruit Vale
- Melrose
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Melrose is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Walnut Heights. See our List of 1890's Communities around Walnut Heights.
Newspapers Published in Walnut Heights ...
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 107 newspapers that have been published in the area around Walnut Heights.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Walnut Heights, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Walnut Heights.
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 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 Walnut Heights:
- Websites specific to California
- Pages specific to Contra Costa County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alameda County
- Marin County
- Napa County
- San Francisco County
- San Mateo County
- Santa Clara County
- Solano County
- Sonoma 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 Walnut Heights, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Walnut Heights) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |