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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 Washoe (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 Washoe. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and 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.

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

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

  • Sonoma County     (The home county of Washoe)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Washoe, with the one closest to Washoe listed first.
    • Stony Point
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Stony Point is located in Sonoma County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Point
    • Cotati
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Penngrove
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Rohnert Park
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Ely ‑ Historic
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Ely is located in Sonoma County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ely
    • Bellevue
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Bellevue is located in Sonoma County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellevue
    • South Santa Rosa
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • South Santa Rosa is located in Sonoma County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Santa Rosa
    • Bloomfield
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Bloomfield is located in Sonoma County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomfield
    • Petaluma
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Roseland
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Roseland is located in Sonoma County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseland
    • Sebastopol
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Montgomery Village
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Montgomery Village is located in Sonoma County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montgomery Village
    • Santa Rosa
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Contra Costa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Washoe, with the one closest to Washoe listed first.
    • Sobrante
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Sobrante is located in Contra Costa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sobrante
    • Bayview
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Bayview is located in Contra Costa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayview
    • Gateley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Gateley is located in Contra Costa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gateley
  • Marin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Washoe, with the one closest to Washoe listed first.
    • Tomales
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Hamlet
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Hamlet is located in Marin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamlet
    • Nicks Cove
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Nicks Cove is located in Marin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicks Cove
    • Dillon Beach
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Marshall
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Millerton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Millerton is located in Marin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerton
    • Inverness
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Nicasio
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Point Reyes Station
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Novato
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Tocaloma
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Tocaloma is located in Marin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tocaloma
    • Old Town
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Old Town is located in Marin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Town
    • Black Point - Green Point
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
  • Napa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Washoe, with the one closest to Washoe listed first.
    • Rutherford
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Saint Helena
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Merazo
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Merazo is located in Napa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merazo
    • Woodleaf
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Woodleaf is located in Napa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodleaf
    • Calistoga
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Oakville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Yountville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Deer Park
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Napa
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Napa is located in Napa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Napa
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 77,032 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Napa <1>
    • Union
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Union is located in Napa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
    • Suscol ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Suscol is located in Napa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suscol
      • Suscol has also been known as:
      • Soscol
      • Susqual
    • Angwin
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Middleton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Middleton is located in Napa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middleton
  • Solano County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Washoe, with the one closest to Washoe listed first.
    • Guadalcanal Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Guadalcanal Village is located in Solano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guadalcanal Village
    • Mare Island ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Mare Island is located in Solano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mare Island
    • Vallejo
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Washoe ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Washoe.

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 Washoe - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Liberty Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Two Rock Presbyterian Church Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Macedonia Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Canfield Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • B'nai Israel Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Cypress Hill Memorial Park
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Petaluma Calvary Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Bloomfield Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomfield Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Bloomfield Cemetery is located outside and to the west of Bloomfield.
  • Chapel of the Chimes Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Pleasant Hills Memorial Park
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Bennett Valley Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Sebastopol Memorial Lawn Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (67 more) ...
    • Calvary Catholic Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Santa Rosa Calvary Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Spring Hill Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)

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

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

  • Stony Point
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Stony Point is located in Sonoma County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Point
  • Cotati
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Penngrove
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Ely ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Ely is located in Sonoma County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ely
  • Bloomfield
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Bloomfield is located in Sonoma County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomfield
  • Petaluma
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Santa Rosa
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Tomales
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Freestone
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Valley Ford
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Melita
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Melita is located in Sonoma County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melita
  • Hamlet
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Hamlet is located in Marin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamlet
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Lakeville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Lakeville is located in Sonoma County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeville
    • Madrone ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Madrone is located in Sonoma County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madrone
    • Yulupa ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Yulupa is located in Sonoma County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yulupa

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

Newspapers Published in Washoe ...

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 69 newspapers that have been published in the area around Washoe.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Washoe, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Washoe.

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 Washoe:

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 Washoe, 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- Washoe) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.