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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 West Butte (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 West Butte. 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 West Butte ...

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 West Butte: W. Butte

You might be interested in other communities that are also named West Butte. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for West Butte.

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 northeast 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 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 east 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.

West Butte is located in Colusa 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 Colusa County: Butte, Glenn, Lake, Sutter & Yolo.

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

  • Colusa County     (The home county of West Butte)
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Butte, with the one closest to West Butte listed first.
    • Colusa
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Grimes
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Colusa Rancheria
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Colusa Rancheria is located in Colusa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colusa Rancheria
    • Genevra
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Genevra is located in Colusa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Genevra
    • Arbuckle
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • College City
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Williams
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Princeton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Harrington
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Harrington is located in Colusa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrington
    • Maxwell
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Sites
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Sites is located in Colusa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sites
    • Leesville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Leesville is located in Colusa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leesville
    • Devils Elbow
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Devils Elbow is located in Colusa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Devils Elbow
  • Butte County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Butte, with the one closest to West Butte listed first.
    • Gridley
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Bigg's
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Peachton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Peachton is located in Butte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peachton
    • East Biggs
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • East Biggs is located in Butte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Biggs
    • Robinsons Corner
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Robinsons Corner is located in Butte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinsons Corner
    • Honcut
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Richvale
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Lorraine ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Lorraine is located in Butte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lorraine
    • Oroville Junction
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Oroville Junction is located in Butte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oroville Junction
    • Palermo
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Nelson
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • South Oroville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • South Oroville is located in Butte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Oroville
    • Thermalito
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Thermalito is located in Butte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thermalito
  • Glenn County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Butte, with the one closest to West Butte listed first.
    • Afton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Afton is located in Glenn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Afton
    • Butte City
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Glenn
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Willows
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Santa Cruz County
  • Sutter County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Butte, with the one closest to West Butte listed first.
    • Tarke
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Tarke is located in Sutter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tarke
    • Meridian
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Sutter
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Pennington
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Pennington is located in Sutter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennington
    • Tierra Buena
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Tierra Buena is located in Sutter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tierra Buena
    • Live Oak
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Live Oak is located in Sutter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Live Oak
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,048 people
    • South Yuba City
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • South Yuba City is located in Sutter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Yuba City
    • Yuba City
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Bogue
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Bogue is located in Sutter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bogue
    • Marcuse ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Marcuse is located in Sutter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcuse
    • Robbins
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Rio Oso
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Nicolas
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Yolo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Butte, with the one closest to West Butte listed first.
    • Hershey
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Hershey is located in Yolo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hershey
    • Dunnigan
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Zamora
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Rumsey
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Knights Landing
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Guinda
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Yuba County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Butte, with the one closest to West Butte listed first.
    • Binney Junction
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Binney Junction is located in Yuba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Binney Junction
    • Marysville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Alicia
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Alicia is located in Yuba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alicia
    • Linda
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Olivehurst
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Dantoni
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Dantoni is located in Yuba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dantoni
    • Plumas Landing ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Plumas Landing is located in Yuba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plumas Landing
    • Ostrom ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Ostrom is located in Yuba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ostrom
    • Iowa City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Iowa City is located in Yuba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iowa City
    • Browns Valley
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Loma Rica
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Loma Rica is located in Yuba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loma Rica
    • Wheatland
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Timbuctoo ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Timbuctoo is located in Yuba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timbuctoo

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

Cemeteries Near West Butte ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Butte.

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 West Butte - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Meridian Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Stohlman Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Grand Island Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Pugh Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Sutter Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • North Butte Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Live Oak Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Williams Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • Arbuckle Catholic Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arbuckle Catholic Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Arbuckle Catholic Cemetery is located outside and to the north of Arbuckle.
  • Arbuckle Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arbuckle Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Arbuckle Cemetery is located outside and to the north of Arbuckle.
  • Yuba City Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
  • Marvin Chapel Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (36 more) ...
    • Johns Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Princeton Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Marysville Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)

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

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

  • Meridian
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Sycamore
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Sycamore is located in Colusa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sycamore
  • Colusa
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Grimes
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Grand Island
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Grand Island is located in Colusa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Island
  • Pennington
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Pennington is located in Sutter County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennington
  • Genevra
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Genevra is located in Colusa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Genevra
  • Lomo
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Lomo is located in Sutter County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lomo
  • Live Oak
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Live Oak is located in Sutter County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Live Oak
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,048 people
  • Arbuckle
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • College City
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Cranmore
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Cranmore is located in Sutter County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cranmore
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Yuba City
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Williams
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Gridley
      (15 miles [24.1 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 West Butte. See our List of 1890's Communities around West Butte.

Newspapers Published in West Butte ...

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 79 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Butte.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Butte, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Butte.

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 West Butte:

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>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- West Butte) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<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 West Butte, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.