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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 Covina (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 Covina. 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 Covina ...

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 West Covina: W. Covina

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.

West Covina is located in Los Angeles 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 Los Angeles County: Kern, Orange, San Bernardino & Ventura.

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

  • Los Angeles County     (The home county of West Covina)
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Covina, with the one closest to West Covina listed first.
    • Baldwin Park
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Valinda
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Valinda have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valinda
      • Valinda is located in Los Angeles County
    • Irwindale
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • West Puente Valley
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Puente Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Puente Valley
      • West Puente Valley is located in Los Angeles County
    • Bassett
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Covina
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Covina
      • Covina is located in Los Angeles County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 47,259 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Covina <1>
    • City of Industry
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • La Puente
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Woodside Village
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodside Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodside Village
      • Woodside Village is located in Los Angeles County
    • Avocado Heights
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Avocado Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avocado Heights
      • Avocado Heights is located in Los Angeles County
    • Azusa
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Azusa
      • Azusa is located in Los Angeles County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 49,238 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Azusa <1>
    • Citrus
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Citrus have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Citrus
      • Citrus is located in Los Angeles County
  • Orange County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Covina, with the one closest to West Covina listed first.
    • La Habra
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Brea
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brea
      • Brea is located in Orange County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 44,484 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brea <1>
    • Fullerton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Buena Park
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Placentia
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Yorba Linda
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Atwood
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Anaheim
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • La Palma
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Cypress
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Stanton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Anaheim Hills
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
  • Riverside County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Covina, with the one closest to West Covina listed first.
    • Eastvale
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Mira Loma
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Norco
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norco
      • Norco is located in Riverside County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 27,892 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Norco <1>
    • Corona
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corona
      • Corona is located in Riverside County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 170,996 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Corona <1>
    • Glen Avon
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Avon
      • Glen Avon is located in Riverside County
    • Jurupa Valley
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jurupa Valley
      • Jurupa Valley is located in Riverside County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 109,745 people
    • Porphyry ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Porphyry have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porphyry
      • Porphyry is located in Riverside County
    • Pedley
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pedley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pedley
      • Pedley is located in Riverside County
    • Home Gardens
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Home Gardens
      • Home Gardens is located in Riverside County
    • De Anza Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for De Anza Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Anza Village
      • De Anza Village is located in Riverside County
    • El Cerrito
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for El Cerrito have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for El Cerrito
      • El Cerrito is located in Riverside County
    • Arlington
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arlington have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington
      • Arlington is located in Riverside County
  • San Bernardino County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Covina, with the one closest to West Covina listed first.
    • Chino Hills
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Montclair
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montclair
      • Montclair is located in San Bernardino County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 40,600 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Montclair <1>
    • Chino
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chino
      • Chino is located in San Bernardino County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 92,290 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chino <1>
    • Los Serranos
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Los Serranos have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Los Serranos
      • Los Serranos is located in San Bernardino County
    • Ontario
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ontario
      • Ontario is located in San Bernardino County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 183,393 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ontario <1>
    • Upland
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upland
      • Upland is located in San Bernardino County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 77,850 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Upland <1>
    • San Antonio Heights
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for San Antonio Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Antonio Heights
      • San Antonio Heights is located in San Bernardino County
    • Racimo
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Racimo
      • Racimo is located in San Bernardino County
    • Alta Loma
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Guasti
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Rancho Cucamonga
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Etiwanda
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of West Covina ...

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 80 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Covina.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of West Covina. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of West Covina and those printed in the larger area surrounding West Covina.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<3> of West Covina.

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 websites either 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 Covina:

Cemeteries Near West Covina ...

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

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 West Covina covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Oakdale Memorial Park
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Covina Hills Forest Lawn Memorial Park
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Live Oak Memorial Park
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Rose Hills Memorial Park
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Rose Hills Memorial Park is a very large cemetery that is located in Whittier.
    • The Rose Hills Memorial Park has also been known as:
    • Whittier Heights Memorial Park
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rose Hills Memorial Park
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #8308 <4>
  • Queen of Heaven Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Spadra Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Savannah Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Savannah Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Savannah Cemetery
  • Mt. Olive Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Olive Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Olive Cemetery
  • Sierra Madre Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sierra Madre Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sierra Madre Cemetery
  • Resurrection Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Resurrection Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Resurrection Cemetery
  • Memory Garden Memorial Park
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Memory Garden Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Memory Garden Memorial Park
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • 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
  • Continue List   (75 more) ...
    • Olive Grove Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Olive Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Olive Grove Cemetery
    • San Gabriel Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Loma Vista Memorial Park
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Loma Vista Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Loma Vista Memorial Park

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.<5>

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

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

  • Covina
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Covina
    • Covina is located in Los Angeles County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 47,259 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Covina <1>
  • Gladstone ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Gladstone. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<6>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladstone
    • Gladstone is located in Los Angeles County
  • Azusa
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Azusa
    • Azusa is located in Los Angeles County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 49,238 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Azusa <1>
  • Duarte
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duarte
    • Duarte is located in Los Angeles County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 21,001 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Duarte <1>
  • El Monte
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for El Monte
    • El Monte is located in Los Angeles County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 112,344 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for El Monte <1>
  • Glendora
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Monrovia
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Spadra
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spadra have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spadra
    • Spadra is located in Los Angeles County
  • San Dimas
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Savannah ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Savannah have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savannah
    • Savannah is located in Los Angeles County
  • Whittier
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Santa Anita
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Santa Anita have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santa Anita
    • Santa Anita is located in Los Angeles County
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • East San Gabriel
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East San Gabriel have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East San Gabriel
      • East San Gabriel is located in Los Angeles County
    • Sierra Madre
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Chapman
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chapman have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapman
      • Chapman is located in Los Angeles County

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

The official website for West Covina: www.westcovina.org/

The official website for Los Angeles County: www.lacounty.info/

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- West Covina) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in West Covina. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.0688, Longitude: -117.9382    
<4>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.
<5>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 Covina, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024