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 Pittsburg (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 Pittsburg. 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 Pittsburg ...
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 Pittsburg: W. Pittsburg
You might be interested in other communities that are also named West Pittsburg. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for West Pittsburg.
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 Pittsburg 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 West Pittsburg. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to West Pittsburg:
- Contra Costa County (The home county of West Pittsburg)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Pittsburg, with the one closest to West Pittsburg listed first.
- Bay Point
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Pittsburg
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Port Chicago ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Port Chicago is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Chicago
- Clayton
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Clyde
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Clyde is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clyde
- Empire ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Empire is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Empire
- Concord
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Antioch
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Avon
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Avon is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avon
- Pleasant Hill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Pacheco
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Vine Hill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Vine Hill is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vine Hill
- Alameda County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Pittsburg, with the one closest to West Pittsburg listed first.
- Canyon
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Montclair
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Montclair is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montclair
- Normandy Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Normandy Village is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Normandy Village
- Rochedale Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Rochedale Village is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochedale Village
- Komandorski Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Komandorski Village is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Komandorski Village
- San Ramon Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- San Ramon Village is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Ramon Village
- Albany
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Berkeley
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Laurel
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Laurel is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel
- Piedmont
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- South Berkeley
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- South Berkeley is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Berkeley
- Former name for South Berkeley:
- Lorin
- Allendale
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Allendale is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allendale
- Marin County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Pittsburg, with the one closest to West Pittsburg listed first.
- Fort McDowell
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Fort McDowell is located in Marin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort McDowell
- Belvedere
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Paradise Cay
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Paradise Cay is located in Marin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise Cay
- San Quentin
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Tiburon
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Napa County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Pittsburg, with the one closest to West Pittsburg listed first.
- American Canyon
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Lombard
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Lombard is located in Napa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lombard
- Middleton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Middleton is located in Napa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middleton
- Suscol ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 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
- Napa
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Merazo
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Merazo is located in Napa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merazo
- Union
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Union is located in Napa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
- Sacramento County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Pittsburg, with the one closest to West Pittsburg listed first.
- Isleton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Ryde
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Locke
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Locke is located in Sacramento County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locke
- Vorden
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Vorden is located in Sacramento County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vorden
- Walnut Grove
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Courtland
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- San Francisco County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Pittsburg, with the one closest to West Pittsburg listed first.
- Sydney Town ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Sydney Town is located in San Francisco County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sydney Town
- Chinatown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Chinatown is located in San Francisco County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chinatown
- San Joaquin County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Pittsburg, with the one closest to West Pittsburg listed first.
- Terminous
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Terminous is located in San Joaquin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terminous
- Holt
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Solano County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Pittsburg, with the one closest to West Pittsburg listed first.
- Birds Landing
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Benicia
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Denverton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Denverton is located in Solano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denverton
- Solano City ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Solano City is located in Solano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Solano City
- Suisun City
(15 miles [24.1 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
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Travis Field
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Travis Field is located in Solano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Travis Field
- Rio Vista
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Mare Island ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Mare Island is located in Solano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mare Island
- Vallejo
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Cannon ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Cannon is located in Solano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannon
- Green Valley
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Sonoma County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Pittsburg, with the one closest to West Pittsburg listed first.
- McGill
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- McGill is located in Sonoma County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGill
- Wingo ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Wingo is located in Sonoma County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wingo
- Sears Point
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Sears Point is located in Sonoma County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sears Point
- Yolo County
- Greendale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Greendale is located in Yolo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greendale
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to West Pittsburg, see our County-by-County Page for West Pittsburg.
Cemeteries Near West Pittsburg ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Pittsburg.
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 Pittsburg - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for West Pittsburg covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from West Pittsburg, with the one closest to West Pittsburg listed first.
- Memory Gardens Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Live Oak Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Rose Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- St. Stephen Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- New Holy Cross Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Holy Cross Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holy Cross Cemetery
- The Holy Cross Cemetery has also been known as:
- Holly Cross Cemetery
- Oak View Memorial Park
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Oakmont Memorial Park
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- 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
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Queen of Heaven Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Queen of Haven Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- St. Dominics Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Continue List (43 more) ...
- Military Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Alhambra Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alhambra Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Alhambra Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the west of Martinez.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #7834 <2>
- Catholic Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
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 West Pittsburg in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of West Pittsburg.
These communities are listed based on their distance from West Pittsburg, with the one closest to West Pittsburg listed first.
- McAvoy
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- McAvoy is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McAvoy
- Bay Point
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Cornwall
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Cornwall is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornwall
- Clayton
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Nortonville ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Nortonville is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nortonville
- Collinsville ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Collinsville is located in Solano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collinsville
- Concord
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Somersville ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Somersville is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somersville
- Stewartville ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Stewartville is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stewartville
- Antioch
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Avon
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Avon is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avon
- Pacheco
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Birds Landing
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Walnut Creek
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Martinez
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around West Pittsburg. See our List of 1890's Communities around West Pittsburg.
Newspapers Published in West Pittsburg ...
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 45 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Pittsburg.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Pittsburg, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Pittsburg.
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 West Pittsburg:
- Websites specific to California
- Pages specific to Contra Costa County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alameda County
- Marin County
- Napa County
- Sacramento County
- San Francisco County
- San Joaquin County
- Solano County
- Sonoma County
- Yolo 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 West Pittsburg, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- West Pittsburg) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |