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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 Rancho Dominguez (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 Rancho Dominguez. 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 Rancho Dominguez ...

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.

Another variation: West Compton.

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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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 Rancho Dominguez is located in Los Angeles 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 Los Angeles County: Kern, Orange, San Bernardino & Ventura.

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

  • Los Angeles County     (The home county of West Rancho Dominguez)
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Rancho Dominguez, with the one closest to West Rancho Dominguez listed first.
    • Willowbrook
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Willowbrook is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willowbrook
    • Compton
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Compton is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Compton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 93,967 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Compton <1>
    • Rancho Dominguez
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • South Los Angeles
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • South Los Angeles is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Los Angeles
    • West Athens
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • West Athens is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Athens
    • Gardena
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Gardena is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gardena
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 58,498 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gardena <1>
    • Hacienda Village
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Hacienda Village is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hacienda Village
    • Watts
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Watts is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watts
    • Westmont
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Westmont is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westmont
    • Alondra Park
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Alondra Park is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alondra Park
    • Carson
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Carson is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 89,860 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Carson <1>
    • Hawthorne
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Lawndale
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Orange County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Rancho Dominguez, with the one closest to West Rancho Dominguez listed first.
    • La Palma
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Los Alamitos
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Rossmoor
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Rossmoor is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rossmoor
    • Cypress
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Seal Beach
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Buena Park
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Surfside
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Barber City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Barber City is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barber City
    • Sunset Beach
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Stanton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • La Habra
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Green Lantern Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Westminster
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)

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

Cemeteries Near West Rancho Dominguez ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Rancho Dominguez.

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 Rancho Dominguez - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Lincoln Memorial Park
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Woodlawn Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Roosevelt Memorial Park
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Angeles Abbey Memorial Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Pacific Crest Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Forest Lawn Park Cemetery (Long Beach)
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Lawn Park Cemetery (Long Beach)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Forest Lawn Park Cemetery (Long Beach) is located in Long Beach.
    • The Forest Lawn Park Cemetery (Long Beach) has also been known as:
    • Forest Lawn Memorial Cemetery - Long Beach
    • Forest Lawn Memorial Park - Long Beach
    • Long Beach Forest Lawn Memorial Cemetery
    • Long Beach Forest Lawn Park Cemetery
    • Sunnyside Memorial Park
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #180662 <2>
  • Inglewood Park Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Wilmington Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmington Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Wilmington Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Wilmington.
    • The Wilmington Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Historic Wilmington Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #152636 <2>
  • All Souls Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Old Downey Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Green Hills Memorial Park
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Sunnyside Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (70 more) ...
    • Table Top Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Long Beach Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Beach Cemetery
      • The Long Beach Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Long Beach Municipal Cemetery
    • Young Israel Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 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.<3>

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

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

  • Moneta
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Moneta is located in Los Angeles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moneta
  • South Los Angeles
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • South Los Angeles is located in Los Angeles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Los Angeles
  • Compton
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Compton is located in Los Angeles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Compton
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 93,967 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Compton <1>
  • Gardena
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Gardena is located in Los Angeles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gardena
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 58,498 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gardena <1>
  • Lynwood
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Lynwood is located in Los Angeles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynwood
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 68,508 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lynwood <1>
  • Dominguez
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Dominguez is located in Los Angeles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dominguez
  • Florence
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Florence is located in Los Angeles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
  • Clearwater
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Clearwater is located in Los Angeles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clearwater
  • Hyde Park
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Hyde Park is located in Los Angeles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hyde Park
  • Inglewood
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Redondo Beach
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Wilmington
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Wilmington is located in Los Angeles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmington
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Thenard
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Thenard is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thenard
    • Vinvale
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Vinvale is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vinvale
    • Downey
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Downey is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downey
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 109,202 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Downey <1>

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

Newspapers Published in West Rancho Dominguez ...

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 637 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Rancho Dominguez.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Rancho Dominguez, there are papers which were published within 10 miles [16.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Rancho Dominguez.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Rancho Dominguez:

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 Rancho Dominguez, 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 from Point A (ie- West Rancho Dominguez) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.