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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 Westlake (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 Westlake. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals 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.

Westlake is located in San Mateo 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 San Mateo County: Alameda, San Francisco, Santa Clara & Santa Cruz.

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

  • San Mateo County     (The home county of Westlake)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westlake, with the one closest to Westlake listed first.
    • Broadmoor Village
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Broadmoor Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broadmoor Village
      • Broadmoor Village is located in San Mateo County
    • Broadmoor
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Broadmoor have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broadmoor
      • Broadmoor is located in San Mateo County
    • Daly City
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Colma
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colma
      • Colma is located in San Mateo County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,689 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Colma <2>
    • Brisbane
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Pacifica
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Fairway Park
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairway Park
      • Fairway Park is located in San Mateo County
    • South San Francisco
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • San Bruno
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Millbrae
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Montara
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Hillsborough
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Burlingame
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Alameda County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westlake, with the one closest to Westlake listed first.
    • Campbell Village
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Campbell Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell Village
      • Campbell Village is located in Alameda County
    • West Oakland
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Oakland
      • West Oakland is located in Alameda County
    • Alameda
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Brooklyn ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brooklyn have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklyn
      • Brooklyn is located in Alameda County
      • Former names for Brooklyn:
      • Antonio
      • Clinton
    • Emeryville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Oakland
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Fruitvale
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruitvale
      • Fruitvale is located in Alameda County
      • Former names for Fruitvale:
      • Brays
      • Fruit Vale
    • Brookfield Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brookfield Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookfield Village
      • Brookfield Village is located in Alameda County
    • Albany
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Allendale
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allendale
      • Allendale is located in Alameda County
    • Berkeley
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • East Oakland ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for East Oakland. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Oakland
      • East Oakland is located in Alameda County
    • Piedmont
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Contra Costa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westlake, with the one closest to Westlake listed first.
    • Point Richmond
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Atchison Village
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Atchison Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atchison Village
      • Atchison Village is located in Contra Costa County
    • Easter Hill Village
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Easter Hill Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easter Hill Village
      • Easter Hill Village is located in Contra Costa County
    • Nystrom Village
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nystrom Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nystrom Village
      • Nystrom Village is located in Contra Costa County
    • El Cerrito
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Kensington
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Richmond
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmond
      • Richmond is located in Contra Costa County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 110,038 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Richmond <2>
    • East Richmond Heights
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Richmond Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Richmond Heights
      • East Richmond Heights is located in Contra Costa County
    • Orinda Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Orinda Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orinda Village
      • Orinda Village is located in Contra Costa County
    • Rollingwood
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rollingwood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rollingwood
      • Rollingwood is located in Contra Costa County
    • San Pablo
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Moraga
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moraga
      • Moraga is located in Contra Costa County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 16,967 people
      • Former name for Moraga:
      • Willow Springs
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moraga <2>
    • Orinda
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orinda
      • Orinda is located in Contra Costa County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 19,557 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Orinda <2>
  • Marin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westlake, with the one closest to Westlake listed first.
    • Sausalito
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Belvedere
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Fort McDowell
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fort McDowell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort McDowell
      • Fort McDowell is located in Marin County
    • Manzanita
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manzanita
      • Manzanita is located in Marin County
    • Marin City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marin City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marin City
      • Marin City is located in Marin County
    • Tiburon
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Muir Beach
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Strawberry
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Strawberry have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strawberry
      • Strawberry is located in Marin County
    • Tamalpais - Homestead Valley
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Tamalpais - Homestead Valley. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tamalpais - Homestead Valley
      • Tamalpais - Homestead Valley is located in Marin County
    • Bel Aire
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bel Aire
      • Bel Aire is located in Marin County
    • Mill Valley
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Paradise Cay
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise Cay
      • Paradise Cay is located in Marin County
    • Corte Madera
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
  • San Francisco County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westlake, with the one closest to Westlake listed first.
    • Stonestown
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonestown
      • Stonestown is located in San Francisco County
    • Doelger City
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Doelger City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doelger City
      • Doelger City is located in San Francisco County
    • Golden Gate Heights
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golden Gate Heights
      • Golden Gate Heights is located in San Francisco County
    • Amanico Ergina Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Amanico Ergina Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amanico Ergina Village
      • Amanico Ergina Village is located in San Francisco County
    • Friendship Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Friendship Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship Village
      • Friendship Village is located in San Francisco County
    • San Francisco
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Chinatown
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chinatown
      • Chinatown is located in San Francisco County
    • Sydney Town ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sydney Town have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sydney Town
      • Sydney Town is located in San Francisco County
  • Santa Clara County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westlake, with the one closest to Westlake listed first.
    • Palo Alto
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Stanford
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Escondido Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Escondido Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Escondido Village
      • Escondido Village is located in Santa Clara County
    • Ventura
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ventura
      • Ventura is located in Santa Clara County
    • Castro City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Castro City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castro City
      • Castro City is located in Santa Clara County
    • Los Altos Hills
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Los Altos
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Mountain View
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Solano County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westlake, with the one closest to Westlake listed first.
    • Benicia
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Mare Island ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Mare Island. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mare Island
      • Mare Island is located in Solano County

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

Newspapers Published in Westlake ...

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 100 newspapers that have been published in the area around Westlake.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Westlake, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Westlake.

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 Westlake:

Cemeteries Near Westlake ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Westlake.

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

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

  • Greenlawn Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Greenlawn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Greenlawn Cemetery
  • Woodlawn Memorial Park
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Italian Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Italian Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Italian Cemetery
  • Japanese Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Japanese Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Japanese Cemetery
  • Chinese Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Chinese Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Chinese Cemetery
  • Chinese Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Chinese Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Chinese Cemetery
  • Russian Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Russian Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Russian Cemetery
  • Cypress Lawn Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Cypress Lawn Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Colma.
    • The Cypress Lawn Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Cypress Lawn Memorial Park
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cypress Lawn Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #7927 <5>
  • Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Colma.
    • The Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Holy Cross Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #8038 <5>
  • Hills of Eternity Memorial Park
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Home of Peace Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Home of Peace Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Home of Peace Cemetery
  • Salem Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Salem Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Salem Cemetery
  • Continue List   (53 more) ...
    • Golden Hill Memorial Park
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Hoy Sun Memorial Cemetery
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Serbian Cemetery
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)

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.<6>

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

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

  • Baden
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Baden have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baden
    • Baden is located in San Mateo County
  • San Bruno
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • San Francisco
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Millbrae
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Sausalito
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • San Mateo
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Tiburon
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Manzanita
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manzanita
    • Manzanita is located in Marin County
  • West Oakland
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Oakland
    • West Oakland is located in Alameda County
  • Hilarita
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hilarita have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilarita
    • Hilarita is located in Marin County
  • Mill Valley
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Alameda
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Brooklyn ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brooklyn have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklyn
      • Brooklyn is located in Alameda County
      • Former names for Brooklyn:
      • Antonio
      • Clinton
    • Oakland
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Emeryville
      (14 miles [22.5 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 Westlake. See our List of 1890's Communities around Westlake.

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Westlake. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for San Mateo County: www.co.sanmateo.ca.us/

The official website for State of California: https://www.ca.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Westlake) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Westlake. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.6946, Longitude: -122.4913    
<5>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.
<6>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 Westlake, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024