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 Westridge (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 Westridge. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors 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.
Westridge is located in San Mateo 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 San Mateo County: Alameda, San Francisco, Santa Clara & Santa Cruz.
Below are the counties that are near Westridge. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Westridge:
- San Mateo County (The home county of Westridge)
- The following are listed by their distance from Westridge, with the one closest to Westridge listed first.
- Ladera
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Ladera is located in San Mateo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ladera
- Searsville ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Searsville is located in San Mateo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Searsville
- Portola Valley
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- West Menlo Park
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Adobe Corner
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Adobe Corner is located in San Mateo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adobe Corner
- Woodside
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Atherton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Menlo Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- North Fair Oaks
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- North Fair Oaks is located in San Mateo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Fair Oaks
- The Willows
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- The Willows is located in San Mateo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Willows
- Emerald Lake Hills
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Emerald Lake Hills is located in San Mateo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerald Lake Hills
- La Honda
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- East Palo Alto
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Alameda County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westridge, with the one closest to Westridge listed first.
- Larkins Landing ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Larkins Landing is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larkins Landing
- Newark
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Drawbridge ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Drawbridge is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drawbridge
- Former name for Drawbridge:
- Saline City
- Albrae ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Albrae is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albrae
- Alvarado ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Alvarado is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alvarado
- Fremont
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Fremont is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fremont
- Population from the 2020 Census: 234,569 people
- Former names for Fremont:
- Centerville
- Irvington
- Mission San Jose
- Niles
- Warm Springs
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fremont <1>
- Union City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Union City is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 74,501 people
- Former name for Union City:
- Decoto
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Union City <1>
- Mount Eden
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Russell City
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Russell City is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell City
- Cherryland
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Cherryland is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherryland
- Hayward
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- San Lorenzo
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Ashland
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Contra Costa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westridge, with the one closest to Westridge listed first.
- San Ramon
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Moraga
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Moraga is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moraga
- Population from the 2020 Census: 16,967 people
- Former name for Moraga:
- Willow Springs
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moraga <1>
- San Francisco County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westridge, with the one closest to Westridge listed first.
- Mission District
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Mission District is located in San Francisco County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mission District
- Stonestown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Stonestown is located in San Francisco County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonestown
- Golden Gate Heights
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Golden Gate Heights is located in San Francisco County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golden Gate Heights
- San Francisco
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Chinatown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Chinatown is located in San Francisco County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chinatown
- Sydney Town ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Sydney Town is located in San Francisco County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sydney Town
- Amanico Ergina Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Amanico Ergina Village is located in San Francisco County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amanico Ergina Village
- Doelger City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Doelger City is located in San Francisco County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doelger City
- Friendship Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Friendship Village is located in San Francisco County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship Village
- Santa Clara County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westridge, with the one closest to Westridge listed first.
- Stanford
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Los Altos Hills
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Escondido Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Escondido Village is located in Santa Clara County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Escondido Village
- Ventura
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Ventura is located in Santa Clara County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ventura
- Los Altos
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Palo Alto
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Castro City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Castro City is located in Santa Clara County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castro City
- Mountain View
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Loyola
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Loyola is located in Santa Clara County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loyola
- Sunnyvale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Cupertino
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Rancho Rinconada
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Rancho Rinconada is located in Santa Clara County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rancho Rinconada
- Alviso
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Santa Cruz County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westridge, with the one closest to Westridge listed first.
- Boulder Creek
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Alma ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Alma is located in Santa Cruz County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alma
- Brookdale
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Lompico
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Lompico is located in Santa Cruz County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lompico
- Summit
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Summit is located in Santa Cruz County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
- Summit has also been known as:
- Loma Prieta
- Ben Lomond
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Swanton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Swanton is located in Santa Cruz County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swanton
- Zayante
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Zayante is located in Santa Cruz County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zayante
- Eccles ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Eccles is located in Santa Cruz County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eccles
- Glenwood
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Glenwood is located in Santa Cruz County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood
- Laurel
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Laurel is located in Santa Cruz County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel
- Bonny Doon
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Felton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Westridge, see our County-by-County Page for Westridge.
Cemeteries Near Westridge ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Westridge.
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 Westridge - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Westridge covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Westridge, with the one closest to Westridge listed first.
- Holy Cross Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Alta Mesa Memorial Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Oakwood Community Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood Community Cemetery
- The Oakwood Community Cemetery has also been known as:
- Convent Of The Sacred Heart Cemetery
- Union Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Gates of Heaven Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Skylawn Memorial Park
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Mt. Hope Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- St. Anthony Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- IOOF Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Pilarcitos Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Madronia Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (61 more) ...
- Mission City Memorial Park
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Santa Clara Mission Cemetery
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Holy Ghost Cemetery
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
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 Westridge in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Westridge.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Westridge, with the one closest to Westridge listed first.
- Searsville ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Searsville is located in San Mateo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Searsville
- Woodside
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Mayfield
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Mayfield is located in Santa Clara County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayfield
- Menlo Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Palo Alto
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Fair Oaks
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Fair Oaks is located in San Mateo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fair Oaks
- Redwood City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Mountain View
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- San Carlos
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Belmont
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- San Gregorio
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Lawrence
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Lawrence is located in Santa Clara County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawrence
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Half Moon Bay
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Pescadero
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Saratoga
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Westridge. See our List of 1890's Communities around Westridge.
Newspapers Published in Westridge ...
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 54 newspapers that have been published in the area around Westridge.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Westridge, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Westridge.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Westridge:
- Websites specific to California
- Pages specific to San Mateo County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alameda County
- Contra Costa County
- San Francisco County
- Santa Clara County
- Santa Cruz 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 Westridge, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Westridge) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |