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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 Wildwood (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 Wildwood. 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 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.

Wildwood 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 Wildwood. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Wildwood:

  • Los Angeles County     (The home county of Wildwood)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wildwood, with the one closest to Wildwood listed first.
    • Topanga
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Glenview
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Glenview is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenview
    • Santa Maria
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Santa Maria is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santa Maria
    • Castellammare
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Castellammare is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castellammare
    • Woodland Hills
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Woodland Hills is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Hills
    • Tarzana
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Tarzana is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tarzana
    • Calabasas
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Pacific Palisades
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Pacific Palisades is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pacific Palisades
    • Brentwood Park
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Brentwood Park is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brentwood Park
    • Hidden Hills
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Malibu Beach
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Malibu Beach is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malibu Beach
    • Brentwood
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Brentwood is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brentwood
    • Encino
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Encino is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Encino
  • Ventura County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wildwood, with the one closest to Wildwood listed first.
    • Oak Park
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Thousand Oaks
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Simi Valley
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Greenwich Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Greenwich Village is located in Ventura County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwich Village
    • Mountclef Village
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Mountclef Village is located in Ventura County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountclef Village
    • Newbury Park
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Casa Conejo
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Casa Conejo is located in Ventura County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casa Conejo
    • Moorpark
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Lagol
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Lagol is located in Ventura County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lagol
    • Leisure Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Leisure Village is located in Ventura County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leisure Village
    • Buckhorn
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Buckhorn is located in Ventura County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckhorn
    • Piru
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Somis
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Wildwood ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wildwood.

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 Wildwood - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Will Geer Estate
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Will Geer Estate
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Will Geer Estate is located less than 2 miles<2> to the northeast of Topanga.
    • The Will Geer Estate has also been known as:
    • Will Geer Shakespeare Garden
    • Will Geer's Theatricum Botanicum
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #640478 <3>
  • Woodlawn Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Los Angeles National Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Westwood Memorial Park
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood Memorial Park
    • The Westwood Memorial Park has also been known as:
    • Westwood Village Memorial Park
  • Oakwood Memorial Park
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Memorial Park
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Hillside Memorial Park
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Holy Cross Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Mt. Sinai Memorial Park, Simi Valley
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Valhalla Memorial Park
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
  • San Fernando Mission Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Fernando Mission Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the San Fernando Mission Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Mission Hills.
    • The San Fernando Mission Cemetery has also been known as:
    • San Fernando Mission Catholic Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #109027 <3>
  • Eden Memorial Park
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (51 more) ...
    • Assumption Catholic Cemetery
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Inglewood Park Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Hollywood Forever Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollywood Forever Cemetery
      • The Hollywood Forever Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Beth Olam Cemetery
      • Beth Olam Mausoleum
      • Hollywood Memorial Cemetery
      • Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #8033 <3>

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.<4>

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

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

  • Las Flores
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Las Flores is located in Los Angeles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Las Flores
  • Santa Monica
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Palms
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Palms is located in Los Angeles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palms
  • Chatsworth
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Chatsworth is located in Los Angeles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatsworth
  • Simi Valley
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Inglewood
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Hyde Park
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Hyde Park is located in Los Angeles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hyde Park
  • Pacoima
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Pacoima is located in Los Angeles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pacoima
  • San Fernando
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Burbank
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Burbank is located in Los Angeles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burbank
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 101,866 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Burbank <1>
  • West Glendale
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • West Glendale is located in Los Angeles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Glendale
  • Newbury Park
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Redondo Beach
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Los Angeles
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Naud Junction
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Naud Junction is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naud Junction

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

Newspapers Published in Wildwood ...

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 79 newspapers that have been published in the area around Wildwood.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Wildwood, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Wildwood.

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 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 Wildwood:

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Wildwood) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<4>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 Wildwood, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.