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 California (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 California. 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.
California is located in Saint Mary's County.
To see how the shape of Maryland's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Saint Mary's County: Calvert & Charles.
Below are the counties that are near California. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to California:
- Saint Mary's County (The home county of California)
- The following are listed by their distance from California, with the one closest to California listed first.
- North Town Creek Manor
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- North Town Creek Manor is located in Saint Mary's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Town Creek Manor
- Lexington Park
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Hollywood
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Hollywood is located in Saint Mary's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollywood
- Callaway
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Great Mills
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Sotterley
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Sotterley is located in Saint Mary's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sotterley
- Valley Lee
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Valley Lee is located in Saint Mary's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Lee
- Leonardtown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Drayden
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Saint Marys City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Tall Timbers
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Breton Beach
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Breton Beach is located in Saint Mary's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Breton Beach
- Compton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Compton is located in Saint Mary's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Compton
- Anne Arundel County
- The following are listed by their distance from California, with the one closest to California listed first.
- Fairhaven
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Fairhaven is located in Anne Arundel County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairhaven
- Friendship
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Calvert County
- The following are listed by their distance from California, with the one closest to California listed first.
- Solomons
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Coster
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Coster is located in Calvert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coster
- Cove View
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Cove View is located in Calvert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cove View
- Dowell
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Drum Point
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Drum Point is located in Calvert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drum Point
- Olivet
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Olivet is located in Calvert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olivet
- Chesapeake Ranch Estates - Drum Point
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Mackall
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Mackall is located in Calvert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mackall
- Brianwood
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Brianwood is located in Calvert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brianwood
- Broomes Island
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Lusby
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Wallville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Wallville is located in Calvert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallville
- Cove Point
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Cove Point is located in Calvert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cove Point
- Charles County
- The following are listed by their distance from California, with the one closest to California listed first.
- Benedict
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Cobb Island
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Rock Point
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Rock Point is located in Charles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Point
- Hughesville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Independence Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Independence Village is located in Charles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Independence Village
- Mount Victoria
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Mount Victoria is located in Charles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Victoria
- Newburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Bryantown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Morgantown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Morgantown is located in Charles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgantown
- Malcolm
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Malcolm is located in Charles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malcolm
- Faulkner
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Bel Alton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Air
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Mount Air is located in Charles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Air
- Dorchester County
- The following are listed by their distance from California, with the one closest to California listed first.
- Fishing Creek
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Golden Hill
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Golden Hill is located in Dorchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golden Hill
- Taylors Island
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Lakesville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Lakesville is located in Dorchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakesville
- Crapo
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Crapo is located in Dorchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crapo
- Andrews
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Andrews is located in Dorchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Andrews
- Madison
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Madison is located in Dorchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madison
- Thomas
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Thomas is located in Dorchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas
- Woolford
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Woolford is located in Dorchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woolford
- Bishops Head
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Bishops Head is located in Dorchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bishops Head
- Toddville
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Toddville is located in Dorchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toddville
- Church Creek
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- James
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- James is located in Dorchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for James
- Prince George's County
- The following are listed by their distance from California, with the one closest to California listed first.
- Eagle Harbor
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Eagle Harbor is located in Prince George's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Harbor
- Population from the 2020 Census: 69 people
- Cedarhaven
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Cedarhaven is located in Prince George's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarhaven
- Aquasco
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Aquasco is located in Prince George's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aquasco
- Orme
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Orme is located in Prince George's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orme
- Westwood
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Westwood is located in Prince George's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood
- Horsehead
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Horsehead is located in Prince George's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horsehead
- Cedarville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Cedarville is located in Prince George's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarville
- Talbot County
- The following are listed by their distance from California, with the one closest to California listed first.
- Tilghman Island
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Tilghman Island is located in Talbot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tilghman Island
- Tilghman
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Tilghman is located in Talbot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tilghman
- Essex County (VA)
- Layton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Layton is located in Essex County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Layton
- King George County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from California, with the one closest to California listed first.
- Dahlgren
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Ninde
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Ninde is located in King George County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ninde
- Alden
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Alden is located in King George County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alden
- Hooes
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Hooes is located in King George County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooes
- Northumberland County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from California, with the one closest to California listed first.
- Lodge
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Lodge is located in Northumberland County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lodge
- Morrisons Corner
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Morrisons Corner is located in Northumberland County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrisons Corner
- Bundick
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Bundick is located in Northumberland County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bundick
- Coan
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Coan is located in Northumberland County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coan
- Heathsville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Rainswood
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Rainswood is located in Northumberland County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rainswood
- Ophelia
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Lara
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Lara is located in Northumberland County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lara
- Richmond County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from California, with the one closest to California listed first.
- Rich Neck
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Rich Neck is located in Richmond County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rich Neck
- Tallent Town
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Tallent Town is located in Richmond County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tallent Town
- Newland
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Newland is located in Richmond County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newland
- Warsaw
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Emmerton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Emmerton is located in Richmond County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmerton
- Farnham
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Farnham is located in Richmond County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farnham
- Naylors
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Naylors is located in Richmond County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naylors
- Westmoreland County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from California, with the one closest to California listed first.
- Tucker Hill
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Tucker Hill is located in Westmoreland County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tucker Hill
- Hinnom
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Hinnom is located in Westmoreland County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hinnom
- Machodoc
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Machodoc is located in Westmoreland County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Machodoc
- Griffiths Corner
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Griffiths Corner is located in Westmoreland County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffiths Corner
- Kinsale
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Bryant Town
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Bryant Town is located in Westmoreland County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryant Town
- Chiltons
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Chiltons is located in Westmoreland County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chiltons
- Baynesville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Baynesville is located in Westmoreland County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baynesville
- Montross
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Nomini Grove
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Nomini Grove is located in Westmoreland County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nomini Grove
- Colonial Beach
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Potomac Mills
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Potomac Mills is located in Westmoreland County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Potomac Mills
- Monroe Hall
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Monroe Hall is located in Westmoreland County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe Hall
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to California, see our County-by-County Page for California.
Cemeteries Near California ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of California.
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 California - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for California covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from California, with the one closest to California listed first.
- St. Andrews Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Ebenezer Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Evergreen Memorial Gardens
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Solomons Island Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Solomons Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Joy Chapel Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Holy Face Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Olivet UMC Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Hollywood Church of the Nazarene Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Eastern United Methodist Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Our Ladys Chapel Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (128 more) ...
- St. Johns Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- New St. Aloysius Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- St. Georges Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that California had a population of 118 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from California, with the one closest to California listed first.
- Solomons
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Great Mills
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Drum Point
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Drum Point is located in Calvert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drum Point
- Hollywood
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Hollywood is located in Saint Mary's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollywood
- Sotterley
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Sotterley is located in Saint Mary's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sotterley
- Sollers
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Sollers is located in Calvert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sollers
- Valley Lee
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Valley Lee is located in Saint Mary's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Lee
- Drumcliff
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Drumcliff is located in Saint Mary's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drumcliff
- Mackall
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Mackall is located in Calvert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mackall
- Leonardtown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Wallville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Wallville is located in Calvert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallville
- Broomes Island
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Saint Marys City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Cove Point
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Cove Point is located in Calvert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cove Point
- Lusby
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around California. See our List of 1890's Communities around California.
Newspapers Published in California ...
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 15 newspapers that have been published in the area around California.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of California, there are papers which were published within 8 miles [12.9 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for California.
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 California:
- Websites specific to Maryland
- Pages specific to Saint Mary's County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Anne Arundel County
- Calvert County
- Charles County
- Dorchester County
- Prince George's County
- Talbot County
- Essex County
- King George County
- Northumberland County
- Richmond County
- Westmoreland County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Maryland
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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- California) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 California, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |