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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 Anderson Island (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 Anderson Island. 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 Anderson Island ...

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 have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Anderson Island: Anderson Is. (in Canada, 'Isld.' is the more common abbreviation.)

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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Anderson Island is located in Pierce County.

To see how the shape of Washington's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Pierce County: King, Kitsap, Kittitas, Lewis, Mason, Thurston & Yakima.

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

  • Pierce County     (The home county of Anderson Island)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Anderson Island, with the one closest to Anderson Island listed first.
    • Gertrude
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gertrude
      • Gertrude is located in Pierce County
    • Steilacoom
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Longbranch
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • DuPont
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Fox Island
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Lakebay
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Lake City
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake City
      • Lake City is located in Pierce County
    • Tillicum
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tillicum
      • Tillicum is located in Pierce County
    • Fort Lewis
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Fort Lewis. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Lewis
      • Fort Lewis is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fort Lewis <1>
    • Clover Park
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clover Park
      • Clover Park is located in Pierce County
    • Home
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Home
      • Home is located in Pierce County
    • Cromwell
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cromwell
      • Cromwell is located in Pierce County
  • Grays Harbor County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Anderson Island, with the one closest to Anderson Island listed first.
    • McCleary Junction
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCleary Junction
      • McCleary Junction is located in Grays Harbor County
    • McCleary
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Sine
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sine
      • Sine is located in Grays Harbor County
    • Garden City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garden City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
      • Garden City is located in Grays Harbor County
  • King County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Anderson Island, with the one closest to Anderson Island listed first.
    • Tahlequah
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tahlequah
      • Tahlequah is located in King County
    • Magnolia Beach
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia Beach
      • Magnolia Beach is located in King County
    • Milton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Buenna
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buenna have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buenna
      • Buenna is located in King County
    • Federal Way
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Redondo
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redondo
      • Redondo is located in King County
    • Algona
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Pacific
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Vashon
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Woodmont Beach
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodmont Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodmont Beach
      • Woodmont Beach is located in King County
    • Star Lake
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star Lake
      • Star Lake is located in King County
    • Zenith
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zenith
      • Zenith is located in King County
  • Kitsap County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Anderson Island, with the one closest to Anderson Island listed first.
    • Burley
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Olalla
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Bethel
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Gorst
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • East Port Orchard
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Port Orchard
      • East Port Orchard is located in Kitsap County
    • Parkwood
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Parkwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkwood
      • Parkwood is located in Kitsap County
    • South Colby
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Colby
      • South Colby is located in Kitsap County
    • Southworth
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southworth
      • Southworth is located in Kitsap County
    • Colby
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colby
      • Colby is located in Kitsap County
    • Navy Yard City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Navy Yard City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Navy Yard City
      • Navy Yard City is located in Kitsap County
    • Port Orchard
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Retsil
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Retsil
      • Retsil is located in Kitsap County
  • Mason County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Anderson Island, with the one closest to Anderson Island listed first.
    • Grapeview
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Allyn
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Bayshore
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayshore
      • Bayshore is located in Mason County
    • New Kamilche
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Kamilche have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Kamilche
      • New Kamilche is located in Mason County
    • Shelton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Belfair
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Tahuya
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Skokomish
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skokomish
      • Skokomish is located in Mason County
    • Potlatch
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Hoodsport
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Mohrweis
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mohrweis
      • Mohrweis is located in Mason County
    • Lilliwaup
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Thurston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Anderson Island, with the one closest to Anderson Island listed first.
    • Puget
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puget
      • Puget is located in Thurston County
    • Tanglewilde
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tanglewilde
      • Tanglewilde is located in Thurston County
    • Nisqually Indian Community
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Nisqually Indian Community. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nisqually Indian Community
      • Nisqually Indian Community is located in Thurston County
    • Lacey
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacey
      • Lacey is located in Thurston County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 54,178 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lacey <1>
    • Kellys Korner
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellys Korner
      • Kellys Korner is located in Thurston County
    • Olympia
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • North Yelm
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Yelm have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Yelm
      • North Yelm is located in Thurston County
    • Tumwater
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Yelm
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yelm
      • Yelm is located in Thurston County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,591 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Yelm <1>
    • East Olympia
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Rainier
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • McIntosh
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McIntosh
      • McIntosh is located in Thurston County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Anderson Island ...

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 155 newspapers that have been published in the area around Anderson Island.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Anderson Island. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Anderson Island and those printed in the larger area surrounding Anderson Island.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<4> of Anderson Island.

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 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 Anderson Island:

Cemeteries Near Anderson Island ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Anderson Island.

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

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

  • Anderson Island Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Hillcrest Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Longbranch Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • German Lutheran Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • The German Lutheran Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Lakebay German Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery
    • Old German Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the German Lutheran Cemetery
  • Steilacoom Masonic Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Western State Hospital Memorial Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Ft. Steilacoom Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Ft. Steilacoom Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Ft. Steilacoom Cemetery is located in Lakewood.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ft. Steilacoom Cemetery
  • Fox Island Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Lakebay Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Old Settlers Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Old Settlers Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • The Old Settlers Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Gravelly Lake Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Settlers Cemetery
  • Byrd Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Byrd Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Byrd Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<4> to the southeast of Lakewood.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Byrd Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1984799 <5>
  • New Tacoma Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (78 more) ...
    • Ft. Lewis Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Home of Peace Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Cromwell Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • The Cromwell Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Hales Passage Cemetery
      • Hales Passage Scandinavian Lutheran Cemetery
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cromwell Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2259125 <5>

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 Anderson Island in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Anderson Island.

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

  • Meridian
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meridian have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meridian
    • Meridian is located in Pierce County
  • Puget
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puget
    • Puget is located in Thurston County
  • Steilacoom
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Longbranch
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Lakebay
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Fox Island
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Lake City
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake City
    • Lake City is located in Pierce County
  • Lakeview
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lakeview have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview
    • Lakeview is located in Pierce County
  • Wollochet
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wollochet have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wollochet
    • Wollochet is located in Pierce County
  • Lacey
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacey
    • Lacey is located in Thurston County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 54,178 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lacey <1>
  • Hillhurst
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hillhurst have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillhurst
    • Hillhurst is located in Pierce County
  • Artondale
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Artondale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Artondale
    • Artondale is located in Pierce County
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Excelsior
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Excelsior have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Excelsior
      • Excelsior is located in Pierce County
    • Rosedale
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosedale
      • Rosedale is located in Pierce County
    • Olympia
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)

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

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

The official website for Pierce County: www.co.pierce.wa.us/

The official website for State of Washington: https://access.wa.gov/

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 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.
<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 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Anderson Island) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Anderson Island. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 47.1644, Longitude: -122.6997    
<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 Anderson Island, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024