RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Washington >> Pierce County >> Gig Harbor >> Genealogy HelperIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
Washington

The Commemorative Quarter for Washington





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 Gig Harbor (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 Gig Harbor. 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 Gig Harbor ...

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 Gig Harbor: Gig Hbr. (or less commonly used: Gig Harb. or Gig Hrbr.)

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

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

  • Pierce County     (The home county of Gig Harbor)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gig Harbor, with the one closest to Gig Harbor listed first.
    • Artondale
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Artondale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Artondale
      • Artondale is located in Pierce County
    • Ruston
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ruston have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruston
      • Ruston is located in Pierce County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 848 people
    • Cromwell
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cromwell
      • Cromwell is located in Pierce County
    • Rosedale
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosedale
      • Rosedale is located in Pierce County
    • Wauna
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wauna
      • Wauna is located in Pierce County
    • Fox Island
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Fircrest
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Dash Point
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dash Point
      • Dash Point is located in Pierce County
    • University Place
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Tacoma
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Gertrude
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gertrude
      • Gertrude is located in Pierce County
    • Vaughn
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vaughn
      • Vaughn is located in Pierce County
  • Jefferson County
  • King County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gig Harbor, with the one closest to Gig Harbor listed first.
    • Tahlequah
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tahlequah
      • Tahlequah is located in King County
    • Magnolia Beach
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia Beach
      • Magnolia Beach is located in King County
    • Vashon
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Buenna
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buenna have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buenna
      • Buenna is located in King County
    • Federal Way
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Redondo
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redondo
      • Redondo is located in King County
    • Woodmont Beach
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodmont Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodmont Beach
      • Woodmont Beach is located in King County
    • Zenith
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zenith
      • Zenith is located in King County
    • Milton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Des Moines
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Normandy Park
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • North Hill
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Hill
      • North Hill is located in King County
  • Kitsap County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gig Harbor, with the one closest to Gig Harbor listed first.
    • Burley
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Olalla
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Bethel
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • East Port Orchard
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Port Orchard
      • East Port Orchard is located in Kitsap County
    • South Colby
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Colby
      • South Colby is located in Kitsap County
    • Southworth
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southworth
      • Southworth is located in Kitsap County
    • Colby
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colby
      • Colby is located in Kitsap County
    • Parkwood
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Parkwood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkwood
      • Parkwood is located in Kitsap County
    • Port Orchard
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • South Park Village
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Gorst
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Colchester
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colchester
      • Colchester is located in Kitsap County
  • Mason County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gig Harbor, with the one closest to Gig Harbor listed first.
    • Grapeview
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Allyn
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Belfair
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Bayshore
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayshore
      • Bayshore is located in Mason County
    • Tahuya
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Shelton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Hoodsport
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Lilliwaup
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Potlatch
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Skokomish
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skokomish
      • Skokomish is located in Mason County
    • New Kamilche
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Kamilche have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Kamilche
      • New Kamilche is located in Mason County
    • Mohrweis
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mohrweis
      • Mohrweis is located in Mason County
  • Thurston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gig Harbor, with the one closest to Gig Harbor listed first.
    • Puget
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puget
      • Puget is located in Thurston County
    • Tanglewilde
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tanglewilde
      • Tanglewilde is located in Thurston County
    • Nisqually Indian Community
      (22 miles [35.4 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
      (22 miles [35.4 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 <2>
    • Olympia
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Kellys Korner
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellys Korner
      • Kellys Korner is located in Thurston County
    • North Yelm
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Yelm have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Yelm
      • North Yelm is located in Thurston County
    • Yelm
      (26 miles [41.8 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 <2>
    • Tumwater
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • East Olympia
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Rainier
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Gig Harbor ...

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 191 newspapers that have been published in the area around Gig Harbor.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Gig Harbor. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Gig Harbor and those printed in the larger area surrounding Gig Harbor.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<4> of Gig Harbor.

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 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 Gig Harbor:

Cemeteries Near Gig Harbor ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Gig Harbor.

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

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

  • Artondale Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Gig Harbor Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Gig Harbor Cemetery is located outside and to the north of Gig Harbor.
    • The Gig Harbor Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Cresent Valley Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gig Harbor Cemetery
  • Haven of Rest Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Rosedale Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Cromwell Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • 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>
  • Fox Island Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Minter Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Minter Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Minter Cemetery is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<4> to the east of Wauna.
    • The Minter Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Elgin Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Minter Cemetery
  • New Tacoma Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Penbrock Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Penbrock Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Penbrock Cemetery
  • Lakebay Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Hillcrest Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Oakwood Hill Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (105 more) ...
    • Pauper Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Tacoma Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Fraola Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fraola Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fraola Cemetery

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Gig Harbor had a population of 321 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Gig Harbor had a population of 10,873 people.

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

  • Artondale
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Artondale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Artondale
    • Artondale is located in Pierce County
  • Rosedale
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosedale
    • Rosedale is located in Pierce County
  • Wollochet
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wollochet have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wollochet
    • Wollochet is located in Pierce County
  • Purdy
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Purdy have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Purdy
    • Purdy is located in Pierce County
  • Fox Island
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Minter
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Minter have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minter
    • Minter is located in Pierce County
  • Olalla
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Tacoma
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Vaughn
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vaughn
    • Vaughn is located in Pierce County
  • Lakebay
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Chautauqua
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chautauqua have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chautauqua
    • Chautauqua is located in King County
  • Meridian
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meridian have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meridian
    • Meridian is located in Pierce County
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Excelsior
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Excelsior have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Excelsior
      • Excelsior is located in Pierce County
    • Maury
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maury have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maury
      • Maury is located in King County
    • Vashon
      (10 miles [16.1 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 Gig Harbor. See our List of 1890's Communities around Gig Harbor.

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Gig Harbor. 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>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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Gig Harbor) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Gig Harbor. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 47.3276, Longitude: -122.5831    
<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 Gig Harbor, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

Copyright 2024
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024