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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 Thatcher (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 Thatcher. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Thatcher is located in San Juan 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 San Juan County: Island, Skagit & Whatcom.

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

  • San Juan County     (The home county of Thatcher)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thatcher, with the one closest to Thatcher listed first.
    • Decatur Island
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Olga
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Lopez Island
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lopez Island
      • Lopez Island is located in San Juan County
    • Lopez
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lopez
      • Lopez is located in San Juan County
    • Orcas
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Shaw Island
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaw Island
      • Shaw Island is located in San Juan County
    • Deer Harbor
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Argyle
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argyle
      • Argyle is located in San Juan County
    • Friday Harbor
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Eastsound
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • False Bay
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Waldron
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldron
      • Waldron is located in San Juan County
    • Roche Harbor
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
  • Island County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thatcher, with the one closest to Thatcher listed first.
    • Oak Harbor
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • San de Fuca
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San de Fuca
      • San de Fuca is located in Island County
    • Coupeville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Camano
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Juniper Beach
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Juniper Beach
      • Juniper Beach is located in Island County
  • Jefferson County
    • Port Townsend
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Skagit County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thatcher, with the one closest to Thatcher listed first.
    • Indian Village
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
      • Indian Village is located in Skagit County
    • Urban
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Urban
      • Urban is located in Skagit County
    • Anacortes
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Alexander Beach
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alexander Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexander Beach
      • Alexander Beach is located in Skagit County
    • Similk Beach
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Similk Beach
      • Similk Beach is located in Skagit County
    • Snee Oosh
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Snee Oosh have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snee Oosh
      • Snee Oosh is located in Skagit County
    • Bay View
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bay View have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay View
      • Bay View is located in Skagit County
    • Edison
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edison have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edison
      • Edison is located in Skagit County
    • Swinomish Village
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Swinomish Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swinomish Village
      • Swinomish Village is located in Skagit County
    • La Conner
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Shelter Bay
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shelter Bay have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shelter Bay
      • Shelter Bay is located in Skagit County
    • Bow
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Fish Town
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fish Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fish Town
      • Fish Town is located in Skagit County
  • Snohomish County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thatcher, with the one closest to Thatcher listed first.
    • Utsalady
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Utsalady
      • Utsalady is located in Snohomish County
    • Lake Ketchum
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Ketchum have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Ketchum
      • Lake Ketchum is located in Snohomish County
    • North Stanwood
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Stanwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Stanwood
      • North Stanwood is located in Snohomish County
    • Stanwood
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Whatcom County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thatcher, with the one closest to Thatcher listed first.
    • Lummi Island
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Chuckanut Village
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chuckanut Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chuckanut Village
      • Chuckanut Village is located in Whatcom County
    • Lummi
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lummi
      • Lummi is located in Whatcom County
    • Bellingham
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Ferndale
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Kickerville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kickerville
      • Kickerville is located in Whatcom County
    • Geneva
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Geneva have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geneva
      • Geneva is located in Whatcom County
    • Sudden Valley
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sudden Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sudden Valley
      • Sudden Valley is located in Whatcom County
    • Birch Bay
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Custer
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Wickersham
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wickersham have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wickersham
      • Wickersham is located in Whatcom County
    • Blaine
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • Acme
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Thatcher ...

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 89 newspapers that have been published in the area around Thatcher.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Thatcher, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Thatcher.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with 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 Thatcher:

Cemeteries Near Thatcher ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Thatcher.

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

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

  • Olga - Doe Bay Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Lopez Union Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Eden Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Eden Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Eden Cemetery
  • Grandview Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Grandview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Grandview Cemetery
  • Woodlawn Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Woodlawn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Woodlawn Cemetery
  • Fern Hill Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fern Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fern Hill Cemetery
  • Bay View Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bay View Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bay View Cemetery
  • Maple Leaf Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
  • Lummi Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lummi Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lummi Cemetery
  • Bow Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bow Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bow Cemetery
  • Pleasant Ridge Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Ridge Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Ridge Cemetery
  • Bayview Cemetery
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Bayview Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Bellingham.
    • The Bayview Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Bay View Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bayview Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #76707 <4>
  • Continue List   (32 more) ...
    • Sunnyland Memorial Park
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sunnyland Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sunnyland Memorial Park
    • Green Hills Memorial Cemetery
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Sunnyside Cemetery
      (24 miles [38.6 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.<5>

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

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

  • Decatur Island
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Lopez Island
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lopez Island
    • Lopez Island is located in San Juan County
  • Olga
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Doe Bay
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Doe Bay have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doe Bay
    • Doe Bay is located in San Juan County
  • Orcas
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Richardson
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Richardson have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richardson
    • Richardson is located in San Juan County
  • Argyle
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argyle
    • Argyle is located in San Juan County
  • Anacortes
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Guemes
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Guemes have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guemes
    • Guemes is located in Skagit County
  • Friday Harbor
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Eastsound
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Beach
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beach
    • Beach is located in Whatcom County
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Gibraltar
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gibraltar have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibraltar
      • Gibraltar is located in Skagit County
    • Waldron
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldron
      • Waldron is located in San Juan County
    • Roche Harbor
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)

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

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

The official website for San Juan County: www.co.san-juan.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>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Thatcher) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Thatcher. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 48.5548, Longitude: -122.8188       In this case, the coordinates for Thatcher have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>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.
<5>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 Thatcher, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024