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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 Upper Fairfax (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 Upper Fairfax. 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 doctors 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.

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

  • Pierce County     (The home county of Upper Fairfax)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Upper Fairfax, with the one closest to Upper Fairfax listed first.
    • Melmont ‑ Historic
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Melmont. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melmont
      • Melmont is located in Pierce County
    • Carbonado
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Wilkeson
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Buckley
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • South Prairie
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Kapowsin
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Orting
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Prairie Ridge
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prairie Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Ridge
      • Prairie Ridge is located in Pierce County
    • Clay City
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clay City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clay City
      • Clay City is located in Pierce County
    • Bonney Lake
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • McMillin
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McMillin
      • McMillin is located in Pierce County
    • Graham
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • King County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Upper Fairfax, with the one closest to Upper Fairfax listed first.
    • Enumclaw
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Osceola
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osceola
      • Osceola is located in King County
    • Krain
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Krain
      • Krain is located in King County
    • Green River
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green River have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green River
      • Green River is located in King County
    • Black Diamond
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Franklin ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
      • Franklin is located in King County
    • One Hundred One Pines
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Palmer
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Palmer have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmer
      • Palmer is located in King County
    • Pacific
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Kanaskat
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kanaskat
      • Kanaskat is located in King County
    • Algona
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Milton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Lewis County
  • Thurston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Upper Fairfax, with the one closest to Upper Fairfax listed first.
    • North Yelm
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Yelm have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Yelm
      • North Yelm is located in Thurston County
    • Yelm
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • 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>

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

Newspapers Published in Upper Fairfax ...

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 147 newspapers that have been published in the area around Upper Fairfax.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Upper Fairfax, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Upper Fairfax.

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 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 Upper Fairfax:

Cemeteries Near Upper Fairfax ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Upper Fairfax.

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

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

  • Carbonado Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Wilkeson Catholic Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • The Wilkeson Catholic Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Lady of the Lourdes Catholic Church Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wilkeson Catholic Cemetery
  • Wilkeson Town Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • The Wilkeson Town Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Knights of Pythias Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wilkeson Town Cemetery
  • Buckley Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Soldiers Home Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • The Soldiers Home Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Old Soldiers Home Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Soldiers Home Cemetery
  • Orting Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • The Orting Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Orting IOOF Cemetery
    • Orting IOOF Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Orting Cemetery
  • Eatonville Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • The Eatonville Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Glacier Park Cemetery
    • Glacier View Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Eatonville Cemetery
  • Enumclaw Municipal Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Enumclaw Municipal Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Enumclaw Municipal Cemetery
  • Holy Cross Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Holy Cross Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Holy Cross Cemetery
  • Krain Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Krain Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Krain Cemetery
  • Lake Tapps Pioneer Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • The Lake Tapps Pioneer Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Dieringer Cemetery
    • Dieringer Pioneer Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lake Tapps Pioneer Cemetery
  • Jensen Pioneer Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (46 more) ...
    • Rainier Cemetery
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • The Rainier Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Old Indian Cemetery
      • Old Pioneer Cemetery
      • Rainer Free Cemetery
      • Stringtown Cemetery
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rainier Cemetery
    • Bethany Lutheran Cemetery
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Sumner Cemetery
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • The Sumner Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Sumner Pioneer Cemetery
      • Sumner Town Cemetery
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sumner 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>

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

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

  • Carbonado
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Wilkeson
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Burnett
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Burnett have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnett
    • Burnett is located in Pierce County
  • Cascade Junction
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cascade Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cascade Junction
    • Cascade Junction is located in Pierce County
  • South Prairie
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Buckley
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Kapowsin
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Orting
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Boise
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Boise have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boise
    • Boise is located in King County
  • Enumclaw
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Osceola
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osceola
    • Osceola is located in King County
  • McMillin
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McMillin
    • McMillin is located in Pierce County
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Eatonville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Alderton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alderton
      • Alderton is located in Pierce County
    • Leber
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Leber have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leber
      • Leber is located in Pierce County

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

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Upper Fairfax. 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>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Upper Fairfax) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Upper Fairfax. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 47.0057, Longitude: -122.0004       In this case, the coordinates for Upper Fairfax have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Upper Fairfax, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024