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 Queen Creek (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 Queen Creek. 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 Queen Creek ...
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 Queen Creek: Queen Crk. (or less commonly used: Queen Ck. or Queen Cr.)
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 southwest 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 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 west 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.
Queen Creek is primarily located in Maricopa County. A portion of Queen Creek extends into Pinal County.
To see how the shape of Arizona's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Maricopa County: Gila, La Paz, Pima, Pinal, Yavapai & Yuma.
Below are the counties that are near Queen Creek. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Queen Creek:
- Maricopa County (The home county of Queen Creek)
- The following are listed by their distance from Queen Creek, with the one closest to Queen Creek listed first.
- Sanokai Village
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sanokai Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sanokai Village
- Sanokai Village is located in Maricopa County
- Chandler Heights
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Higley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Sonora
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sonora have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sonora
- Sonora is located in Maricopa County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sonora <2>
- Silver Spur Village
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Silver Spur Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Spur Village
- Silver Spur Village is located in Maricopa County
- Gilbert
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Buckhorn
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Apache Junction
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Royal Palm Village
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Royal Palm Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal Palm Village
- Royal Palm Village is located in Maricopa County
- Chandler
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Summer Place Village
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Summer Place Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summer Place Village
- Summer Place Village is located in Maricopa County
- Sun Lakes
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Pinal County
- The following are listed by their distance from Queen Creek, with the one closest to Queen Creek listed first.
- Santan
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Santan have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santan
- Santan is located in Pinal County
- Stotonic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Gold Canyon
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Sacaton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Sweetwater
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Blackwater
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blackwater have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackwater
- Blackwater is located in Pinal County
- Bapchule
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Goldfield ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Youngberg
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Casa Blanca
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Coolidge
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Adamsville ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Queen Creek, see our County-by-County Page for Queen Creek.
Cemeteries Near Queen Creek ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Queen Creek.
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 Queen Creek covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Queen Creek, with the one closest to Queen Creek listed first.
- St. Ann Catholic Church Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Stotonic Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Mountain View Memorial Gardens
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Goodyear - Ocotillo Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Valley of the Sun Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Valley of the Sun Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Valley of the Sun Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- C.H. Cook Memorial Church Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- East Sacaton Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the East Sacaton Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the East Sacaton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Sacaton Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Queen of Heaven Catholic Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Sweetwater Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Blackwater Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Bapchule Cemetery
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (33 more) ...
- West Casa Blanca Cemetery
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- City of Mesa Cemetery
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the City of Mesa Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the City of Mesa Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Mesa City Cemetery
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
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 Queen Creek in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Queen Creek.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Queen Creek, with the one closest to Queen Creek listed first.
- Sacaton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Sweetwater
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Mesa
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Lehi
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lehi have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lehi
- Lehi is located in Maricopa County
- Kyrene
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Florence
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Tempe
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Reymert ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reymert have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reymert
- Reymert is located in Pinal County
- Casa Grande
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Maricopa
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Pinal ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pinal. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinal
- Pinal is located in Pinal County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Pinal
- From Queen Creek to Pinal
- Phoenix
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Queen Creek. See our List of 1890's Communities around Queen Creek.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Queen Creek ...
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 42 newspapers that have been published in the area around Queen Creek.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Queen Creek. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Queen Creek and those printed in the larger area surrounding Queen Creek.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<6> of Queen Creek.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Queen Creek:
- Websites specific to Arizona
- Pages specific to Maricopa County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Arizona
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Queen Creek: www.queencreek.org/
The official website for Maricopa County: www.maricopa.gov/
The official website for State of Arizona: https://az.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> | 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 Queen Creek, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
<6> | 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- Queen Creek) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Queen Creek. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.2486, Longitude: -111.6379 |