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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 Black Canyon (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 Black Canyon. 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 Black Canyon ...

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.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Black Canyon: Black Cyn. (or less commonly used: Black Canyn. or Black Cnyn.)

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 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 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.

Black Canyon is located in Gem County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Gem County: Ada, Adams, Boise, Canyon, Payette, Valley & Washington.

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

  • Gem County     (The home county of Black Canyon)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Black Canyon, with the one closest to Black Canyon listed first.
    • Emmett
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Montour
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Montour is located in Gem County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montour
    • Sweet
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Pearl
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Pearl is located in Gem County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearl
    • Bramwell
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Bramwell is located in Gem County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bramwell
    • Letha
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Ola
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
  • Ada County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Black Canyon, with the one closest to Black Canyon listed first.
    • Star
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Eagle
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Garden City
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Collister
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Collister is located in Ada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collister
    • Meridian
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Boise Hills Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Boise Hills Village is located in Ada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boise Hills Village
    • Boise Junction
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Boise Junction is located in Ada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boise Junction
    • Boise
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Boise is located in Ada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boise
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 229,776 people
      • Former name for Boise:
      • Boise City
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Boise <1>
    • Kuna
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Boise County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Black Canyon, with the one closest to Black Canyon listed first.
    • Brownlee
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Brownlee is located in Boise County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownlee
    • Horseshoe Bend
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Banks
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Quartzburg
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Quartzburg is located in Boise County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quartzburg
    • Placerville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Crouch
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Crouch is located in Boise County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crouch
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 192 people
    • Garden Valley
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Grimes Pass
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Grimes Pass is located in Boise County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grimes Pass
  • Canyon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Black Canyon, with the one closest to Black Canyon listed first.
    • Middleton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Sand Hollow
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Sand Hollow is located in Canyon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Hollow
    • Caldwell
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Notus
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Weitz
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Weitz is located in Canyon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weitz
    • Nampa
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Nampa is located in Canyon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nampa
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 103,215 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nampa <1>
    • Greenleaf
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Parma
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Huston
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Apple Valley
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Apple Valley is located in Canyon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apple Valley
    • Kings Corner
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Kings Corner is located in Canyon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Corner
    • Roswell
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Roswell is located in Canyon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roswell
    • Wilder
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Payette County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Black Canyon, with the one closest to Black Canyon listed first.
    • New Plymouth
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Buckingham
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Buckingham is located in Payette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckingham
    • Fruitland
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Payette
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Washoe
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Washoe is located in Payette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washoe
  • Malheur County (OR)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Black Canyon, with the one closest to Black Canyon listed first.
    • Nyssa
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Nyssa is located in Malheur County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nyssa
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,231 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nyssa <1>
    • Ontario
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Ontario is located in Malheur County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ontario
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,140 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ontario <1>

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

Cemeteries Near Black Canyon ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Black Canyon.

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.

Although we don't have the information ourselves, if you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our list of websites on our Genealogy Helper Page for Black Canyon - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Black Canyon covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Riverside Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Riverside Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the north of Emmett.
    • The Riverside Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Emmett Cemetery
    • Martinville Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #80457 <2>
  • Sweet Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Sweet-Montour Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Pearl Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Bramwell Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Brownlee Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Pioneer Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Falk Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • Star Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
  • Middleton Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Dry Creek Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Idaho State Veterans Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (38 more) ...
    • Kennedy Cemetery
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Joplin Cemetery
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Ola Cemetery
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)

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.<3>

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

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

  • Sweet
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Horseshoe Bend
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Star
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
  • Middleton
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Ola
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
  • Caldwell
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Notus
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Quartzburg
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Quartzburg is located in Boise County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quartzburg
  • Nampa
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Nampa is located in Canyon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nampa
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 103,215 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nampa <1>
  • Boise
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Boise is located in Ada County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boise
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 229,776 people
    • Former name for Boise:
    • Boise City
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Boise <1>
  • Placerville
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
  • Parma
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Garden Valley
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Payette
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Ontario
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Ontario is located in Malheur County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ontario
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,140 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ontario <1>

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

Newspapers Published in Black Canyon ...

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 105 newspapers that have been published in the area around Black Canyon.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Black Canyon, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Black Canyon.

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 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 Black Canyon:

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 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.
<3>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 Black Canyon, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 drawn from Point A (ie- Black Canyon) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.