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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 Lifton (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 Lifton. 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 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.

Lifton is located in Bear Lake 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 Bear Lake County: Caribou, Franklin, Rich (UT) & Lincoln (WY).

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

  • Bear Lake County     (The home county of Lifton)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lifton, with the one closest to Lifton listed first.
    • Saint Charles
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Bloomington
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Dingle
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Fish Haven
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Paris
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Paris is located in Bear Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paris
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 517 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Paris <1>
    • Wardboro
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Wardboro is located in Bear Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wardboro
    • Ovid
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Ovid is located in Bear Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ovid
    • Montpelier
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Border
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Border is located in Bear Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Border
    • Bern
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Bennington
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Bennington is located in Bear Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bennington
    • Geneva
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Franklin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lifton, with the one closest to Lifton listed first.
    • Cherryville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Cherryville is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherryville
    • Franklin
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Whitney
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Whitney is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitney
    • Thatcher
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Preston
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Cache County (UT)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lifton, with the one closest to Lifton listed first.
    • Brachipad
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Brachipad is located in Cache County (UT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brachipad
      • Brachipad has also been known as:
      • Brachipad Summer Home Area
    • Cove
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Cove is located in Cache County (UT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cove
    • Richmond
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • White Horse Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • White Horse Village is located in Cache County (UT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Horse Village
    • Lewiston
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Lewiston is located in Cache County (UT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewiston
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,780 people
      • Former names for Lewiston:
      • Cub Hill
      • Poverty Flat
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lewiston <1>
  • Rich County (UT)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lifton, with the one closest to Lifton listed first.
    • Garden City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Pickelville ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Pickelville is located in Rich County (UT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pickelville
    • Garden
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Garden is located in Rich County (UT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden
    • Meadowville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Meadowville is located in Rich County (UT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowville
    • Laketown
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Round Valley ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Round Valley is located in Rich County (UT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Valley
    • Sage Creek ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Sage Creek is located in Rich County (UT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sage Creek
    • Sage Creek Junction ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Sage Creek Junction is located in Rich County (UT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sage Creek Junction
  • Lincoln County (WY)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lifton, with the one closest to Lifton listed first.
    • Border
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Border is located in Lincoln County (WY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Border
    • Taylor
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Taylor is located in Lincoln County (WY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylor
    • Cokeville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)

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

Cemeteries Near Lifton ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Lifton.

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 Lifton - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • St. Charles Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Dingle Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Bloomington Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Lanark Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Ovid Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Garden City Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Montpelier City Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Liberty Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Raymond Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Bennington Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
  • Cokeville Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
  • Meadowville Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowville Cemetery
    • The Meadowville Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Meadowville Pioneer Cemetery
    • Skinner Family Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #77327 <2>
  • Continue List   (19 more) ...
    • Geneva Cemetery
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Laketown Cemetery
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Nounan Cemetery
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)

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 Lifton in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Lifton.

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

  • Saint Charles
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Bloomington
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Fish Haven
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Dingle
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Paris
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Paris is located in Bear Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paris
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 517 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Paris <1>
  • Garden City
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Ovid
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Ovid is located in Bear Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ovid
  • Montpelier
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Border
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Border is located in Bear Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Border
  • Liberty
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Liberty is located in Bear Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
  • Cokeville
    (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
  • Meadowville
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Meadowville is located in Rich County (UT)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowville
  • Continue List   (8 more) ...
    • Laketown
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Georgetown
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Franklin
      (26 miles [41.8 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 Lifton. See our List of 1890's Communities around Lifton.

Newspapers Published in Lifton ...

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 25 newspapers that have been published in the area around Lifton.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Lifton, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Lifton.

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 Lifton:

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 Lifton, 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- Lifton) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.