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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 Onaway (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 Onaway. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors 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.

Onaway is located in Latah 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 Latah County: Benewah, Clearwater, Nez Perce, Shoshone & Whitman (WA).

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

  • Latah County     (The home county of Onaway)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Onaway, with the one closest to Onaway listed first.
    • Potlatch
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Princeton
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Potlatch Junction
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Potlatch Junction is located in Latah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Potlatch Junction
    • Freeze
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Freeze is located in Latah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeze
    • Cora
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Cora is located in Latah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cora
    • Harvard
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Viola
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Howell
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Howell is located in Latah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howell
    • Moscow
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Troy
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Deary
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Lenville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Lenville is located in Latah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lenville
  • Benewah County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Onaway, with the one closest to Onaway listed first.
    • De Smet
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • De Smet is located in Benewah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Smet
    • Tensed
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Emida
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Emida is located in Benewah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emida
    • Willard
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Willard is located in Benewah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willard
    • Santa
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Fernwood
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Plummer
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Plummer is located in Benewah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plummer
    • Parkline
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Parkline is located in Benewah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkline
    • Saint Maries
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Nez Perce County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Onaway, with the one closest to Onaway listed first.
    • Cameron
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Cameron is located in Nez Perce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cameron
    • Leon
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Leon is located in Nez Perce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leon
    • Cherrylane
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Cherrylane is located in Nez Perce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherrylane
  • Shoshone County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Onaway, with the one closest to Onaway listed first.
    • Emerald Creek
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Emerald Creek is located in Shoshone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerald Creek
    • Clarkia
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Spokane County (WA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Onaway, with the one closest to Onaway listed first.
    • Latah
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Latah is located in Spokane County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Latah
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 187 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Latah <1>
    • Spring Valley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Spring Valley is located in Spokane County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
  • Whitman County (WA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Onaway, with the one closest to Onaway listed first.
    • Palouse
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Palouse is located in Whitman County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palouse
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,055 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Palouse <1>
    • Grinnell
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Grinnell is located in Whitman County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grinnell
    • Farmington
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Garfield
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Eden
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Eden is located in Whitman County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden
    • Elberton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Elberton is located in Whitman County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elberton
    • Belmont
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Seltice
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Seltice is located in Whitman County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seltice
    • Glenwood
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Glenwood is located in Whitman County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood
    • Albion
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Albion is located in Whitman County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albion
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 588 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Albion <1>
    • Pullman
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Pullman is located in Whitman County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pullman
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 34,336 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pullman <1>
    • Shawnee
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Shawnee is located in Whitman County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawnee

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

Cemeteries Near Onaway ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Onaway.

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

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

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

  • Mendenhall Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Rock Creek Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Freeze Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeze Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Freeze Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<2> to the northwest of Potlatch.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1340132 <3>
  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Woodfell Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Silver Creek Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Beulah Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Farmington Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Eden Valley Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Sanders Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Mountain View Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Garfield Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (45 more) ...

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.<4>

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

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

  • Viola
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Palouse
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Palouse is located in Whitman County (WA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palouse
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,055 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Palouse <1>
  • Fallon
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Fallon is located in Whitman County (WA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fallon
  • Howell
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Howell is located in Latah County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howell
  • Farmington
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Garfield
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Whelan
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Whelan is located in Whitman County (WA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whelan
  • Moscow
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
  • Eden
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Eden is located in Whitman County (WA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden
  • Joel
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Joel is located in Latah County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joel
  • Cornwall
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Cornwall is located in Latah County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornwall
  • Elberton
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Elberton is located in Whitman County (WA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elberton
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Sunshine
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Sunshine is located in Whitman County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunshine
    • Belmont
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Seltice
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Seltice is located in Whitman County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seltice

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

Newspapers Published in Onaway ...

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 88 newspapers that have been published in the area around Onaway.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Onaway, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Onaway.

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 websites either 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 Onaway:

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>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- Onaway) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<4>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 Onaway, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.