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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 Petersons Crossing (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 Petersons Crossing. 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 Petersons Crossing ...

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.

  • A typical abbreviation for Petersons Crossing: Petersons Xing.
  • While the name of this community is Petersons Crossing, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Petersons Crossing may originally have been Peterson's Crossing.

    Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Petersons Crossing might be written as Peterson Crossing.

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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Petersons Crossing is located in Owyhee County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Owyhee County: Ada, Canyon, Elmore, Twin Falls, Elko (NV), Humboldt (NV) & Malheur (OR).

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

  • Owyhee County     (The home county of Petersons Crossing)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Petersons Crossing, with the one closest to Petersons Crossing listed first.
    • De Lamar ‑ Historic
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Lamar
      • De Lamar is located in Owyhee County
    • Silver City
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Empire City ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Empire City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Empire City
      • Empire City is located in Owyhee County
    • Murphy
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Murphy have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murphy
      • Murphy is located in Owyhee County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Murphy <2>
    • Oreana
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oreana
      • Oreana is located in Owyhee County
    • Marsing
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Ada County
    • Swan Falls
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swan Falls
      • Swan Falls is located in Ada County
  • Canyon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Petersons Crossing, with the one closest to Petersons Crossing listed first.
    • Walters Ferry
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walters Ferry
      • Walters Ferry is located in Canyon County
    • Melba
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Melba have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melba
      • Melba is located in Canyon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 553 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Melba <2>
    • Riverside
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
      • Riverside is located in Canyon County
    • Bowmont
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowmont
      • Bowmont is located in Canyon County
  • Malheur County (OR)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Petersons Crossing, with the one closest to Petersons Crossing listed first.
    • Jordan Valley
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jordan Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jordan Valley
      • Jordan Valley is located in Malheur County (OR)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 181 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jordan Valley <2>
    • Danner ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danner
      • Danner is located in Malheur County (OR)

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

Newspapers Published in Petersons Crossing ...

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 9 newspapers that have been published in the area around Petersons Crossing.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Petersons Crossing, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Petersons Crossing.

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 Petersons Crossing:

Cemeteries Near Petersons Crossing ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Petersons Crossing.

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 Petersons Crossing covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Camp Lyon Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Reynolds Creek Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Pioneer Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pioneer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pioneer Cemetery
  • Fairview Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Jordan Valley Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Jordan Valley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Jordan Valley Cemetery
  • Pleasant Valley Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Valley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Valley Cemetery
  • Rockville Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rockville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rockville Cemetery
  • Wilson Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wilson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wilson Cemetery
  • Jacob Reuben Graves
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Jacob Reuben Graves have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Jacob Reuben Graves
  • Jean Baptiste Charbonneau Grave
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Jean Baptiste Charbonneau Grave have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Jean Baptiste Charbonneau Grave
  • Marsing - Homedale Cemetery
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Marsing - Homedale Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Marsing - Homedale Cemetery
  • Peaceful Valley Cemetery
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Peaceful Valley Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<4> to the west of Marsing.
    • The Peaceful Valley Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Knowlton Heights Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Peaceful Valley Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2153586 <5>
  • Watson Cemetery
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Watson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Watson 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 Petersons Crossing in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Petersons Crossing.

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

  • De Lamar ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Lamar
    • De Lamar is located in Owyhee County
  • Reynolds
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reynolds have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reynolds
    • Reynolds is located in Owyhee County
  • Sheaville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sheaville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheaville
    • Sheaville is located in Malheur County (OR)
  • Silver City
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Jordan Valley
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jordan Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jordan Valley
    • Jordan Valley is located in Malheur County (OR)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 181 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jordan Valley <2>
  • Rockville
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rockville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockville
    • Rockville is located in Owyhee County
  • Sinker ‑ Historic
    (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sinker have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sinker
    • Sinker is located in Owyhee County
  • Oreana
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oreana
    • Oreana is located in Owyhee County

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

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Petersons Crossing. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Owyhee County: www.owyheecounty.net/

The official website for State of Idaho: www.state.id.us/

Footnotes ...

<1>It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties).
<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- Petersons Crossing) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Petersons Crossing. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.1224, Longitude: -116.8765       In this case, the coordinates for Petersons Crossing 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 Petersons Crossing, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024