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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 Laurel (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 Laurel. 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.

Laurel is located in Yellowstone County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Yellowstone County: Big Horn, Carbon, Golden Valley, Musselshell, Rosebud, Stillwater & Treasure.

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

  • Yellowstone County     (The home county of Laurel)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Laurel, with the one closest to Laurel listed first.
    • Hesper
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hesper
      • Hesper is located in Yellowstone County
    • Rimrock
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rimrock
      • Rimrock is located in Yellowstone County
    • Billings
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Billings
      • Billings is located in Yellowstone County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 109,736 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Billings <1>
    • Acton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acton
      • Acton is located in Yellowstone County
    • Lockwood
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lockwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lockwood
      • Lockwood is located in Yellowstone County
    • Comanche
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comanche
      • Comanche is located in Yellowstone County
    • Huntley
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Huntley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntley
      • Huntley is located in Yellowstone County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Huntley <1>
    • Shepherd
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shepherd have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shepherd
      • Shepherd is located in Yellowstone County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Shepherd <1>
    • Broadview
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Big Horn County
    • Pryor
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pryor have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pryor
      • Pryor is located in Big Horn County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pryor <1>
  • Carbon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Laurel, with the one closest to Laurel listed first.
    • Edgar
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Joliet
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Joliet have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joliet
      • Joliet is located in Carbon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 666 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Joliet <1>
    • Fromberg
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fromberg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fromberg
      • Fromberg is located in Carbon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 469 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fromberg <1>
    • Boyd
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Bridger
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bridger have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridger
      • Bridger is located in Carbon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 769 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bridger <1>
    • Roberts
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Stillwater County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Laurel, with the one closest to Laurel listed first.
    • Park City
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Park City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park City
      • Park City is located in Stillwater County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Park City <1>
    • Molt
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Columbus
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Laurel ...

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 80 newspapers that have been published in the area around Laurel.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Laurel. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Laurel and those printed in the larger area surrounding Laurel.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<3> of Laurel.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we 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 Laurel:

Cemeteries Near Laurel ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Laurel.

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

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

  • Yellowstone National Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Yellowstone National Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the north of Laurel.
    • The Yellowstone National Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Yellowstone County Veterans Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Yellowstone National Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2285946 <4>
  • St. Anthony Catholic Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Laurel Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Laurel Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the north of Laurel.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Laurel Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #20964 <4>
  • Pioneer Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pioneer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pioneer Cemetery
  • Cooke Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Howell Grave
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Howell Grave have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Howell Grave
  • Terrace Gardens Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Holy Cross Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Yellowstone Valley Memorial Park
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Mountview Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Mountview Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Billings.
    • The Mountview Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Billings Cemetery
    • Mountain View Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mountview Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #21014 <4>
  • Sunset Memorial Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Beth Aaron Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (29 more) ...
    • Calvary Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Rockvale Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rockvale Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rockvale Cemetery
    • Cow Creek Cemetery
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cow Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cow Creek 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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Laurel had a population of 18 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Laurel had a population of 6,715 people.

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

  • Billings
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Billings
    • Billings is located in Yellowstone County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 109,736 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Billings <1>
  • Huntley
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Huntley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntley
    • Huntley is located in Yellowstone County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Huntley <1>

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

The official website for Laurel: www.mylaurel.com/

The official website for Yellowstone County: www.co.yellowstone.mt.us/

The official website for State of Montana: https://mt.gov/

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 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.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Laurel) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Laurel. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.6745, Longitude: -108.7716    
<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 Laurel, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024