RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Montana >> Park County >> Shields >> Genealogy HelperIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
Montana

The Commemorative Quarter for Montana





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 Shields (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 Shields. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Shields is located in Park 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 Park County: Carbon, Gallatin, Meagher, Stillwater, Sweet Grass & Park (WY).

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

  • Park County     (The home county of Shields)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shields, with the one closest to Shields listed first.
    • Wilsall
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Clyde Park
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Livingston
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Springdale
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Brisbin
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Brisbin. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brisbin
      • Brisbin is located in Park County
  • Gallatin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shields, with the one closest to Shields listed first.
    • Sedan
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedan
      • Sedan is located in Gallatin County
    • Bridger
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridger
      • Bridger is located in Gallatin County
    • Chestnut
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut
      • Chestnut is located in Gallatin County
    • Wisner Crossing
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wisner Crossing
      • Wisner Crossing is located in Gallatin County
    • Francis
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Francis
      • Francis is located in Gallatin County
    • Bozeman
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Catron
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catron
      • Catron is located in Gallatin County
    • Hillman
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillman
      • Hillman is located in Gallatin County
    • Belgrade
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Meagher County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shields, with the one closest to Shields listed first.
    • Ringling
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Loweth
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Loweth. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loweth
      • Loweth is located in Meagher County

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

Cemeteries Near Shields ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Shields.

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

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

  • Wilsall Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wilsall Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wilsall Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. Calvary Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Calvary Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Calvary Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Rock Creek Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Sedan Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sedan Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sedan Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Woosley Family Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Springhill Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Springhill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Springhill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Calvary Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Calvary Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<4> to the southwest of Livingston.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #20796 <5>
  • Mountain View Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mountain View Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Mountain View Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the west of Livingston.
    • The Mountain View Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Mountainview Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #21013 <5>
  • Poor Farm Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Poor Farm Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Poor Farm Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Reese Creek Cemetery
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Reese Creek Cemetery
    • The Reese Creek Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Old Mormon Cemetery
  • Muir Cemetery
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Muir Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Muir Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Vaters Cemetery
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Vaters Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Vaters Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (19 more) ...
    • Walker Cemetery
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Walker Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Walker Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Timberline Cemetery
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Timberline Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Timberline Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Cokedale Cemetery
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cokedale Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cokedale Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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

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

  • Meyersburg ‑ Historic
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meyersburg have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meyersburg
    • Meyersburg is located in Park County
  • Clyde Park
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Sedan
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedan
    • Sedan is located in Gallatin County
  • Springhill
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Springhill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springhill
    • Springhill is located in Gallatin County
  • Hoppers
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hoppers have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoppers
    • Hoppers is located in Park County
  • Livingston
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
  • West End
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West End have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West End
    • West End is located in Gallatin County
  • Muir
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Muir have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muir
    • Muir is located in Park County
  • Gallop ‑ Historic
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gallop have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gallop
    • Gallop is located in Gallatin County
  • Hunters Hot Springs
    (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hunters Hot Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunters Hot Springs
    • Hunters Hot Springs is located in Park County
  • Chestnut
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut
    • Chestnut is located in Gallatin County
  • Elton
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elton
    • Elton is located in Park County
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Sixteen
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sixteen have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sixteen
      • Sixteen is located in Meagher County
    • Springdale
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Story
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Story have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Story
      • Story is located in Gallatin County

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

Newspapers Published in Shields ...

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 36 newspapers that have been published in the area around Shields.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Shields, 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 Shields.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Shields:

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

The official website for Park County: www.parkcounty.org/

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>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Shields) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Shields. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.9569, Longitude: -110.6408       In this case, the coordinates for Shields 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 Shields, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

Copyright 2025
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025