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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 Alder (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 Alder. 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.

Alder is located in Benton County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Benton County: Lane, Lincoln, Linn, Marion & Polk.

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

  • Benton County     (The home county of Alder)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alder, with the one closest to Alder listed first.
    • Blodgett
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Wren
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Wren is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wren
    • Summit
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Summit is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
    • Flynn
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Flynn is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flynn
    • Philomath
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Kings Valley
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Corvallis
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Lewisburg
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Lewisburg is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewisburg
    • Alsea
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Jennyopolis ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Jennyopolis is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jennyopolis
    • Adair Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Adair Village is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adair Village
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 872 people
    • Wellsdale
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Wellsdale is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellsdale
  • Lane County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alder, with the one closest to Alder listed first.
    • Blachly
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Cheshire
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Junction City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Alpha
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Alpha is located in Lane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpha
    • Franklin
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Franklin is located in Lane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
  • Lincoln County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alder, with the one closest to Alder listed first.
    • Eddyville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Logsden
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Pioneer City ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Pioneer City is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pioneer City
    • Elk City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Elk City is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk City
    • Toledo
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Siletz
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Tidewater
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Westwood Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Westwood Village is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood Village
    • Yaquina
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Yaquina is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yaquina
      • Yaquina has also been known as:
      • Yaquina City
    • Newport Heights
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Newport Heights is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newport Heights
    • Newport
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • South Beach
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
  • Linn County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alder, with the one closest to Alder listed first.
    • Oakville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Oakville is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakville
    • Tangent
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Albany
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Shedd
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Boston ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Boston is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boston
      • Boston has also been known as:
      • Boston Mills
    • Draperville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Draperville is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Draperville
    • Millersburg
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Millersburg is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millersburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,757 people
    • Halsey
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Irvinville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Irvinville is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irvinville
    • Harrisburg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Lebanon
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Brownsville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Marion County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alder, with the one closest to Alder listed first.
    • Santiam City ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Santiam City is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santiam City
    • Jefferson
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Marion
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Polk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alder, with the one closest to Alder listed first.
    • Airlie
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Airlie is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Airlie
    • Lewisville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Lewisville is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewisville
    • Bridgeport
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Bridgeport is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeport
    • Falls City
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Valsetz ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Valsetz is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valsetz
    • Buena Vista
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Buena Vista is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
    • Monmouth
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Independence
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Dallas
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Ellendale
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Ellendale is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellendale
    • Rickreall
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Dolph Corner
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Dolph Corner is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dolph Corner

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

Cemeteries Near Alder ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Alder.

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

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

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

  • Blodgett Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Wren Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Davidson Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Summit Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Summit Cemetery is located outside and to the southeast of Summit.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #39466 <2>
  • Pleasant Valley Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • May Stouts Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for May Stouts Cemetery
    • The May Stouts Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Hamar Cemetery
    • Mays Cemetery
    • Mays Strouts Cemetery
    • Strouts Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #39107 <2>
  • Mulkey Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Leslie Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • King Family Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Kings Valley Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Ft. Hoskins Military Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Emerich Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (127 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 Alder in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Alder.

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

  • Blodgett
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Harris
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Harris is located in Benton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris
  • Wren
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Wren is located in Benton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wren
  • Summit
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Summit is located in Benton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
  • Hoskins
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Hoskins is located in Benton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoskins
  • Philomath
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Kings Valley
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Corvallis
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Lewisburg
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Lewisburg is located in Benton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewisburg
  • Alsea
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
  • Airlie
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Airlie is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Airlie
  • Oakville
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Oakville is located in Linn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakville
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Simpson
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Simpson is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simpson
    • Lewisville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Lewisville is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewisville
    • Peoria
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Peoria is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peoria

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

Newspapers Published in Alder ...

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 95 newspapers that have been published in the area around Alder.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Alder, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Alder.

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 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 Alder:

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>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Alder) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Alder, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.