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 Biggs (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 Biggs. 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 hospitals 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.
Biggs is located in Sherman 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 Sherman County: Gilliam, Wasco, Wheeler & Klickitat (WA).
Below are the counties that are near Biggs. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Biggs:
- Sherman County (The home county of Biggs)
- The following are listed by their distance from Biggs, with the one closest to Biggs listed first.
- Biggs Junction
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Rufus
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Wasco
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Sinks ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Sinks is located in Sherman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sinks
- Gordon ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Gordon is located in Sherman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordon
- Klondike
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Klondike is located in Sherman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Klondike
- Emigrant Springs ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Emigrant Springs is located in Sherman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emigrant Springs
- De Moss Springs
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- De Moss Springs is located in Sherman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Moss Springs
- Moro
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Monkland
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Monkland is located in Sherman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monkland
- Grass Valley
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Rosebush ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Rosebush is located in Sherman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosebush
- Gilliam County
- The following are listed by their distance from Biggs, with the one closest to Biggs listed first.
- Ajax ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Ajax is located in Gilliam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ajax
- Arlington
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Wasco County
- The following are listed by their distance from Biggs, with the one closest to Biggs listed first.
- Celilo Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Celilo Village is located in Wasco County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Celilo Village
- Fairbanks
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Fairbanks is located in Wasco County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairbanks
- Rice ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Rice is located in Wasco County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rice
- Boyd ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Boyd is located in Wasco County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyd
- City of The Dalles
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- City of The Dalles is located in Wasco County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for City of The Dalles
- The Dalles
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Endersby
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Endersby is located in Wasco County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Endersby
- Chenoweth
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Chenoweth is located in Wasco County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chenoweth
- Dufur
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Rowena
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Nansene
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Nansene is located in Wasco County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nansene
- Ortley ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Ortley is located in Wasco County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ortley
- Mosier
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Klickitat County (WA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Biggs, with the one closest to Biggs listed first.
- Maryhill
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Centerville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Wishram
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Goldendale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Blockhouse
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Blockhouse is located in Klickitat County (WA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blockhouse
- Wahkiacus
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Wahkiacus is located in Klickitat County (WA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wahkiacus
- Dallesport
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Klickitat
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Lyle
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Appleton
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Dot
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Dot is located in Klickitat County (WA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dot
- Roosevelt
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Bingen
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Biggs, see our County-by-County Page for Biggs.
Cemeteries Near Biggs ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Biggs.
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 Biggs - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Biggs covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Biggs, with the one closest to Biggs listed first.
- Celilo Indian Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Celilo Indian Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Rufus Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rufus Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Rufus Cemetery is located outside and to the south of Rufus.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2252887 <2>
- Centerville Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Sun Rise Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sun Rise Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Sun Rise Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located less than 2 miles<3> to the northwest of Wasco.
- The Sun Rise Cemetery has also been known as:
- Sunrise Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #39471 <2>
- Wasco Methodist Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Petersburg Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Crawford Family Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Moro Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moro Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Moro Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the northwest of Moro.
- The Moro Cemetery has also been known as:
- American Legion Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #38534 <2>
- De Moss Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Moss Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the De Moss Cemetery is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<3> to the northeast of Moro.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #38702 <2>
- Viewpoint Grave Island Memorial
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Emigrant Springs Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Continue List (27 more) ...
- Rice Cemetery
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Hartland Cemetery
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Wish - Ham Cemetery
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Biggs had a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Biggs, with the one closest to Biggs listed first.
- Rufus
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Wasco
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Goldendale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Blockhouse
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Blockhouse is located in Klickitat County (WA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blockhouse
- Moro
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- De Moss Springs
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- De Moss Springs is located in Sherman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Moss Springs
- Emigrant Springs ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Emigrant Springs is located in Sherman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emigrant Springs
- Monkland
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Monkland is located in Sherman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monkland
- The Dalles
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Boyd ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Boyd is located in Wasco County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyd
- Dufur
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Rowena
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Continue List (9 more) ...
- Nansene
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Nansene is located in Wasco County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nansene
- Grass Valley
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Lyle
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Biggs. See our List of 1890's Communities around Biggs.
Newspapers Published in Biggs ...
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 31 newspapers that have been published in the area around Biggs.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Biggs, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Biggs.
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 Biggs:
- Websites specific to Oregon
- Pages specific to Sherman County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Gilliam County
- Wasco County
- Klickitat County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Oregon
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 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Biggs) 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 Biggs, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |