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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 Birkenfeld (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 Birkenfeld. 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 doctors and hospitals 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.

Birkenfeld is located in Columbia County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Columbia County: Clatsop, Multnomah, Washington, Clark (WA), Cowlitz (WA) & Wahkiakum (WA).

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

  • Columbia County     (The home county of Birkenfeld)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Birkenfeld, with the one closest to Birkenfeld listed first.
    • Fishhawk ‑ Historic
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fishhawk have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fishhawk
      • Fishhawk is located in Columbia County
    • Clatskanie
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Pittsburg
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittsburg
      • Pittsburg is located in Columbia County
    • Vernonia
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Quincy
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quincy
      • Quincy is located in Columbia County
    • Mayger
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayger
      • Mayger is located in Columbia County
    • Beaver Springs
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Springs
      • Beaver Springs is located in Columbia County
    • Rainier
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rainier have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rainier
      • Rainier is located in Columbia County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,021 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rainier <2>
    • Prescott
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prescott have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prescott
      • Prescott is located in Columbia County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 63 people
    • Goble
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goble
      • Goble is located in Columbia County
    • Reuben
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reuben
      • Reuben is located in Columbia County
    • Deer Island
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Columbia City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
  • Clatsop County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Birkenfeld, with the one closest to Birkenfeld listed first.
    • Jewell
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jewell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jewell
      • Jewell is located in Clatsop County
    • Westport
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Clifton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
      • Clifton is located in Clatsop County
    • Brownsmead
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsmead
      • Brownsmead is located in Clatsop County
    • Svensen Junction
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Svensen Junction
      • Svensen Junction is located in Clatsop County
    • Tongue Point Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tongue Point Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tongue Point Village
      • Tongue Point Village is located in Clatsop County
    • Astoria
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Jeffers Garden
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeffers Garden
      • Jeffers Garden is located in Clatsop County
    • Gearhart
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gearhart have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gearhart
      • Gearhart is located in Clatsop County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,644 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gearhart <2>
    • Seaside
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Warrenton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Warrenton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warrenton
      • Warrenton is located in Clatsop County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,739 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Warrenton <2>
    • Cannon Beach
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
    • Tolovana Park
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Tillamook County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Birkenfeld, with the one closest to Birkenfeld listed first.
    • Ryan's Camp ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ryan's Camp. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ryan's Camp
      • Ryan's Camp is located in Tillamook County
      • Ryan's Camp has also been known as:
      • Idiotville
    • Foss
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foss
      • Foss is located in Tillamook County
  • Washington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Birkenfeld, with the one closest to Birkenfeld listed first.
    • Timber
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Buxton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Manning
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Banks
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banks
      • Banks is located in Washington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,034 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Banks <2>
    • Gales Creek
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Kansas City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kansas City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kansas City
      • Kansas City is located in Washington County
    • Christie ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christie
      • Christie is located in Washington County
      • Christie has also been known as:
      • Carstens
  • Clark County (WA)
    • Woodland
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
  • Cowlitz County (WA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Birkenfeld, with the one closest to Birkenfeld listed first.
    • Stella
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stella have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stella
      • Stella is located in Cowlitz County (WA)
    • West Longview
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Longview have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Longview
      • West Longview is located in Cowlitz County (WA)
    • Coal Creek
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Creek
      • Coal Creek is located in Cowlitz County (WA)
    • Longview
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longview
      • Longview is located in Cowlitz County (WA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 38,515 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Longview <2>
    • Longview Heights
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Longview Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longview Heights
      • Longview Heights is located in Cowlitz County (WA)
    • Carrolls
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Kalama
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kalama
      • Kalama is located in Cowlitz County (WA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,844 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kalama <2>
    • Kelso
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelso
      • Kelso is located in Cowlitz County (WA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 12,438 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kelso <2>
    • Rose Valley
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Valley
      • Rose Valley is located in Cowlitz County (WA)
    • Ostrander
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ostrander
      • Ostrander is located in Cowlitz County (WA)
    • Castle Rock
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Ryderwood
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ryderwood
      • Ryderwood is located in Cowlitz County (WA)
  • Pacific County (WA)
    • Megler
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Megler
      • Megler is located in Pacific County (WA)
  • Wahkiakum County (WA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Birkenfeld, with the one closest to Birkenfeld listed first.
    • Cathlamet
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • East Cathlamet
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Cathlamet have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Cathlamet
      • East Cathlamet is located in Wahkiakum County (WA)
    • Skamokawa
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Brookfield
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brookfield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookfield
      • Brookfield is located in Wahkiakum County (WA)
    • Dahlia
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dahlia
      • Dahlia is located in Wahkiakum County (WA)
    • Altoona
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Altoona have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altoona
      • Altoona is located in Wahkiakum County (WA)
    • Rosburg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Grays River
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Birkenfeld ...

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 45 newspapers that have been published in the area around Birkenfeld.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Birkenfeld, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Birkenfeld.

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 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 Birkenfeld:

Cemeteries Near Birkenfeld ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Birkenfeld.

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

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

  • Fishhawk Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • United Brethren Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the United Brethren Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • The United Brethren Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Old Burn Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the United Brethren Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2427008 <5>
  • Mist Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Deeds Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Deeds Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Deeds Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2515335 <5>
  • Jewell Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Westport Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Maplewood Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Murray Hill Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Vernonia Memorial Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Vernonia Pioneer Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Cedar Hill Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Cedar Hill Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cedar Hill Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #38613 <5>
  • Hall - Tipton Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Hall - Tipton Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hall - Tipton Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2375916 <5>
  • Continue List   (76 more) ...
    • Stewart Creek Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Stewart Hill Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Stewart Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Stewart Hill Cemetery
    • North Cemetery of Clear Creek
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)

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

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

  • Fishhawk ‑ Historic
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fishhawk have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fishhawk
    • Fishhawk is located in Columbia County
  • Mist
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mist have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mist
    • Mist is located in Columbia County
  • Jewell
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jewell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jewell
    • Jewell is located in Clatsop County
  • Keasey
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Keasey have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keasey
    • Keasey is located in Columbia County
  • Westport
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Pittsburg
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittsburg
    • Pittsburg is located in Columbia County
  • Clatskanie
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Vernonia
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Waterford
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Waterford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterford
    • Waterford is located in Wahkiakum County (WA)
  • Vinemaple
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vinemaple have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vinemaple
    • Vinemaple is located in Clatsop County
  • Eagle Cliff
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eagle Cliff have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Cliff
    • Eagle Cliff is located in Wahkiakum County (WA)
  • Apiary ‑ Historic
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Apiary have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apiary
    • Apiary is located in Columbia County
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Cathlamet
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Oak Point
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oak Point have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Point
      • Oak Point is located in Cowlitz County (WA)
    • Clifton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
      • Clifton is located in Clatsop County

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

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

The official website for Columbia County: www.co.columbia.or.us/

The official website for State of Oregon: https://www.oregon.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Birkenfeld) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Birkenfeld. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.9907, Longitude: -123.3376       In this case, the coordinates for Birkenfeld 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 Birkenfeld, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024