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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 Fortune Branch (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 Fortune Branch. 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.

Name Variations for Fortune Branch ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Fortune Branch: Fortune Br. (or less commonly used: Fortune Brnch.)

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Fortune Branch is located in Douglas 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 Douglas County: Coos, Curry, Jackson, Josephine, Klamath & Lane.

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

  • Douglas County     (The home county of Fortune Branch)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fortune Branch, with the one closest to Fortune Branch listed first.
    • Azalea
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Glendale
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Canyonville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Canyonville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canyonville
      • Canyonville is located in Douglas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,977 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Canyonville <1>
    • Riddle
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riddle
      • Riddle is located in Douglas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,216 people
      • Former names for Riddle:
      • Riddles
      • Riddlesburg
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Riddle <1>
    • Tri City
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tri City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tri City
      • Tri City is located in Douglas County
    • Days Creek
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Myrtle Creek
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Tiller
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Dillard
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Winston
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Winston have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winston
      • Winston is located in Douglas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,541 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Winston <1>
    • Camas Valley
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Tenmile
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Green
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green
      • Green is located in Douglas County
  • Jackson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fortune Branch, with the one closest to Fortune Branch listed first.
    • Wimer
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wimer
      • Wimer is located in Jackson County
    • Rogue River
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rogue River have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogue River
      • Rogue River is located in Jackson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,340 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rogue River <1>
    • Sams Valley
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sams Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sams Valley
      • Sams Valley is located in Jackson County
    • Trail
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Gold Hill
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Shady Cove
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shady Cove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Cove
      • Shady Cove is located in Jackson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,119 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Shady Cove <1>
  • Josephine County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fortune Branch, with the one closest to Fortune Branch listed first.
    • Golden ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golden
      • Golden is located in Josephine County
    • Wolf Creek
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Greenback ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenback
      • Greenback is located in Josephine County
    • Placer
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Placer
      • Placer is located in Josephine County
    • Sunny Valley
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Leland
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leland
      • Leland is located in Josephine County
    • Hugo
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hugo
      • Hugo is located in Josephine County
    • Three Pines
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Three Pines
      • Three Pines is located in Josephine County
    • Merlin
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Galice
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galice
      • Galice is located in Josephine County
    • Grants Pass
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Fruitdale
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fruitdale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruitdale
      • Fruitdale is located in Josephine County
    • Redwood
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Redwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redwood
      • Redwood is located in Josephine County

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

Newspapers Published in Fortune Branch ...

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 62 newspapers that have been published in the area around Fortune Branch.

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

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Fortune Branch:

Cemeteries Near Fortune Branch ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Fortune Branch.

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

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

  • Quines Creek Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Quines Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Quines Creek Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #39318 <4>
  • Glendale Memorial Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Wolf Creek Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wolf Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wolf Creek Cemetery
  • Placer Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Placer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Placer Cemetery
  • Lower Wolf Creek Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lower Wolf Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lower Wolf Creek Cemetery
  • Pioneer Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • 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.
    • The Pioneer Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Jesse Roberts Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pioneer Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2244076 <4>
  • Canyonville Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Canyonville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Canyonville Cemetery
  • Riddle Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • William D Bradley Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the William D Bradley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the William D Bradley Cemetery
  • Bland Mtn. Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bland Mtn. Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bland Mtn. Cemetery
  • Pleasant Valley Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Valley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Valley Cemetery
  • Lavadoure Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lavadoure Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lavadoure Cemetery
  • Continue List   (44 more) ...
    • Myrtle Creek Pioneer Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Myrtle Creek Pioneer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Myrtle Creek Pioneer Cemetery
    • Myrtle Creek IOOF Cemetery
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Myrtle Creek IOOF Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Myrtle Creek IOOF Cemetery
    • Bryant Cemetery
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bryant Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bryant 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>

While we didn't find Fortune Branch in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Fortune Branch.

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

  • Galesville
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Galesville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galesville
    • Galesville is located in Douglas County
  • Glendale
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Wolf Creek
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Leland
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leland
    • Leland is located in Josephine County
  • Riddle
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riddle
    • Riddle is located in Douglas County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,216 people
    • Former names for Riddle:
    • Riddles
    • Riddlesburg
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Riddle <1>
  • Days Creek
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Perdue ‑ Historic
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Perdue have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perdue
    • Perdue is located in Douglas County
  • Myrtle Creek
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
  • Merlin
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
  • Wimer
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wimer
    • Wimer is located in Jackson County
  • Ruckles
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ruckles have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruckles
    • Ruckles is located in Douglas County
  • Spikenard ‑ Historic
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spikenard have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spikenard
    • Spikenard is located in Jackson County
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Grants Pass
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Olalla
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Olalla have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olalla
      • Olalla is located in Douglas County
    • Brockway
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brockway have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brockway
      • Brockway is located in Douglas County

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

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

The official website for Douglas County: www.co.douglas.or.us/

The official website for State of Oregon: https://www.oregon.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 '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- Fortune Branch) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Fortune Branch. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.7748, Longitude: -123.3176       In this case, the coordinates for Fortune Branch have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Fortune Branch, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024