RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Oregon >> Polk County >> Gerlinger >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Gerlinger (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 Gerlinger. 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.

Gerlinger is located in Polk 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 Polk County: Benton, Lincoln, Linn, Marion, Tillamook & Yamhill.

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

  • Polk County     (The home county of Gerlinger)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gerlinger, with the one closest to Gerlinger listed first.
    • Rickreall
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Crowley
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Crowley is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crowley
    • Eola
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Eola is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eola
    • Independence
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Dolph Corner
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Dolph Corner is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dolph Corner
    • Smithfield
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Smithfield is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smithfield
    • Monmouth
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Dallas
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Salemtowne
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Salemtowne is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salemtowne
    • Zena
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Zena is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zena
    • Ellendale
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Ellendale is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellendale
    • Bridgeport
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Bridgeport is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeport
  • Benton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gerlinger, with the one closest to Gerlinger listed first.
    • Wellsdale
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Wellsdale is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellsdale
    • Adair Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Adair Village is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adair Village
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 872 people
    • Kings Valley
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • North Albany
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • North Albany is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Albany
    • Lewisburg
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Lewisburg is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewisburg
    • Corvallis
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Wren
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Wren is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wren
    • Blodgett
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Summit
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Summit is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
    • Flynn
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Flynn is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flynn
    • Philomath
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
  • Clackamas County
    • Needy ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Needy is located in Clackamas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needy
  • Lincoln County
  • Linn County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gerlinger, with the one closest to Gerlinger listed first.
    • Millersburg
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Millersburg is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millersburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,757 people
    • Draperville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Draperville is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Draperville
    • Albany
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • West Scio
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • West Scio is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Scio
    • Scio
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Crabtree
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Tangent
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Irvinville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Irvinville is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irvinville
    • Oakville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Oakville is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakville
    • Jordan
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Jordan is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jordan
    • Lyons
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Lebanon
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Marion County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gerlinger, with the one closest to Gerlinger listed first.
    • Salem
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Salem is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 175,891 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Salem <1>
    • Keizer
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Badger Corner
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Badger Corner is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Badger Corner
    • Four Corners
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Four Corners is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Corners
    • Hayesville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Hayesville is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayesville
    • Chemawa
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Chemawa is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chemawa
    • Turner
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Labish Village
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Labish Village is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Labish Village
    • Macleay
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Macleay is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macleay
    • Brooks
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Santiam City ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Santiam City is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santiam City
    • Aumsville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
  • Tillamook County
    • Dolph ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Dolph is located in Tillamook County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dolph
  • Yamhill County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gerlinger, with the one closest to Gerlinger listed first.
    • Amity
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Amity is located in Yamhill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amity
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,722 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Amity <1>
    • Hopewell
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Bellevue
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Bellevue is located in Yamhill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellevue
    • Sheridan
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Eola Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Eola Village is located in Yamhill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eola Village
    • Whiteson
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Whiteson is located in Yamhill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiteson
    • Willamina
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • McMinnville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Dayton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Saint Joseph
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Saint Joseph is located in Yamhill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Joseph
    • Lafayette
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Carlton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)

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

Cemeteries Near Gerlinger ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Gerlinger.

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

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

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

  • Embree Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Etna Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Rest Lawn Memory Gardens
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Fast Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Halls Ferry Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Brown Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Dallas Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Schrag Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Butler Davidson Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Smith Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Fircrest Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Belcrest Memorial Park
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (194 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.<3>

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

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

  • Derry
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Derry is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derry
  • Rickreall
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Cochrane ‑ Historic
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Cochrane is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cochrane
  • Crowley
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Crowley is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crowley
  • Independence
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Eola
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Eola is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eola
  • Monmouth
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Smithfield
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Smithfield is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smithfield
  • Dallas
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Dencer ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Dencer is located in Marion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dencer
  • Zena
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Zena is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zena
  • Perrydale
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Perrydale is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perrydale
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • McCoy
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • McCoy is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCoy
    • Salem
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Salem is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 175,891 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Salem <1>
    • Lincoln
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Lincoln is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln

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

Newspapers Published in Gerlinger ...

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 51 newspapers that have been published in the area around Gerlinger.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Gerlinger, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Gerlinger.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 Gerlinger:

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>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 Gerlinger, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Gerlinger) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.