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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 McDonald (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 McDonald. 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 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.

McDonald 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 McDonald. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to McDonald:

  • Sherman County     (The home county of McDonald)
    • The following are listed by their distance from McDonald, with the one closest to McDonald listed first.
    • Emigrant Springs ‑ Historic
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Emigrant Springs is located in Sherman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emigrant Springs
    • Klondike
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Klondike is located in Sherman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Klondike
    • Sinks ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Sinks is located in Sherman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sinks
    • Monkland
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Monkland is located in Sherman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monkland
    • Wasco
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • De Moss Springs
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • De Moss Springs is located in Sherman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Moss Springs
    • Gordon ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Gordon is located in Sherman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordon
    • Rufus
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Moro
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Moro is located in Sherman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moro
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 332 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moro <1>
    • Biggs Junction
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Grass Valley
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Rosebush ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Rosebush is located in Sherman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosebush
  • Gilliam County
    • The following are listed by their distance from McDonald, with the one closest to McDonald listed first.
    • Arlington
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Olex
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Olex is located in Gilliam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olex
    • Ajax ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Ajax is located in Gilliam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ajax
    • Clem
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Clem is located in Gilliam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clem
    • Condon
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Morrow County
    • Ione
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
  • Wasco County
    • The following are listed by their distance from McDonald, with the one closest to McDonald listed first.
    • Celilo Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Celilo Village is located in Wasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Celilo Village
    • Fairbanks
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Fairbanks is located in Wasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairbanks
  • Klickitat County (WA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from McDonald, with the one closest to McDonald listed first.
    • Roosevelt
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Dot
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Dot is located in Klickitat County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dot
    • Maryhill
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Goldendale
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Cleveland
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Cleveland is located in Klickitat County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleveland
    • Centerville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Wishram
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Bickleton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Blockhouse
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Blockhouse is located in Klickitat County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blockhouse

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

Cemeteries Near McDonald ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of McDonald.

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

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

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

  • Cyrus Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Emigrant Springs Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Potters Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • De Moss Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • 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]<2> to the northeast of Moro.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #38702 <3>
  • Clem Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Olex Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Arlington Masonic Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Rose Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Rose Cemetery is located 4 miles [6.4 km]<2> to the southeast of Moro.
    • The Rose Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Rose Hill Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #39358 <3>
  • Eightmile Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
  • Sun Rise Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • 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<2> to the northwest of Wasco.
    • The Sun Rise Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Sunrise Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #39471 <3>
  • Wasco Methodist Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
  • Moro Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • 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 <3>
  • Continue List   (20 more) ...
    • Rufus Cemetery
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • 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 <3>
    • Tommy Dean Cemetery
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tommy Dean Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Tommy Dean Cemetery is located 14 miles [22.5 km]<2> to the southeast of Arlington.
    • Igo Cemetery
      (20 miles [32.2 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.<4>

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

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

  • Emigrant Springs ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Emigrant Springs is located in Sherman County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emigrant Springs
  • Monkland
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Monkland is located in Sherman County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monkland
  • Olex
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Olex is located in Gilliam County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olex
  • Arlington
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Wasco
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • De Moss Springs
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • De Moss Springs is located in Sherman County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Moss Springs
  • Ajax ‑ Historic
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Ajax is located in Gilliam County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ajax
  • Clem
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Clem is located in Gilliam County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clem
  • Moro
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Moro is located in Sherman County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moro
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 332 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moro <1>
  • Rufus
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Dot
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Dot is located in Klickitat County (WA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dot
  • Rutledge
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Rutledge is located in Sherman County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutledge
  • Continue List   (11 more) ...
    • Cecil
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Cecil is located in Morrow County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cecil
    • Biggs
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Biggs is located in Sherman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Biggs
    • Willows
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Willows is located in Gilliam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willows

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

Newspapers Published in McDonald ...

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 35 newspapers that have been published in the area around McDonald.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of McDonald, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for McDonald.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with 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 McDonald:

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- McDonald) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<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 McDonald, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.