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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 Merrill (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 Merrill. 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 northeast 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 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 east 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.

Merrill is located in Klamath 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 Klamath County: Modoc (CA), Siskiyou (CA), Deschutes, Douglas, Jackson, Lake & Lane.

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

  • Klamath County     (The home county of Merrill)
  • Modoc County (CA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Merrill, with the one closest to Merrill listed first.
    • Stronghold
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Tionesta
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Tionesta. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tionesta
      • Tionesta is located in Modoc County (CA)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Tionesta
      • From Merrill to Tionesta
  • Siskiyou County (CA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Merrill, with the one closest to Merrill listed first.
    • Tulelake
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Dorris
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Somerset
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Somerset. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somerset
      • Somerset is located in Siskiyou County (CA)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Somerset
      • From Merrill to Somerset
    • Macdoel
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Mount Hebron
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Hebron have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hebron
      • Mount Hebron is located in Siskiyou County (CA)

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

Cemeteries Near Merrill ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Merrill.

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

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

  • Merrill Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Merrill IOOF Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • IOOF Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the IOOF Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the IOOF Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. Laki Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Malin Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Malin Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Malin Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bedfield Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bedfield Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bedfield Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. Calvary Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Calvary Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Calvary Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Eternal Hills Memorial Gardens
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Worden Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Worden Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Worden Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Gillems Graveyard
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gillems Graveyard
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gillems Graveyard have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bonanza Memorial Park
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bonanza Memorial Park
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bonanza Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Klamath Memorial Park
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Klamath Memorial Park
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Klamath Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (12 more) ...
    • Hibbert Cemetery
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hibbert Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hibbert Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Linkville Cemetery
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Keno Cemetery
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Keno Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Keno Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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

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

  • Olene
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Olene have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olene
    • Olene is located in Klamath County
  • Dairy
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Bonanza
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bonanza have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonanza
    • Bonanza is located in Klamath County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 432 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bonanza <2>
  • Plevna ‑ Historic
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plevna have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plevna
    • Plevna is located in Klamath County
  • Keno
    (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
  • Langell Valley
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Langell Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langell Valley
    • Langell Valley is located in Klamath County
  • Hildebrand
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hildebrand have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hildebrand
    • Hildebrand is located in Klamath County
  • Haynesville
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Cornell
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cornell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornell
    • Cornell is located in Modoc County (CA)
  • Mount Hebron
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Hebron have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hebron
    • Mount Hebron is located in Siskiyou County (CA)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Merrill ...

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 36 newspapers that have been published in the area around Merrill.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Merrill. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Merrill and those printed in the larger area surrounding Merrill.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<6> of Merrill.

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 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 Merrill:

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

The official website for Klamath County: www.co.klamath.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>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 Merrill, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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- Merrill) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Merrill. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.0258, Longitude: -121.5990    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025