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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 Mitchell (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 Mitchell. 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 doctors 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.

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

  • Polk County     (The home county of Mitchell)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mitchell, with the one closest to Mitchell listed first.
    • Lewisville
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Lewisville is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewisville
    • Airlie
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Airlie is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Airlie
    • Monmouth
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Buena Vista
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Buena Vista is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
    • Independence
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Bridgeport
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Bridgeport is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeport
    • Dallas
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Falls City
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Ellendale
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Ellendale is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellendale
    • Rickreall
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Dolph Corner
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Dolph Corner is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dolph Corner
    • Eola
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Eola is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eola
  • Benton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mitchell, with the one closest to Mitchell listed first.
    • Wellsdale
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Wellsdale is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellsdale
    • Adair Village
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Adair Village is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adair Village
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 872 people
    • Kings Valley
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Lewisburg
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Lewisburg is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewisburg
    • North Albany
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • North Albany is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Albany
    • Corvallis
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Wren
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Wren is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wren
    • Flynn
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Flynn is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flynn
    • Philomath
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Blodgett
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Summit
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Summit is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
    • Jennyopolis ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Jennyopolis is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jennyopolis
  • Lincoln County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mitchell, with the one closest to Mitchell listed first.
    • Logsden
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Eddyville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Pioneer City ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Pioneer City is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pioneer City
  • Linn County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mitchell, with the one closest to Mitchell listed first.
    • Millersburg
      (12 miles [19.3 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
    • Albany
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Draperville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Draperville is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Draperville
    • Tangent
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Oakville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Oakville is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakville
    • West Scio
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • West Scio is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Scio
    • Crabtree
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Scio
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Irvinville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Irvinville is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irvinville
    • Shedd
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Boston ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Boston is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boston
      • Boston has also been known as:
      • Boston Mills
    • Lebanon
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Marion County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mitchell, with the one closest to Mitchell listed first.
    • Santiam City ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Santiam City is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santiam City
    • Jefferson
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Salem
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • 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>
    • Marion
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Turner
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Four Corners
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Four Corners is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Corners
    • Badger Corner
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Badger Corner is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Badger Corner
    • Keizer
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Aumsville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • West Stayton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Chemawa
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Chemawa is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chemawa
    • Hayesville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Hayesville is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayesville
  • Yamhill County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mitchell, with the one closest to Mitchell listed first.
    • Sheridan
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Willamina
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Amity
      (23 miles [37 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>
    • Bellevue
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Bellevue is located in Yamhill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellevue
    • Hopewell
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Eola Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Eola Village is located in Yamhill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eola Village
    • Whiteson
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Whiteson is located in Yamhill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiteson
    • McMinnville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)

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

Cemeteries Near Mitchell ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Mitchell.

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

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

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

  • Williams Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Fircrest Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Smith Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Butler Davidson Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Montgomery Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Cemetery Hill Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Hart Riggs Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Ridders Pioneer Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Buena Vista Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Taylor Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Gingles Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Pedee Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (179 more) ...
    • Edwards Pioneer Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Womer Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Schrag Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)

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

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

  • Simpson
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Simpson is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simpson
  • Lewisville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Lewisville is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewisville
  • Airlie
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Airlie is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Airlie
  • Suver
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Suver is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suver
  • Monmouth
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Buena Vista
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Buena Vista is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
  • Independence
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Wellsdale
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Wellsdale is located in Benton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellsdale
  • Cochrane ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Cochrane is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cochrane
  • Kings Valley
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Falls City
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Dallas
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Lewisburg
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Lewisburg is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewisburg
    • Derry
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Derry is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derry
    • Rickreall
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)

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

Newspapers Published in Mitchell ...

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 99 newspapers that have been published in the area around Mitchell.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Mitchell, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Mitchell.

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 Mitchell:

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 Mitchell, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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- Mitchell) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.