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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 Paterson Junction (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 Paterson Junction. 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 Paterson Junction ...

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 occur.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Paterson Junction: Paterson Jct. (or less commonly used: Paterson Jctn.)

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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most 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.

Paterson Junction is located in Morrow 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 Morrow County: Gilliam, Grant, Umatilla, Wheeler, Benton (WA) & Klickitat (WA).

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

  • Morrow County     (The home county of Paterson Junction)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Paterson Junction, with the one closest to Paterson Junction listed first.
    • Irrigon
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Boardman
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Alpine
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Alpine is located in Morrow County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpine
    • Pine City
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Pine City is located in Morrow County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine City
    • Ione
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Umatilla County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Paterson Junction, with the one closest to Paterson Junction listed first.
    • Ordnance ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Ordnance is located in Umatilla County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ordnance
    • Umatilla
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Power City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Power City is located in Umatilla County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Power City
    • Hermiston
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Hinkle
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Hinkle is located in Umatilla County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hinkle
    • Stanfield
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Cold Springs
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Cold Springs is located in Umatilla County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cold Springs
    • Echo
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Echo is located in Umatilla County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 705 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Echo <1>
  • Benton County (WA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Paterson Junction, with the one closest to Paterson Junction listed first.
    • Paterson
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Plymouth
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Plymouth is located in Benton County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plymouth
    • Prosser
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Prosser is located in Benton County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prosser
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,398 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Prosser <1>
    • Benton City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Highland
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Highland is located in Benton County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland
    • West Richland
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Kennewick
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Richland
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Richland is located in Benton County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 59,439 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Richland <1>
    • Finley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Finley is located in Benton County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Finley
  • Franklin County (WA)
    • West Pasco
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • West Pasco is located in Franklin County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Pasco
  • Yakima County (WA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Paterson Junction, with the one closest to Paterson Junction listed first.
    • Byron
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Byron is located in Yakima County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byron
    • Grandview
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Mabton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Mabton is located in Yakima County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mabton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,267 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mabton <1>

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

Cemeteries Near Paterson Junction ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Paterson Junction.

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 Paterson Junction - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Irrigon Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Desert Lawn Memorial Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Riverview Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Sunset Hills Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Pioneer Memorial Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Umatilla Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Hermiston Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Baumgardner Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
  • Foster Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
  • Pleasant View Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
  • Wells Spring Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
  • Koontz Gravesite
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Koontz Gravesite
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Koontz Gravesite is located outside and to the southeast of Echo.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2439415 <2>
  • Continue List   (19 more) ...
    • Echo Memorial Cemetery
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Siphon Cemetery
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Sixprong Cemetery
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)

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

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

  • Umatilla
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Cold Springs
    (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Cold Springs is located in Umatilla County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cold Springs
  • Alpine
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Alpine is located in Morrow County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpine
  • Echo
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Echo is located in Umatilla County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 705 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Echo <1>
  • Ella
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Ella is located in Morrow County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ella
  • Galloway ‑ Historic
    (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Galloway is located in Morrow County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galloway
  • Willows
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Willows is located in Gilliam County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willows
  • Byron
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Byron is located in Yakima County (WA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byron
  • Nolin
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Nolin is located in Umatilla County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nolin
  • Cecil
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Cecil is located in Morrow County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cecil
  • Juniper
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Juniper is located in Umatilla County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Juniper
  • Yoakum
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Yoakum is located in Umatilla County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yoakum

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

Newspapers Published in Paterson Junction ...

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 58 newspapers that have been published in the area around Paterson Junction.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Paterson Junction, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Paterson Junction.

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 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 Paterson Junction:

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 Paterson Junction, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Paterson Junction) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.