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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 Peoria (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 Peoria. 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 doctors and hospitals 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.

Peoria is located in Linn 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 Linn County: Benton, Deschutes, Jefferson, Lane, Marion & Polk.

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

  • Linn County     (The home county of Peoria)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Peoria, with the one closest to Peoria listed first.
    • Shedd
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Oakville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Oakville is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakville
    • Boston ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Boston is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boston
      • Boston has also been known as:
      • Boston Mills
    • Halsey
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Tangent
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Brownsville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Harrisburg
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Albany
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Irvinville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Irvinville is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irvinville
    • Lebanon
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • South Lebanon
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • South Lebanon is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Lebanon
    • Sodaville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Sodaville is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sodaville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 346 people
    • Draperville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Draperville is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Draperville
  • Benton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Peoria, with the one closest to Peoria listed first.
    • Jennyopolis ‑ Historic
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Jennyopolis is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jennyopolis
    • Bellfountain Junction
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Corvallis
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Philomath
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Flynn
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Flynn is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flynn
    • Monroe
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Lewisburg
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Lewisburg is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewisburg
    • Wren
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Wren is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wren
    • Adair Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Adair Village is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adair Village
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 872 people
    • North Albany
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • North Albany is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Albany
    • Wellsdale
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Wellsdale is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellsdale
    • Blodgett
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Alsea
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
  • Lane County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Peoria, with the one closest to Peoria listed first.
    • Junction City
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Cheshire
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Franklin
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Franklin is located in Lane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
    • Alvadore
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Coburg
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Blachly
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Santa Clara
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Santa Clara is located in Lane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santa Clara
    • Mabel
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Mabel is located in Lane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mabel
    • Fern Ridge Shores
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Fern Ridge Shores is located in Lane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fern Ridge Shores
    • River Road
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • River Road is located in Lane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Road
    • Marcola
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Elmira
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Eugene
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
  • Lincoln County
  • Marion County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Peoria, with the one closest to Peoria listed first.
    • Jefferson
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Santiam City ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Santiam City is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santiam City
    • Marion
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • West Stayton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Turner
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Polk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Peoria, with the one closest to Peoria listed first.
    • Airlie
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Airlie is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Airlie
    • Buena Vista
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Buena Vista is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
    • Lewisville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Lewisville is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewisville
    • Independence
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Monmouth
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Bridgeport
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Bridgeport is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeport
    • Falls City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)

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

Cemeteries Near Peoria ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Peoria.

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

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

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

  • Miller - Coon Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Brattain Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Winkle Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Irwin Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Butte Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • McBee Family Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Pine Grove Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Pugh Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Oscar Dow Burial Site
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Oakville Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Halsey Pioneer Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Bunker Hill Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (153 more) ...
    • Oakridge Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Reeves Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Crystal Lake Masonic Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Peoria had a population of 64 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Shedd
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Oakville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Oakville is located in Linn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakville
  • Halsey
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Tangent
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Corvallis
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Plainview
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Plainview is located in Linn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainview
  • Philomath
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Monroe
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Brownsville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Harrisburg
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Rowland
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Rowland is located in Linn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowland
  • Fry
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Fry is located in Linn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fry
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Lewisburg
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Lewisburg is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewisburg
    • Albany
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Irvinville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Irvinville is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irvinville

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

Newspapers Published in Peoria ...

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 63 newspapers that have been published in the area around Peoria.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Peoria, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Peoria.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Peoria:

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