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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 Sams Valley (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 Sams Valley. 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 Sams Valley ...

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 have occurred.

  • A typical abbreviation for Sams Valley: Sams Vly. (or less commonly used: Sams Vally. or Sams Vlly.)
  • While the name of this community is Sams Valley, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Sams Valley may originally have been Sam's Valley.

    Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Sams Valley might be written as Sam Valley.

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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Sams Valley is located in Jackson 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 Jackson County: Siskiyou (CA), Douglas, Josephine & Klamath.

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

  • Jackson County     (The home county of Sams Valley)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sams Valley, with the one closest to Sams Valley listed first.
    • Gold Hill
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • White City
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for White City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
      • White City is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for White City <2>
    • Eagle Point
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Central Point
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Central Point have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central Point
      • Central Point is located in Jackson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 19,117 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Central Point <2>
    • Wimer
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wimer
      • Wimer is located in Jackson County
    • Rogue River
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rogue River have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogue River
      • Rogue River is located in Jackson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,340 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rogue River <2>
    • Shady Cove
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shady Cove have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Cove
      • Shady Cove is located in Jackson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,119 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Shady Cove <2>
    • Jacksonville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Medford
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Brownsboro
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brownsboro have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsboro
      • Brownsboro is located in Jackson County
    • Trail
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Phoenix
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Phoenix have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phoenix
      • Phoenix is located in Jackson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,678 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Phoenix <2>
  • Douglas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sams Valley, with the one closest to Sams Valley listed first.
    • Azalea
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Glendale
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Tiller
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Josephine County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sams Valley, with the one closest to Sams Valley listed first.
    • Fruitdale
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fruitdale have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruitdale
      • Fruitdale is located in Josephine County
    • Grants Pass
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Placer
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Placer
      • Placer is located in Josephine County
    • Greenback ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenback
      • Greenback is located in Josephine County
    • Murphy
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • New Hope
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hope
      • New Hope is located in Josephine County
    • Redwood
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Redwood have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redwood
      • Redwood is located in Josephine County
    • Golden ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golden
      • Golden is located in Josephine County
    • Sunny Valley
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Hugo
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hugo
      • Hugo is located in Josephine County
    • Merlin
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Three Pines
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Three Pines
      • Three Pines is located in Josephine County

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

Newspapers Published in Sams Valley ...

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 70 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sams Valley.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sams Valley, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sams Valley.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Sams Valley:

Cemeteries Near Sams Valley ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sams Valley.

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

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

  • Pankey Park Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Antioch Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Antioch Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Antioch Cemetery
  • Gold Hill IOOF Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gold Hill IOOF Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gold Hill IOOF Cemetery
  • Rock Point Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rock Point Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rock Point Cemetery
  • Hays Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hays Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hays Cemetery
  • Hays - Gall Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hays - Gall Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hays - Gall Cemetery
  • Central Point IOOF Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Central Point IOOF Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • The Central Point IOOF Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Central Point IOOF Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Central Point IOOF Cemetery
  • John Mathews Pioneer Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Meadow Graves
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Meadow Graves have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Meadow Graves
  • Nichols Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Nichols Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Nichols Cemetery
  • Eagle Point National Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Eagle Point National Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Eagle Point National Cemetery
  • Veterans Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Veterans Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Veterans Cemetery
  • Continue List   (50 more) ...
    • Reese Creek Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Reese Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Reese Creek Cemetery
    • Woodville Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Woodville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Woodville Cemetery
    • Foots Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Foots Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Foots Cemetery

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Sams Valley had a population of 116 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Beagle
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beagle have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beagle
    • Beagle is located in Jackson County
  • Tolo
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tolo have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tolo
    • Tolo is located in Jackson County
  • Table Rock
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Table Rock have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Table Rock
    • Table Rock is located in Jackson County
  • Gold Hill
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Rock Point ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rock Point have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Point
    • Rock Point is located in Jackson County
  • Central Point
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Central Point have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central Point
    • Central Point is located in Jackson County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 19,117 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Central Point <2>
  • Eagle Point
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Spikenard ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spikenard have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spikenard
    • Spikenard is located in Jackson County
  • Wimer
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wimer
    • Wimer is located in Jackson County
  • Etna ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Etna have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etna
    • Etna is located in Jackson County
  • Draper ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Draper have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Draper
    • Draper is located in Jackson County
  • Wellen ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wellen have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellen
    • Wellen is located in Jackson County
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Jacksonville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Medford
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Brownsboro
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brownsboro have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsboro
      • Brownsboro is located in Jackson County

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

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

The official website for Jackson County: www.co.jackson.or.us/

The official website for State of Oregon: https://www.oregon.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties).
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Sams Valley) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Sams Valley. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.4910, Longitude: -122.9744       In this case, the coordinates for Sams Valley have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Sams Valley, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024