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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 Selma (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 Selma. 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 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.

Selma is located in Josephine 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 Josephine County: Del Norte (CA), Siskiyou (CA), Curry, Douglas & Jackson.

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

  • Josephine County     (The home county of Selma)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Selma, with the one closest to Selma listed first.
    • Kerby
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Cave Junction
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cave Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cave Junction
      • Cave Junction is located in Josephine County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,986 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cave Junction <1>
    • Wilderville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • New Hope
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hope
      • New Hope is located in Josephine County
    • Murphy
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Redwood
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Redwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redwood
      • Redwood is located in Josephine County
    • O'Brien
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Waldo ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Waldo. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldo
      • Waldo is located in Josephine County
    • Williams
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Fruitdale
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fruitdale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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 northeast)
    • Brown City ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brown City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brown City
      • Brown City is located in Josephine County
    • Merlin
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
  • Curry County
  • Jackson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Selma, with the one closest to Selma listed first.
    • Provolt
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Provolt
      • Provolt is located in Jackson County
    • Applegate
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Rogue River
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rogue River have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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 <1>
    • Ruch
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Wimer
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wimer
      • Wimer is located in Jackson County
    • Copper ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Copper have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Copper
      • Copper is located in Jackson County
    • Gold Hill
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)

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

Newspapers Published in Selma ...

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 31 newspapers that have been published in the area around Selma.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Selma, 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 Selma.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 Selma:

Cemeteries Near Selma ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Selma.

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

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

  • Selma Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Selma Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Selma Cemetery
  • Deer Creek Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Deer Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Deer Creek Cemetery
  • Laurel Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Laurel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Laurel Cemetery
  • Wilderville Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wilderville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wilderville Cemetery
  • Sloan Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sloan Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sloan Cemetery
  • Ferrydale Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ferrydale Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ferrydale Cemetery
  • Hartley Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hartley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hartley Cemetery
  • Gotcher Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gotcher Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gotcher Cemetery
  • Sparlin Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sparlin Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sparlin Cemetery
  • Granite Hill Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Granite Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Granite Hill Cemetery
  • Hawthorne Memorial Gardens Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hawthorne Memorial Gardens Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hawthorne Memorial Gardens Cemetery
  • Tokay Heights Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Tokay Heights Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Tokay Heights Cemetery
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Hillcrest Memorial Park
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hillcrest Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hillcrest Memorial Park
    • Missouri Flat Cemetery
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Missouri Flat Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Missouri Flat Cemetery
    • Pleasant Valley Cemetery
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Valley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Valley 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>

While we didn't find Selma in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Selma.

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

  • Kerby
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Althouse ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Althouse have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Althouse
    • Althouse is located in Josephine County
  • Wilderville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Browntown ‑ Historic
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Browntown have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browntown
    • Browntown is located in Josephine County
  • Waldo ‑ Historic
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Waldo. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldo
    • Waldo is located in Josephine County
  • Murphy
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
  • Williams
    (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
  • Grants Pass
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
  • Merlin
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Applegate
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Steamboat
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Steamboat have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steamboat
      • Steamboat is located in Jackson County
    • Draper ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Draper have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Draper
      • Draper is located in Jackson County
    • Leland
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leland
      • Leland is located in Josephine County
    • Rock Point ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rock Point have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Point
      • Rock Point is located in Jackson County
    • Wimer
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wimer
      • Wimer 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 Selma. See our List of 1890's Communities around Selma.

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

The official website for Josephine County: www.co.josephine.or.us/

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

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 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.
<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>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- Selma) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Selma. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.2793, Longitude: -123.6161    
<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 Selma, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024