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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 Shaff (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 Shaff. 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 and hospitals 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.

Shaff is located in Marion 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 Marion County: Benton, Clackamas, Deschutes, Linn, Polk, Wasco & Yamhill.

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

  • Marion County     (The home county of Shaff)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shaff, with the one closest to Shaff listed first.
    • West Stayton
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Aumsville
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Stayton
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Sublimity
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Turner
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Marion
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Macleay
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Macleay is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macleay
    • Jefferson
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Santiam City ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Santiam City is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santiam City
    • Four Corners
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Four Corners is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Corners
    • Silver Falls City
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Silver Falls City is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Falls City
    • Badger Corner
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Badger Corner is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Badger Corner
  • Benton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shaff, with the one closest to Shaff listed first.
    • North Albany
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • North Albany is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Albany
    • Wellsdale
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Wellsdale is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellsdale
    • Adair Village
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Adair Village is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adair Village
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 872 people
    • Lewisburg
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Lewisburg is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewisburg
    • Corvallis
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Kings Valley
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Philomath
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Clackamas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shaff, with the one closest to Shaff listed first.
    • Wilhoit
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Wilhoit is located in Clackamas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilhoit
    • Molalla
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Needy ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Needy is located in Clackamas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needy
    • Glen Avon
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Glen Avon is located in Clackamas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Avon
    • Macksburg
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Macksburg is located in Clackamas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macksburg
    • Liberal
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Liberal is located in Clackamas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberal
  • Linn County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shaff, with the one closest to Shaff listed first.
    • West Scio
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • West Scio is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Scio
    • Scio
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Jordan
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Jordan is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jordan
    • Lyons
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Crabtree
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Millersburg
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Millersburg is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millersburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,757 people
    • Draperville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Draperville is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Draperville
    • Lacomb
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Lacomb is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacomb
    • Irvinville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Irvinville is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irvinville
    • Albany
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Mill City
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Lebanon
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
  • Polk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shaff, with the one closest to Shaff listed first.
    • Buena Vista
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Buena Vista is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
    • Eola
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Eola is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eola
    • Salemtowne
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Salemtowne is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salemtowne
    • Independence
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Lincoln
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Lincoln is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln
    • Zena
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Zena is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zena
    • Monmouth
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Rickreall
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Crowley
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Crowley is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crowley
    • Smithfield
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Smithfield is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smithfield
    • Airlie
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Airlie is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Airlie
    • Dallas
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
  • Yamhill County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shaff, with the one closest to Shaff listed first.
    • Hopewell
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Amity
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • 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>
    • Eola Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Eola Village is located in Yamhill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eola Village
    • Whiteson
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Whiteson is located in Yamhill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiteson
    • Dayton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • Bellevue
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Bellevue is located in Yamhill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellevue

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

Cemeteries Near Shaff ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Shaff.

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

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

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

  • Pleasant Grove Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Aumsville Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Lone Oak Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Mater Dolorosa Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • St. Boniface Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Glover Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Hunsaker Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Campbell - Grier Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Hobson - Whitney Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Anderson Lone Fir Pioneer Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Shaw Catholic Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Twin Oaks Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (183 more) ...
    • Marion Friends Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Miller Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Wisner Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)

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

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

  • West Stayton
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Ale ‑ Historic
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Ale is located in Marion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ale
  • Aumsville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Stayton
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Sublimity
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Kingston
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Kingston is located in Linn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingston
  • Shaw
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Shaw is located in Marion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaw
  • Marion
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Shelburn ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Shelburn is located in Linn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shelburn
  • Turner
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • West Scio
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • West Scio is located in Linn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Scio
  • Macleay
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Macleay is located in Marion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macleay
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Scio
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Clymer ‑ Historic
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Clymer is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clymer
    • Jefferson
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Shaff ...

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 54 newspapers that have been published in the area around Shaff.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Shaff, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Shaff.

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 Shaff:

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 Shaff, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Shaff) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.