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Home >> State of Oregon >> Multnomah County >> South Portland >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

So far, we found very little information about South Portland. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>

We've added South Portland to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with South Portland, please Contact Us.

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 South Portland (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 South Portland. 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 South Portland ...

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 South Portland: S. Portland

You might be interested in other communities that are also named South Portland. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for South Portland.

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 southeast 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 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 east 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.

Although our information shows that the community of South Portland is historic, it would have been located within present day Multnomah 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 Multnomah County: Clackamas, Columbia, Hood River, Washington, Clark (WA) & Skamania (WA).

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

  • Multnomah County     (The home county of South Portland)
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Portland, with the one closest to South Portland listed first.
    • Hillsdale
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Hillsdale is located in Multnomah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
    • Fulton ‑ Historic
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Fulton is located in Multnomah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulton
    • Portland
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Woodstock
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Woodstock is located in Multnomah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodstock
    • Albina
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Albina is located in Multnomah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albina
    • Laurelhurst
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Laurelhurst is located in Multnomah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurelhurst
    • Milwaukie
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Montavilla
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Montavilla is located in Multnomah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montavilla
    • Russellville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Russellville is located in Multnomah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russellville
    • Hazelwood
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Hazelwood is located in Multnomah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazelwood
    • Maywood Park
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Vanport City ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Vanport City is located in Multnomah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vanport City
    • Rockwood
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Rockwood is located in Multnomah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockwood
  • Clackamas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Portland, with the one closest to South Portland listed first.
    • Lake Oswego
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Oak Grove
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Christie ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Christie is located in Clackamas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christie
    • Marylhurst
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Oatfield
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Oatfield is located in Clackamas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oatfield
    • Rivergrove
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Rivergrove is located in Clackamas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rivergrove
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 318 people
    • Stafford
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Stafford is located in Clackamas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stafford
    • Clackamas
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Jennings Lodge
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Jennings Lodge is located in Clackamas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jennings Lodge
    • Johnson City
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Johnson City is located in Clackamas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnson City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 627 people
    • Happy Valley
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Gladstone
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Sunnyside
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Sunnyside is located in Clackamas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnyside
  • Columbia County
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Portland, with the one closest to South Portland listed first.
    • Scappoose
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Warren
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Saint Helens
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Columbia City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
  • Marion County
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Portland, with the one closest to South Portland listed first.
    • Butteville Station ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Butteville Station is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butteville Station
    • Butteville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Butteville is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butteville
    • Aurora
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Donald
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Champoeg ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Champoeg is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Champoeg
    • Hubbard
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Saint Paul
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Woodburn
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • McKee
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • McKee is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKee
    • Gervais
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Mount Angel
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Scotts Mills
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Washington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Portland, with the one closest to South Portland listed first.
    • Raleigh Hills
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Raleigh Hills is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raleigh Hills
    • Metzger
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Metzger is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Metzger
    • West Slope
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • West Slope is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Slope
    • Progress
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Progress is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Progress
    • Cedar Hills
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Tigard
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Tigard is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tigard
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 56,049 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tigard <2>
    • Beaverton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Cedar Mill
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Marlene Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Marlene Village is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlene Village
    • Durham
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Durham is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durham
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,908 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Durham <2>
    • Bethany
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Bethany is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethany
    • King City
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Aloha
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Yamhill County
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Portland, with the one closest to South Portland listed first.
    • Newberg
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Dundee
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Cove Orchard
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Cove Orchard is located in Yamhill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cove Orchard
    • Dayton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Lafayette
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Yamhill
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Carlton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Saint Joseph
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Saint Joseph is located in Yamhill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Joseph
  • Clark County (WA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Portland, with the one closest to South Portland listed first.
    • Vancouver
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Cascade Park West
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Cascade Park West is located in Clark County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cascade Park West
    • Minnehaha
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Minnehaha is located in Clark County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minnehaha
    • Cascade Park East
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Fisher
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Fisher is located in Clark County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fisher
    • Hazel Dell
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Walnut Grove
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Walnut Grove is located in Clark County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Grove
    • Barberton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Barberton is located in Clark County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barberton
    • Five Corners
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Five Corners is located in Clark County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Corners
    • Lake Shore
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Lake Shore is located in Clark County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Shore
    • Mill Plain
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Mill Plain is located in Clark County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Plain
    • Felida
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Felida is located in Clark County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Felida
    • Camas
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Camas is located in Clark County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camas
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 25,981 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Camas <2>
  • Skamania County (WA)
    • Cruzatt
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Cruzatt is located in Skamania County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cruzatt

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

Cemeteries Near South Portland ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of South Portland.

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 South Portland - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

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.

South Portland itself is historic and was described in the Rand McNally Atlas as having railroad service and no post office.

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

  • Hillsdale
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Hillsdale is located in Multnomah County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
  • Bertha ‑ Historic
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Bertha is located in Multnomah County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bertha
  • Fulton ‑ Historic
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Fulton is located in Multnomah County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulton
  • Sellwood
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Sellwood is located in Multnomah County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sellwood
  • East Portland
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • East Portland is located in Multnomah County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Portland
  • Portland
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Sylvan
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Sylvan is located in Multnomah County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvan
  • Garden Home
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Garden Home is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Home
  • West Portland
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • West Portland is located in Multnomah County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Portland
  • Milwaukie
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Woodstock
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Woodstock is located in Multnomah County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodstock
  • Albina
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Albina is located in Multnomah County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albina
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Progress
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Progress is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Progress
    • Lents
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Lents is located in Multnomah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lents
    • Montavilla
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Montavilla is located in Multnomah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montavilla

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

Newspapers Published in South Portland ...

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 236 newspapers that have been published in the area around South Portland.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of South Portland, there are papers which were published within 8 miles [12.9 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for South Portland.

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 South Portland:

Footnotes ...

<1>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 South Portland, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 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.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- South Portland) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.