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 Thatcher (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 Thatcher. 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 southeast 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 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.
Thatcher is located in Washington 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 Washington County: Clackamas, Clatsop, Columbia, Multnomah, Tillamook & Yamhill.
Below are the counties that are near Thatcher. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Thatcher:
- Washington County (The home county of Thatcher)
- The following are listed by their distance from Thatcher, with the one closest to Thatcher listed first.
- Kansas City
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Kansas City is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kansas City
- Watts
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Watts is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watts
- Centerville ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Centerville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
- Banks
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Gales Creek
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Forest Grove
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Christie ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Christie is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christie
- Christie has also been known as:
- Carstens
- Dilley
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Dilley is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dilley
- Cornelius
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Manning
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Mountaindale
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Mountaindale is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountaindale
- Blooming
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Blooming is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blooming
- North Plains
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Clackamas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Thatcher, with the one closest to Thatcher listed first.
- Tualatin
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Lake Oswego
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Rivergrove
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Rivergrove is located in Clackamas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rivergrove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 318 people
- Stafford
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Stafford is located in Clackamas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stafford
- Wilsonville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Oak Grove
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Christie ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Christie is located in Clackamas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christie
- Marylhurst
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Oatfield
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Oatfield is located in Clackamas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oatfield
- West Linn
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Willamette
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Willamette is located in Clackamas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willamette
- Jennings Lodge
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Jennings Lodge is located in Clackamas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jennings Lodge
- Barlow
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Barlow is located in Clackamas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barlow
- Population from the 2020 Census: 147 people
- Clatsop County
- The following are listed by their distance from Thatcher, with the one closest to Thatcher listed first.
- Vinemaple
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Vinemaple is located in Clatsop County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vinemaple
- Jewell
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Jewell is located in Clatsop County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jewell
- Columbia County
- The following are listed by their distance from Thatcher, with the one closest to Thatcher listed first.
- Scappoose
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Vernonia
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Warren
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Keasey
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Keasey is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keasey
- Pittsburg
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Pittsburg is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittsburg
- Saint Helens
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Columbia City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Deer Island
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Marion County
- The following are listed by their distance from Thatcher, with the one closest to Thatcher listed first.
- Champoeg ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Champoeg is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Champoeg
- Saint Paul
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Butteville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Butteville is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butteville
- Butteville Station ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Butteville Station is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butteville Station
- Donald
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Aurora
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Hubbard
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Multnomah County
- The following are listed by their distance from Thatcher, with the one closest to Thatcher listed first.
- Burlington
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Burlington is located in Multnomah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlington
- Vanport City ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Vanport City is located in Multnomah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vanport City
- Albina
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Albina is located in Multnomah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albina
- Hillsdale
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Hillsdale is located in Multnomah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
- Portland
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Fulton ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Fulton is located in Multnomah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulton
- Laurelhurst
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Laurelhurst is located in Multnomah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurelhurst
- Milwaukie
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Woodstock
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Woodstock is located in Multnomah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodstock
- Montavilla
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Montavilla is located in Multnomah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montavilla
- Maywood Park
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Russellville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Russellville is located in Multnomah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russellville
- Hazelwood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Hazelwood is located in Multnomah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazelwood
- Tillamook County
- The following are listed by their distance from Thatcher, with the one closest to Thatcher listed first.
- Ryan's Camp ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Ryan's Camp is located in Tillamook County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ryan's Camp
- Ryan's Camp has also been known as:
- Idiotville
- Jordan Creek
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Jordan Creek is located in Tillamook County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jordan Creek
- Yamhill County
- The following are listed by their distance from Thatcher, with the one closest to Thatcher listed first.
- Cove Orchard
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Cove Orchard is located in Yamhill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cove Orchard
- Yamhill
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Carlton
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Newberg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Dundee
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Lafayette
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Saint Joseph
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Saint Joseph is located in Yamhill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Joseph
- Dayton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- McMinnville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Eola Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Eola Village is located in Yamhill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eola Village
- Whiteson
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Whiteson is located in Yamhill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiteson
- Clark County (WA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Thatcher, with the one closest to Thatcher listed first.
- Lake Shore
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Lake Shore is located in Clark County (WA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Shore
- Vancouver
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Felida
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Felida is located in Clark County (WA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Felida
- Hazel Dell
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Minnehaha
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Minnehaha is located in Clark County (WA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minnehaha
- Sara
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Sara is located in Clark County (WA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sara
- Ridgefield
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Salmon Creek
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Salmon Creek is located in Clark County (WA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salmon Creek
- Barberton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Barberton is located in Clark County (WA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barberton
- Walnut Grove
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Walnut Grove is located in Clark County (WA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Grove
- Mount Vista
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Vista is located in Clark County (WA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Vista
- Five Corners
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Five Corners is located in Clark County (WA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Corners
- Homan
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Homan is located in Clark County (WA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homan
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Thatcher, see our County-by-County Page for Thatcher.
Cemeteries Near Thatcher ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Thatcher.
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 Thatcher - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Thatcher covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Thatcher, with the one closest to Thatcher listed first.
- Purdin Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Mountain View Memorial Gardens
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Visitation Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Forest View Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Hillside Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Gales Creek Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Cornelius Methodist Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- St. Francis Catholic Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Union Point Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Emanuel Lutheran Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Harrison Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Mt. Olive Lutheran Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Continue List (152 more) ...
- Fern Hill Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Raffety Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hayward Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
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 Thatcher in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Thatcher.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Thatcher, with the one closest to Thatcher listed first.
- Greenville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Greenville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenville
- Forest Grove
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Centerville ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Centerville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
- Gales Creek
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Cornelius
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Mountaindale
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Mountaindale is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountaindale
- Manning
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Glencoe
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Glencoe is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glencoe
- Buxton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Gaston
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Glenwood
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Glenwood is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood
- Newton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Newton is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newton
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Hillsboro
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Reedville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Reedville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reedville
- West Union
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- West Union is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Union
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Thatcher. See our List of 1890's Communities around Thatcher.
Newspapers Published in Thatcher ...
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 73 newspapers that have been published in the area around Thatcher.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Thatcher, 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 Thatcher.
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 Thatcher:
- Websites specific to Oregon
- Pages specific to Washington County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Clackamas County
- Clatsop County
- Columbia County
- Marion County
- Multnomah County
- Tillamook County
- Yamhill County
- Clark County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Oregon
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 Thatcher, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Thatcher) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |