RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Oregon >> Umatilla County >> Vansycle >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Vansycle (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 Vansycle. 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.

Vansycle is located in Umatilla 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 Umatilla County: Grant, Morrow, Union, Wallowa, Benton (WA), Columbia (WA) & Walla Walla (WA).

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

  • Umatilla County     (The home county of Vansycle)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vansycle, with the one closest to Vansycle listed first.
    • Helix
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Umapine
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Umapine is located in Umatilla County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Umapine
    • Calhounville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Calhounville is located in Umatilla County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calhounville
    • Adams
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Athena
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Milton - Freewater
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Havana
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Havana is located in Umatilla County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Havana
    • Blue Mountain
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Blue Mountain is located in Umatilla County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Mountain
    • Weston
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Spofford
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Spofford is located in Umatilla County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spofford
    • Kirkpatrick
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Kirkpatrick is located in Umatilla County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirkpatrick
    • Riverside
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Riverside is located in Umatilla County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
    • Mission
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Mission is located in Umatilla County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mission
  • Benton County (WA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vansycle, with the one closest to Vansycle listed first.
    • Finley
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Finley is located in Benton County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Finley
    • Highland
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Highland is located in Benton County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland
    • Kennewick
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Plymouth
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Plymouth is located in Benton County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plymouth
  • Franklin County (WA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vansycle, with the one closest to Vansycle listed first.
    • Ainsworth Junction
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Ainsworth Junction is located in Franklin County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ainsworth Junction
    • Pasco
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Pasco is located in Franklin County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pasco
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 77,095 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pasco <1>
    • West Pasco
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • West Pasco is located in Franklin County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Pasco
  • Walla Walla County (WA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vansycle, with the one closest to Vansycle listed first.
    • Touchet
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Lowden
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Wallula Junction
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Wallula Junction is located in Walla Walla County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallula Junction
    • Wallula
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Wallula is located in Walla Walla County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallula
    • Calhounville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Calhounville is located in Walla Walla County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calhounville
    • Mojonnier
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Mojonnier is located in Walla Walla County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mojonnier
    • Garrett
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Garrett is located in Walla Walla County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garrett
    • College Place
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Rulo
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Rulo is located in Walla Walla County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rulo
    • Walla Walla
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Burbank
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Berryman
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Berryman is located in Walla Walla County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berryman
    • Paddock
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Paddock is located in Walla Walla County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paddock

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

Cemeteries Near Vansycle ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Vansycle.

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

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

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

  • Helix Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • German Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Holdman Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Finland Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Greasewood Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greasewood Cemetery
    • The Greasewood Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Gallaher Cemetery
  • Athena Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Valley Chapel Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Despain Gulch Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Old City Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
  • Ford Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ford Cemetery
    • The Ford Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Ballou Cemetery
    • Valley Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #38788 <2>
  • Key Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Mt. Hope Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (31 more) ...

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Vansycle had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Stanton
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Stanton is located in Umatilla County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanton
  • Touchet
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Helix
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Wallula Junction
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Wallula Junction is located in Walla Walla County (WA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallula Junction
  • Wallula
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Wallula is located in Walla Walla County (WA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallula
  • Juniper
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Juniper is located in Umatilla County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Juniper
  • Adams
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Athena
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Fulton
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Fulton is located in Umatilla County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulton
  • Havana
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Havana is located in Umatilla County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Havana
  • Weston
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Downing
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Downing is located in Umatilla County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downing
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Blue Mountain
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Blue Mountain is located in Umatilla County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Mountain
    • Spofford
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Spofford is located in Umatilla County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spofford
    • Rulo
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Rulo is located in Walla Walla County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rulo

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

Newspapers Published in Vansycle ...

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 112 newspapers that have been published in the area around Vansycle.

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

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 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 Vansycle:

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