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 Wenaha Forks (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 Wenaha Forks. 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 Wenaha Forks ...
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 Wenaha Forks: Wenaha Frks.
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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors 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.
Wenaha Forks is located in Wallowa 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 Wallowa County: Adams (ID), Idaho (ID), Nez Perce (ID), Baker, Umatilla, Union, Asotin (WA), Columbia (WA) & Garfield (WA).
Below are the counties that are near Wenaha Forks. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Wenaha Forks:
- Wallowa County (The home county of Wenaha Forks)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wenaha Forks, with the one closest to Wenaha Forks listed first.
- Promise ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Promise is located in Wallowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Promise
- Troy
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Troy is located in Wallowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Troy
- Maxville ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Maxville is located in Wallowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxville
- Flora ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Flora is located in Wallowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flora
- Wallowa
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Umatilla County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wenaha Forks, with the one closest to Wenaha Forks listed first.
- Tollgate
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Tollgate is located in Umatilla County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tollgate
- Bingham Springs
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Bingham Springs is located in Umatilla County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bingham Springs
- Spofford
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Spofford is located in Umatilla County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spofford
- Milton - Freewater
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Blue Mountain
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Blue Mountain is located in Umatilla County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Mountain
- Calhounville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Calhounville is located in Umatilla County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calhounville
- Union County
- Elgin
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Elgin is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elgin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,801 people
- Former names for Elgin:
- Fish Trap
- Indian Valley
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elgin <1>
- Columbia County (WA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wenaha Forks, with the one closest to Wenaha Forks listed first.
- Dayton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Huntsville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Huntsville is located in Columbia County (WA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntsville
- Menoken
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Menoken is located in Columbia County (WA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Menoken
- Garfield County (WA)
- Peola
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Peola is located in Garfield County (WA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peola
- Walla Walla County (WA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wenaha Forks, with the one closest to Wenaha Forks listed first.
- Dixie
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Kibler
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Kibler is located in Walla Walla County (WA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kibler
- Coppei
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Coppei is located in Walla Walla County (WA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coppei
- Waitsburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Walla Walla
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- College Place
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Calhounville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Calhounville is located in Walla Walla County (WA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calhounville
- Garrett
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Garrett is located in Walla Walla County (WA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garrett
- Mojonnier
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Mojonnier is located in Walla Walla County (WA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mojonnier
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Wenaha Forks, see our County-by-County Page for Wenaha Forks.
Cemeteries Near Wenaha Forks ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wenaha Forks.
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 Wenaha Forks - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Wenaha Forks covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Wenaha Forks, with the one closest to Wenaha Forks listed first.
- Eden Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Bartlett Cemetery
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Lost Prairie Cemetery
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Nicoson Cemetery
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Mountain View Cemetery
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Autrey Cemetery
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Bundy Hollow Cemetery
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Pioneer Memorial Park
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Highland Cemetery
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Bowlus Cemetery
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Galloway Cemetery
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Continue List (18 more) ...
- Pine Grove Cemetery
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Bramlet Memorial Cemetery
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Hyatt Cemetery
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
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.<2>
While we didn't find Wenaha Forks in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Wenaha Forks.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Wenaha Forks, with the one closest to Wenaha Forks listed first.
- Dixie
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Gilliam
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Gilliam is located in Walla Walla County (WA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilliam
- Flora ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Flora is located in Wallowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flora
- Coppei
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Coppei is located in Walla Walla County (WA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coppei
- Spofford
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Spofford is located in Umatilla County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spofford
- Elgin
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Elgin is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elgin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,801 people
- Former names for Elgin:
- Fish Trap
- Indian Valley
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elgin <1>
- Dayton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Paradise
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Paradise is located in Wallowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise
- Huntsville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Huntsville is located in Columbia County (WA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntsville
- Waitsburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Walla Walla
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Peola
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Peola is located in Garfield County (WA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peola
- Continue List (4 more) ...
- Blue Mountain
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Blue Mountain is located in Umatilla County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Mountain
- Wallowa
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Menoken
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Menoken is located in Columbia County (WA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Menoken
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Wenaha Forks. See our List of 1890's Communities around Wenaha Forks.
Newspapers Published in Wenaha Forks ...
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 74 newspapers that have been published in the area around Wenaha Forks.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Wenaha Forks, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Wenaha Forks.
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 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 Wenaha Forks:
- Websites specific to Oregon
- Pages specific to Wallowa County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Umatilla County
- Union County
- Columbia County
- Garfield County
- Walla Walla 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> | 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 Wenaha Forks, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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- Wenaha Forks) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |