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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 Bedford (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 Bedford. 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 and doctors 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.

Bedford is located in Pacific County.

To see how the shape of Washington's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Pacific County: Clatsop (OR), Grays Harbor, Lewis & Wahkiakum.

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

  • Pacific County     (The home county of Bedford)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bedford, with the one closest to Bedford listed first.
    • Lebam
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Menlo
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Menlo is located in Pacific County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Menlo
    • Raymond
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • South Bend
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Bay Center
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Tokeland
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Naselle
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Oysterville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Nahcotta
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Ocean Park
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Cowlitz County
    • Ryderwood
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Ryderwood is located in Cowlitz County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ryderwood
  • Grays Harbor County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bedford, with the one closest to Bedford listed first.
    • Cedarville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Cedarville is located in Grays Harbor County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarville
    • Oakville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Chehalis Village
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Chehalis Village is located in Grays Harbor County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chehalis Village
    • Porter
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Porter is located in Grays Harbor County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter
    • Malone - Porter
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Malone - Porter is located in Grays Harbor County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malone - Porter
    • Malone
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Melbourne
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Melbourne is located in Grays Harbor County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melbourne
    • Montesano
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Brady
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Brady is located in Grays Harbor County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brady
    • Elma
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Elma is located in Grays Harbor County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elma
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,378 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elma <1>
    • Satsop
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Satsop is located in Grays Harbor County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Satsop
    • Central Park
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Central Park is located in Grays Harbor County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central Park
    • Cosmopolis
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
  • Lewis County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bedford, with the one closest to Bedford listed first.
    • Doty
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Pe Ell
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Fayette
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Fayette is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayette
    • Curtis
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Adna
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Claquato
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Claquato is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claquato
    • Galvin
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Chehalis
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Fords Prairie
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Fords Prairie is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fords Prairie
    • Newaukum
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Newaukum is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newaukum
    • Centralia
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Napavine
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Winlock
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Thurston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bedford, with the one closest to Bedford listed first.
    • Independence
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Independence is located in Thurston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Independence
    • Rochester
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Grand Mound
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Bordeaux ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Bordeaux is located in Thurston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bordeaux
    • Littlerock
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Bucoda
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Wahkiakum County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bedford, with the one closest to Bedford listed first.
    • Grays River
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Deep River
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Deep River is located in Wahkiakum County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deep River
    • Rosburg
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Skamokawa
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Brookfield
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Brookfield is located in Wahkiakum County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookfield
    • Altoona
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Altoona is located in Wahkiakum County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altoona
    • Dahlia
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Dahlia is located in Wahkiakum County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dahlia
  • Clatsop County (OR)
    • Brownsmead
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Brownsmead is located in Clatsop County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsmead

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

Cemeteries Near Bedford ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bedford.

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

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

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

  • Fern Hill Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Sylvan Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Giesy Family Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Giesy Family Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Giesy Family Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<2> to the northwest of Menlo.
    • The Giesy Family Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Kiel Colony Cemetery
    • Willie Keil Gravesite
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #641574 <3>
  • Washington Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Finnish Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Oakville Pioneer Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Sharon Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
  • Claquato Cemetery
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
  • Grays River Grange Cemetery
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
  • Salmon Creek Cemetery
    (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
  • Deep River Pioneer Cemetery
    (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deep River Pioneer Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Deep River Pioneer Cemetery is located outside and to the north of Deep River.
    • The Deep River Pioneer Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Deep River Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2232653 <3>
  • Rosburg Cemetery
    (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (20 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.<4>

While we didn't find Bedford in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Bedford.

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

  • Lebam
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Willapa
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Willapa is located in Pacific County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willapa
  • Pe Ell
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • South Bend
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
  • Fayette
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Fayette is located in Lewis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayette
  • Oakville
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Cedarville
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Cedarville is located in Grays Harbor County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarville
  • Boistfort
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Boistfort is located in Lewis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boistfort
  • Artic
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Artic is located in Grays Harbor County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Artic
  • Porter
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Porter is located in Grays Harbor County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter
  • Melbourne
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Melbourne is located in Grays Harbor County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melbourne
  • Claquato
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Claquato is located in Lewis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claquato
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Montesano
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Grays River
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Wildwood
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Wildwood is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildwood

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

Newspapers Published in Bedford ...

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 128 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bedford.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bedford, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bedford.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Bedford:

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