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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 Big Lake (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 Big Lake. 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 Big Lake ...

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 have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Big Lake: Big Lk.

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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Big Lake is located in Skagit County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Skagit County: Chelan, Island, Okanogan, San Juan, Snohomish & Whatcom.

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

  • Skagit County     (The home county of Big Lake)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Lake, with the one closest to Big Lake listed first.
    • Montborne
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montborne
      • Montborne is located in Skagit County
    • Clear Lake
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Lake
      • Clear Lake is located in Skagit County
    • Mount Vernon
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Skagit City
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skagit City
      • Skagit City is located in Skagit County
    • Burlington
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Lake McMurray
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake McMurray
      • Lake McMurray is located in Skagit County
    • Conway
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Sedro - Woolley
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Fish Town
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fish Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fish Town
      • Fish Town is located in Skagit County
    • Lyman
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Lake Cavanaugh
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Cavanaugh have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Cavanaugh
      • Lake Cavanaugh is located in Skagit County
    • La Conner
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Bay View
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bay View have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay View
      • Bay View is located in Skagit County
  • Island County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Lake, with the one closest to Big Lake listed first.
    • Juniper Beach
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Juniper Beach
      • Juniper Beach is located in Island County
    • Oak Harbor
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Camano
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Camp Diana
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camp Diana
      • Camp Diana is located in Island County
    • Coupeville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • San de Fuca
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San de Fuca
      • San de Fuca is located in Island County
    • Greenbank
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Langley
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Bay View
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay View
      • Bay View is located in Island County
    • Clinton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Freeland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Jefferson County
    • Port Townsend
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • San Juan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Lake, with the one closest to Big Lake listed first.
    • Decatur Island
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Lopez Island
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lopez Island
      • Lopez Island is located in San Juan County
  • Snohomish County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Lake, with the one closest to Big Lake listed first.
    • Lake Ketchum
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Ketchum have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Ketchum
      • Lake Ketchum is located in Snohomish County
    • North Stanwood
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Stanwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Stanwood
      • North Stanwood is located in Snohomish County
    • Bryant
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bryant have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryant
      • Bryant is located in Snohomish County
    • Stanwood
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Florence
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Florence have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
      • Florence is located in Snohomish County
    • Silvana
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Arlington
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Utsalady
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Utsalady
      • Utsalady is located in Snohomish County
    • Arlington Heights
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arlington Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington Heights
      • Arlington Heights is located in Snohomish County
    • Oso
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oso
      • Oso is located in Snohomish County
    • Lakewood
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Warm Beach
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Warm Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warm Beach
      • Warm Beach is located in Snohomish County
    • Lake Goodwin
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Goodwin have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Goodwin
      • Lake Goodwin is located in Snohomish County
  • Whatcom County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Lake, with the one closest to Big Lake listed first.
    • Wickersham
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wickersham have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wickersham
      • Wickersham is located in Whatcom County
    • Acme
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Sudden Valley
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sudden Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sudden Valley
      • Sudden Valley is located in Whatcom County
    • Chuckanut Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chuckanut Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chuckanut Village
      • Chuckanut Village is located in Whatcom County
    • Clipper
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clipper
      • Clipper is located in Whatcom County
    • Geneva
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Geneva have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geneva
      • Geneva is located in Whatcom County
    • Bellingham
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Deming
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Lummi Island
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Big Lake ...

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 75 newspapers that have been published in the area around Big Lake.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Big Lake, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Big Lake.

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 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 Big Lake:

Cemeteries Near Big Lake ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Big Lake.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

  • Clear Lake Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Clear Lake Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Clear Lake Cemetery
  • Hawthorne Memorial Park
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hawthorne Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hawthorne Memorial Park
  • Mt. Vernon Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Vernon Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Vernon Cemetery
  • Skagit City Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Skagit City Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Skagit City Cemetery
  • Green Hills Memorial Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Union Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Scandinavian Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • The Scandinavian Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Old Milltown Cemetery
    • Old Milltown Lutheran Cemetery
    • Scandinavian Lutheran Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Scandinavian Cemetery
  • Pleasant Ridge Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Ridge Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Ridge Cemetery
  • Lyman Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lyman Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lyman Cemetery
  • Our Saviours Lutheran Church Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Bow Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bow Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bow Cemetery
  • Bay View Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bay View Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bay View Cemetery
  • Continue List   (23 more) ...
    • Camano Island Pioneer Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Camano Island Pioneer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Camano Island Pioneer Cemetery
    • Pleasant View Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant View Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant View Cemetery
    • Hamilton Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hamilton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hamilton Cemetery

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>

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

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

  • Montborne
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montborne
    • Montborne is located in Skagit County
  • Clear Lake
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Lake
    • Clear Lake is located in Skagit County
  • Mount Vernon
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Skagit City
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skagit City
    • Skagit City is located in Skagit County
  • McMurray
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McMurray have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McMurray
    • McMurray is located in Skagit County
  • Burlington
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Avon ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Avon have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avon
    • Avon is located in Skagit County
  • Fredonia
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fredonia have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredonia
    • Fredonia is located in Skagit County
  • Bryant
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bryant have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryant
    • Bryant is located in Snohomish County
  • Lyman
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Whitney
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Whitney have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitney
    • Whitney is located in Skagit County
  • La Conner
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Stanwood
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Bay View
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bay View have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay View
      • Bay View is located in Skagit County
    • Florence
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Florence have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
      • Florence is located in Snohomish County

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

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Big Lake. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Skagit County: www.skagitcounty.net/

The official website for State of Washington: https://access.wa.gov/

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 location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<3>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Big Lake) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Big Lake. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 48.4029, Longitude: -122.2413       In this case, the coordinates for Big Lake have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Big Lake, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024