RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Washington >> Whatcom County >> Birchwood >> 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 Birchwood (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 Birchwood. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Birchwood is located in Whatcom 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 Whatcom County: Okanogan, San Juan & Skagit.

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

  • Whatcom County     (The home county of Birchwood)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Birchwood, with the one closest to Birchwood listed first.
    • Bellingham
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Marietta
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Marietta is located in Whatcom County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marietta
    • Silver Beach
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Silver Beach is located in Whatcom County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Beach
    • Lummi
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Lummi is located in Whatcom County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lummi
    • Geneva
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Geneva is located in Whatcom County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geneva
    • Chuckanut Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Chuckanut Village is located in Whatcom County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chuckanut Village
    • Ferndale
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Sudden Valley
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Sudden Valley is located in Whatcom County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sudden Valley
    • Lummi Island
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Custer
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Kickerville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Kickerville is located in Whatcom County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kickerville
    • Lynden
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Everson
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • San Juan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Birchwood, with the one closest to Birchwood listed first.
    • Olga
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Eastsound
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Decatur Island
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Orcas
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Waldron
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Waldron is located in San Juan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldron
    • Deer Harbor
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Shaw Island
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Shaw Island is located in San Juan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaw Island
    • Lopez Island
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Lopez Island is located in San Juan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lopez Island
    • Lopez
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Lopez is located in San Juan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lopez
    • Friday Harbor
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Argyle
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Argyle is located in San Juan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argyle
  • Skagit County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Birchwood, with the one closest to Birchwood listed first.
    • Alger
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Alger is located in Skagit County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alger
    • Urban
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Urban is located in Skagit County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Urban
    • Edison
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Edison is located in Skagit County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edison
    • Bow
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Indian Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Indian Village is located in Skagit County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
    • Anacortes
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Bay View
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Bay View is located in Skagit County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay View
    • Alexander Beach
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Alexander Beach is located in Skagit County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexander Beach
    • Similk Beach
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Similk Beach is located in Skagit County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Similk Beach
    • Burlington
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Sedro - Woolley
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Snee Oosh
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Snee Oosh is located in Skagit County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snee Oosh
    • Clear Lake
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Clear Lake is located in Skagit County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Lake

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

Cemeteries Near Birchwood ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Birchwood.

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

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

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

  • Sunnyland Memorial Park
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Bayview Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayview Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Bayview Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Bellingham.
    • The Bayview Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Bay View Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #76707 <2>
  • Lummi Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Greenacres Memorial Park
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Woodlawn Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodlawn Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Woodlawn Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the east of Ferndale.
    • The Woodlawn Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Paradise Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #77126 <2>
  • Enterprise Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Lynden Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Monumenta Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Van Zandt Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Nooksack Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Indian Joe Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (47 more) ...
    • Berthusen Memorial Park
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Haynie Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Mt. Hope Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)

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 Birchwood in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Birchwood.

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

  • Bellingham
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Fairhaven
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Fairhaven is located in Whatcom County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairhaven
  • Marietta
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Marietta is located in Whatcom County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marietta
  • Silver Beach
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Silver Beach is located in Whatcom County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Beach
  • Van Wyck
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Van Wyck is located in Whatcom County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Van Wyck
  • Brennan
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Brennan is located in Whatcom County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brennan
  • Lummi
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Lummi is located in Whatcom County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lummi
  • Geneva
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Geneva is located in Whatcom County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geneva
  • Laurel
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Laurel is located in Whatcom County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel
  • Chuckanut
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Chuckanut is located in Whatcom County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chuckanut
  • Beach
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Beach is located in Whatcom County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beach
  • Wahl
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Wahl is located in Whatcom County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wahl
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Mountain View
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Mountain View is located in Whatcom County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain View
    • Goshen
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Goshen is located in Whatcom County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goshen
    • Samish
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Samish is located in Skagit County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Samish

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

Newspapers Published in Birchwood ...

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 125 newspapers that have been published in the area around Birchwood.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Birchwood, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Birchwood.

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 Birchwood:

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 Birchwood, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Birchwood) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.