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 Boston Harbor (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 Boston Harbor. 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 Boston Harbor ...
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 Boston Harbor: Boston Hbr. (or less commonly used: Boston Harb. or Boston Hrbr.)
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 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.
Boston Harbor is located in Thurston 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 Thurston County: Grays Harbor, Lewis, Mason & Pierce.
Below are the counties that are near Boston Harbor. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Boston Harbor:
- Thurston County (The home county of Boston Harbor)
- The following are listed by their distance from Boston Harbor, with the one closest to Boston Harbor listed first.
- Puget
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Puget is located in Thurston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puget
- Olympia
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Lacey
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Tanglewilde
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Tanglewilde is located in Thurston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tanglewilde
- Tumwater
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- East Olympia
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Kellys Korner
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Kellys Korner is located in Thurston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellys Korner
- Nisqually Indian Community
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Littlerock
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- North Yelm
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- North Yelm is located in Thurston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Yelm
- Bordeaux ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Bordeaux is located in Thurston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bordeaux
- McIntosh
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- McIntosh is located in Thurston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McIntosh
- Grays Harbor County
- The following are listed by their distance from Boston Harbor, with the one closest to Boston Harbor listed first.
- McCleary Junction
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- McCleary Junction is located in Grays Harbor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCleary Junction
- Sine
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Sine is located in Grays Harbor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sine
- McCleary
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Garden City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Garden City is located in Grays Harbor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- Malone - Porter
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Malone - Porter is located in Grays Harbor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malone - Porter
- Malone
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Porter
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Porter is located in Grays Harbor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter
- Oakville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Elma
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- 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>
- Cedarville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Cedarville is located in Grays Harbor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarville
- Chehalis Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Chehalis Village is located in Grays Harbor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chehalis Village
- Satsop
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Satsop is located in Grays Harbor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Satsop
- King County
- The following are listed by their distance from Boston Harbor, with the one closest to Boston Harbor listed first.
- Tahlequah
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Tahlequah is located in King County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tahlequah
- Magnolia Beach
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Magnolia Beach is located in King County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia Beach
- Milton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Buenna
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Buenna is located in King County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buenna
- Vashon
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Federal Way
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Redondo
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Redondo is located in King County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redondo
- Kitsap County
- The following are listed by their distance from Boston Harbor, with the one closest to Boston Harbor listed first.
- Burley
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Olalla
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Bethel
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Gorst
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Holly
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Holly is located in Kitsap County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly
- East Port Orchard
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- East Port Orchard is located in Kitsap County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Port Orchard
- Crosby
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Crosby is located in Kitsap County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crosby
- Navy Yard City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Navy Yard City is located in Kitsap County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Navy Yard City
- Parkwood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Parkwood is located in Kitsap County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkwood
- Port Orchard
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Lewis County
- The following are listed by their distance from Boston Harbor, with the one closest to Boston Harbor listed first.
- Fords Prairie
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Fords Prairie is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fords Prairie
- Galvin
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Centralia
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Mason County
- The following are listed by their distance from Boston Harbor, with the one closest to Boston Harbor listed first.
- New Kamilche
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- New Kamilche is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Kamilche
- Bayshore
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Bayshore is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayshore
- Shelton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Grapeview
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Allyn
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Tahuya
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Union ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Union is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
- Skokomish
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Skokomish is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skokomish
- Mohrweis
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Mohrweis is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mohrweis
- Potlatch
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Belfair
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Hoodsport
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Pierce County
- The following are listed by their distance from Boston Harbor, with the one closest to Boston Harbor listed first.
- Longbranch
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Anderson Island
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Anderson Island is located in Pierce County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson Island
- Herron Island
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Meridian
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Meridian is located in Pierce County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meridian
- Lakebay
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Home
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Home is located in Pierce County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Home
- DuPont
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Gertrude
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Gertrude is located in Pierce County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gertrude
- Fort Lewis
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Steilacoom
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Fox Island
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Vaughn
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Vaughn is located in Pierce County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vaughn
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Boston Harbor, see our County-by-County Page for Boston Harbor.
Cemeteries Near Boston Harbor ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Boston Harbor.
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 Boston Harbor - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Boston Harbor covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Boston Harbor, with the one closest to Boston Harbor listed first.
- Mt. Tabor Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- McLane Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McLane Cemetery
- The McLane Cemetery has also been known as:
- Mud Bay Cemetery
- Miller Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Squaxin Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Longbranch Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Mills & Mills Memorial Park
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mills & Mills Memorial Park
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Mills & Mills Memorial Park is located outside and to the southwest of Tumwater.
- The Mills & Mills Memorial Park has also been known as:
- Olympic Memorial Garden Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #76974 <2>
- Union Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Woodlawn Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Anderson Island Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- German Lutheran Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for German Lutheran Cemetery
- The German Lutheran Cemetery has also been known as:
- Lakebay German Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery
- Old German Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery
- Hillcrest Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Lakebay Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (66 more) ...
- Oakland Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Shelton Memorial Park
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Ross Family Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
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 Boston Harbor in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Boston Harbor.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Boston Harbor, with the one closest to Boston Harbor listed first.
- Puget
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Puget is located in Thurston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puget
- Olympia
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Lacey
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- New Kamilche
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- New Kamilche is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Kamilche
- Longbranch
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Tumwater
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Meridian
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Meridian is located in Pierce County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meridian
- Kamilche
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Kamilche is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kamilche
- Belmore
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Belmore is located in Thurston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmore
- Lakebay
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Shelton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Plumb
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Plumb is located in Thurston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plumb
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Steilacoom
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Fox Island
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Vaughn
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Vaughn is located in Pierce County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vaughn
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Boston Harbor. See our List of 1890's Communities around Boston Harbor.
Newspapers Published in Boston Harbor ...
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 150 newspapers that have been published in the area around Boston Harbor.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Boston Harbor, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Boston Harbor.
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 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 Boston Harbor:
- Websites specific to Washington
- Pages specific to Thurston County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Grays Harbor County
- King County
- Kitsap County
- Lewis County
- Mason County
- Pierce County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Washington
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 Boston Harbor, 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- Boston Harbor) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |