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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 Clipper (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 Clipper. 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.

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

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

  • Whatcom County     (The home county of Clipper)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clipper, with the one closest to Clipper listed first.
    • Acme
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Deming
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Welcome
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Welcome. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welcome
      • Welcome is located in Whatcom County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Welcome
      • From Clipper to Welcome
    • Saxon
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Saxon. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saxon
      • Saxon is located in Whatcom County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Saxon
      • From Clipper to Saxon
    • Wickersham
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wickersham. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wickersham
      • Wickersham is located in Whatcom County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Wickersham
      • From Clipper to Wickersham
    • Sudden Valley
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sudden Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sudden Valley
      • Sudden Valley is located in Whatcom County
    • Geneva
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Geneva. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geneva
      • Geneva is located in Whatcom County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Geneva
      • From Clipper to Geneva
    • Silver Beach
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Kendall
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kendall have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kendall
      • Kendall is located in Whatcom County
    • Maple Falls
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Everson
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Nooksack
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nooksack have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nooksack
      • Nooksack is located in Whatcom County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,659 people
    • Bellingham
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • San Juan County
  • Skagit County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clipper, with the one closest to Clipper listed first.
    • Alger
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alger have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alger
      • Alger is located in Skagit County
    • Bow
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Lyman
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Sedro - Woolley
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Edison
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edison have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edison
      • Edison is located in Skagit County
    • Hamilton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Burlington
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Clear Lake
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Bay View
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bay View have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay View
      • Bay View is located in Skagit County
    • Big Lake
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Big Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Lake
      • Big Lake is located in Skagit County
    • Mount Vernon
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Indian Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
      • Indian Village is located in Skagit County
    • Urban
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Clipper ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Clipper.

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 Clipper covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Van Zandt Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Van Zandt Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Van Zandt Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. Hope Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Hope Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Hope Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Saxon Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Kendall Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Kendall Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Kendall Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bayview Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Sunnyland Memorial Park
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sunnyland Memorial Park
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sunnyland Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Nooksack Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Nooksack Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Nooksack Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Peters Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Greenwood Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Greenwood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bow Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bow Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bow Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Indian Joe Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Indian Joe Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Indian Joe Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Woodlawn Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (39 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.<5>

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

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

  • Acme
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Deming
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Saxon
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Saxon. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saxon
    • Saxon is located in Whatcom County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Saxon
    • From Clipper to Saxon
  • Welcome
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Welcome. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welcome
    • Welcome is located in Whatcom County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Welcome
    • From Clipper to Welcome
  • Wickersham
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wickersham. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wickersham
    • Wickersham is located in Whatcom County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Wickersham
    • From Clipper to Wickersham
  • Goshen
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Goshen have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goshen
    • Goshen is located in Whatcom County
  • Wahl
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wahl have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wahl
    • Wahl is located in Whatcom County
  • Silver Beach
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Geneva
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Geneva. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geneva
    • Geneva is located in Whatcom County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Geneva
    • From Clipper to Geneva
  • Prairie
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prairie have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie
    • Prairie is located in Skagit County
  • Van Wyck
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Van Wyck have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Van Wyck
    • Van Wyck is located in Whatcom County
  • Alger
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alger have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alger
    • Alger is located in Skagit County
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Nooksack
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nooksack have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nooksack
      • Nooksack is located in Whatcom County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,659 people
    • Everson
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Bellingham
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)

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

Newspapers Published in Clipper ...

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 131 newspapers that have been published in the area around Clipper.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Clipper, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Clipper.

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 Clipper:

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

The official website for Whatcom County: www.co.whatcom.wa.us/

The official website for State of Washington: https://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>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<3>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.
<4>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.
<5>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 Clipper, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Clipper) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Clipper. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 48.7603, Longitude: -122.2019    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025