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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 Fife Heights (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 Fife Heights. 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 Fife Heights ...

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.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Fife Heights: Fife Hts. (in Canada, 'Hgts.' is the more common abbreviation.)

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 northwest 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 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 west 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.

Fife Heights is located in Pierce 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 Pierce County: King, Kitsap, Kittitas, Lewis, Mason, Thurston & Yakima.

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

  • Pierce County     (The home county of Fife Heights)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fife Heights, with the one closest to Fife Heights listed first.
    • Northeast Tacoma
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Northeast Tacoma is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northeast Tacoma
    • Fife
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Fife is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fife
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,458 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fife <1>
    • Gardenville ‑ Historic
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Gardenville is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gardenville
    • Edgewood
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Firwood ‑ Historic
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Firwood is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Firwood
    • Waller
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Waller is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waller
    • North Puyallup
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • North Puyallup is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Puyallup
    • Tacoma
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Dash Point
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Dash Point is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dash Point
    • Puyallup
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Summit
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Summit is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
    • Sumner
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Midland
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Midland is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midland
  • King County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fife Heights, with the one closest to Fife Heights listed first.
    • Milton
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Algona
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Pacific
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Buenna
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Buenna is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buenna
    • Federal Way
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Redondo
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Redondo is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redondo
    • Auburn
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Star Lake
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Star Lake is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star Lake
    • Woodmont Beach
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Woodmont Beach is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodmont Beach
    • Zenith
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Zenith is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zenith
    • Lea Hill
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Lea Hill is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lea Hill
    • Des Moines
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Tahlequah
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Tahlequah is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tahlequah
  • Kitsap County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fife Heights, with the one closest to Fife Heights listed first.
    • Olalla
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Burley
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Southworth
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Southworth is located in Kitsap County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southworth
    • South Colby
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • South Colby is located in Kitsap County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Colby
    • Bethel
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Colby
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Colby is located in Kitsap County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colby
    • Colchester
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Colchester is located in Kitsap County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colchester
    • South Park Village
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • East Port Orchard
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • East Port Orchard is located in Kitsap County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Port Orchard
    • Manchester
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Parkwood
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Parkwood is located in Kitsap County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkwood
    • Fort Ward
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Fort Ward is located in Kitsap County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Ward
    • Port Orchard
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
  • Mason County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fife Heights, with the one closest to Fife Heights listed first.
    • Grapeview
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Allyn
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Belfair
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Thurston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fife Heights, with the one closest to Fife Heights listed first.
    • Puget
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Puget is located in Thurston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puget
    • Nisqually Indian Community
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • North Yelm
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • North Yelm is located in Thurston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Yelm
    • Tanglewilde
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Tanglewilde is located in Thurston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tanglewilde
    • Yelm
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Yelm is located in Thurston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yelm
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,591 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Yelm <1>
    • Kellys Korner
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Kellys Korner is located in Thurston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellys Korner
    • Lacey
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Lacey is located in Thurston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacey
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 54,178 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lacey <1>
    • East Olympia
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Olympia
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Rainier
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Fife Heights ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Fife Heights.

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 Fife Heights - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Georges Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Gethsemane Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Puyallup Tribal Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puyallup Tribal Cemetery
    • The Puyallup Tribal Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Cushman Cemetery
    • Indian Mission Cemetery
    • Puyallup Indian Cemetery
  • Firwood Indian Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Sumner Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumner Cemetery
    • The Sumner Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Sumner Pioneer Cemetery
    • Sumner Town Cemetery
  • Auburn Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Mountain View Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Tacoma Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tacoma Cemetery
    • The Tacoma Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Oaklawn Cemetery
    • Old Tacoma Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #77080 <2>
  • Pauper Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Woodbine Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbine Cemetery
    • The Woodbine Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Puyallup Cemetery
  • Oakwood Hill Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood Hill Cemetery
    • The Oakwood Hill Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Oak Wood Cemetery
    • Oak Wood Hill Cemetery
    • Oakwood Cemetery
    • Prairie Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1996538 <2>
  • White Lake Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (94 more) ...
    • Calvary Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Old Pioneer Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Pioneer Cemetery
      • The Old Pioneer Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Rigney Cemetery
    • Mountain View Memorial Park
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)

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

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

  • Buenna
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Buenna is located in King County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buenna
  • Tacoma
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Puyallup
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Meeker
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Meeker is located in Pierce County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meeker
  • Stuck
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Stuck is located in King County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stuck
  • Excelsior
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Excelsior is located in Pierce County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Excelsior
  • Fern Hill
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Fern Hill is located in Pierce County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fern Hill
  • Midland
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Midland is located in Pierce County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midland
  • Sumner
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Lake Tapps
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Lake Tapps is located in Pierce County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Tapps
  • Christopher
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Christopher is located in King County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christopher
  • Parkland
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Alderton
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Alderton is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alderton
    • Thomas
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Thomas is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas
    • Maury
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Maury is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maury

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

Newspapers Published in Fife Heights ...

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 60 newspapers that have been published in the area around Fife Heights.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Fife Heights, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Fife Heights.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Fife Heights:

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 Fife Heights, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Fife Heights) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.