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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 Friday 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 Friday 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 Friday 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 have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Friday Harbor: Friday Hbr. (or less commonly used: Friday Harb. or Friday 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 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.

Friday Harbor is located in San Juan County and is the County Seat.

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 San Juan County: Island, Skagit & Whatcom.

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

  • San Juan County     (The home county of Friday Harbor)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Friday Harbor, with the one closest to Friday Harbor listed first.
    • Argyle
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argyle
      • Argyle is located in San Juan County
    • Shaw Island
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaw Island
      • Shaw Island is located in San Juan County
    • False Bay
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Lopez
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lopez
      • Lopez is located in San Juan County
    • Orcas
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Lopez Island
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lopez Island
      • Lopez Island is located in San Juan County
    • Deer Harbor
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Roche Harbor
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Decatur Island
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Olga
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Waldron
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldron
      • Waldron is located in San Juan County
    • Eastsound
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Clallam County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Friday Harbor, with the one closest to Friday Harbor listed first.
    • Old Town
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Old Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Town
      • Old Town is located in Clallam County
    • Port Williams
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Port Williams have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Williams
      • Port Williams is located in Clallam County
  • Island County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Friday Harbor, with the one closest to Friday Harbor listed first.
    • Oak Harbor
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • San de Fuca
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San de Fuca
      • San de Fuca is located in Island County
    • Coupeville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Jefferson County
    • Port Townsend
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Skagit County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Friday Harbor, with the one closest to Friday Harbor listed first.
    • Urban
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Urban
      • Urban is located in Skagit County
    • Alexander Beach
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alexander Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexander Beach
      • Alexander Beach is located in Skagit County
    • Indian Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
      • Indian Village is located in Skagit County
    • Anacortes
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Similk Beach
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Similk Beach
      • Similk Beach is located in Skagit County
    • Snee Oosh
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Snee Oosh have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snee Oosh
      • Snee Oosh is located in Skagit County
    • Bay View
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • 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
    • Swinomish Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Swinomish Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swinomish Village
      • Swinomish Village is located in Skagit County
    • La Conner
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Shelter Bay
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shelter Bay have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shelter Bay
      • Shelter Bay is located in Skagit County
    • Edison
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edison have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edison
      • Edison is located in Skagit County
    • Fish Town
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • 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
  • Whatcom County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Friday Harbor, with the one closest to Friday Harbor listed first.
    • Lummi Island
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Lummi
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lummi
      • Lummi is located in Whatcom County
    • Chuckanut Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • 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
    • Bellingham
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Kickerville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kickerville
      • Kickerville is located in Whatcom County
    • Birch Bay
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Ferndale
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Friday 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 64 newspapers that have been published in the area around Friday Harbor.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Friday Harbor. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Friday Harbor and those printed in the larger area surrounding Friday Harbor.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<3> of Friday Harbor.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Friday Harbor:

Cemeteries Near Friday Harbor ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Friday 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.

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

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

  • Lopez Union Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Olga - Doe Bay Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Woodlawn Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Woodlawn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Woodlawn Cemetery
  • Congregation Emanu-El Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Harling Point Chinese Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Royal Oak Burial Park
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
  • Quadra Street Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Ross Bay Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Eden Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Eden Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Eden Cemetery
  • Veteran's Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
  • Grandview Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Grandview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Grandview Cemetery
  • Fern Hill Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fern Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fern Hill Cemetery
  • Continue List   (21 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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Friday Harbor had a population of 89 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Friday Harbor had a population of 2,544 people.

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

  • Argyle
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argyle
    • Argyle is located in San Juan County
  • Orcas
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Lopez Island
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lopez Island
    • Lopez Island is located in San Juan County
  • Richardson
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Richardson have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richardson
    • Richardson is located in San Juan County
  • Roche Harbor
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Decatur Island
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Olga
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Waldron
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldron
    • Waldron is located in San Juan County
  • Eastsound
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Doe Bay
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Doe Bay have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doe Bay
    • Doe Bay is located in San Juan County
  • Guemes
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Guemes have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guemes
    • Guemes is located in Skagit County
  • Anacortes
    (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Beach
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beach
      • Beach is located in Whatcom County
    • Gibraltar
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gibraltar have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibraltar
      • Gibraltar is located in Skagit County
    • Oak Harbor
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)

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

The official website for Friday Harbor: www.fridayharbor.org/

The official website for San Juan County: www.co.san-juan.wa.us/

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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Friday Harbor) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Friday Harbor. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 48.5342, Longitude: -123.0169    
<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 Friday Harbor, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024