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 Happy Valley (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 Happy Valley. 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 Happy Valley ...
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 Happy Valley: Happy Vly. (or less commonly used: Happy Vally. or Happy Vlly.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Happy Valley. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Happy Valley.
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.
Happy Valley 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 Happy Valley. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Happy Valley:
- Whatcom County (The home county of Happy Valley)
- The following are listed by their distance from Happy Valley, with the one closest to Happy Valley listed first.
- Chuckanut Village
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Chuckanut Village is located in Whatcom County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chuckanut Village
- Bellingham
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Geneva
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Geneva is located in Whatcom County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geneva
- Silver Beach
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Silver Beach is located in Whatcom County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Beach
- Sudden Valley
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Sudden Valley is located in Whatcom County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sudden Valley
- Marietta
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Marietta is located in Whatcom County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marietta
- Lummi
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Lummi is located in Whatcom County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lummi
- Lummi Island
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Acme
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Ferndale
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Clipper
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Clipper is located in Whatcom County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clipper
- Saxon
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Saxon is located in Whatcom County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saxon
- Island County
- Oak Harbor
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- San Juan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Happy Valley, with the one closest to Happy Valley listed first.
- Olga
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Eastsound
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Decatur Island
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Orcas
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Lopez Island
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Lopez Island is located in San Juan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lopez Island
- Lopez
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Lopez is located in San Juan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lopez
- 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
- Deer Harbor
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Waldron
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Waldron is located in San Juan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldron
- Friday Harbor
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Argyle
(28 miles [45.1 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 Happy Valley, with the one closest to Happy Valley listed first.
- Alger
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Alger is located in Skagit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alger
- Edison
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Edison is located in Skagit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edison
- Bow
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Indian Village
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Indian Village is located in Skagit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
- Urban
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Urban is located in Skagit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Urban
- Bay View
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Bay View is located in Skagit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay View
- Anacortes
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Burlington
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Sedro - Woolley
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Alexander Beach
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Alexander Beach is located in Skagit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexander Beach
- Similk Beach
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Similk Beach is located in Skagit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Similk Beach
- Clear Lake
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Clear Lake is located in Skagit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Lake
- Snohomish County
- Lake Ketchum
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Lake Ketchum is located in Snohomish County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Ketchum
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Happy Valley, see our County-by-County Page for Happy Valley.
Cemeteries Near Happy Valley ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Happy Valley.
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 Happy Valley - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Happy Valley covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Happy Valley, with the one closest to Happy Valley listed first.
- Bayview Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- 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>
- Sunnyland Memorial Park
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Lummi Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Greenacres Memorial Park
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Woodlawn Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 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>
- Bow Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Van Zandt Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Eden Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Saxon Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Greenwood Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Bay View Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Enterprise Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (44 more) ...
- Mt. Hope Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Lynden Cemetery
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Monumenta Cemetery
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
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 Happy Valley in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Happy Valley.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Happy Valley, with the one closest to Happy Valley listed first.
- Fairhaven
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Fairhaven is located in Whatcom County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairhaven
- Bellingham
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Chuckanut
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Chuckanut is located in Whatcom County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chuckanut
- Geneva
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Geneva is located in Whatcom County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geneva
- Silver Beach
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Silver Beach is located in Whatcom County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Beach
- Van Wyck
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Van Wyck is located in Whatcom County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Van Wyck
- Samish
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Samish is located in Skagit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Samish
- Marietta
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Marietta is located in Whatcom County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marietta
- Alger
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Alger is located in Skagit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alger
- Brennan
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Brennan is located in Whatcom County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brennan
- Lummi
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Lummi is located in Whatcom County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lummi
- Wahl
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Wahl is located in Whatcom County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wahl
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Laurel
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Laurel is located in Whatcom County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel
- Beach
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Beach is located in Whatcom County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beach
- Acme
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Happy Valley. See our List of 1890's Communities around Happy Valley.
Newspapers Published in Happy Valley ...
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 137 newspapers that have been published in the area around Happy Valley.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Happy Valley, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Happy Valley.
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 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 Happy Valley:
- Websites specific to Washington
- Pages specific to Whatcom County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Island County
- San Juan County
- Skagit County
- Snohomish 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 Happy Valley, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Happy Valley) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |