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 Johnson (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 Johnson. 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.
Johnson is located in Whitman 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 Whitman County: Benewah (ID), Latah (ID), Nez Perce (ID), Adams, Asotin, Columbia, Franklin, Garfield, Lincoln & Spokane.
Below are the counties that are near Johnson. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Johnson:
- Whitman County (The home county of Johnson)
- The following are listed by their distance from Johnson, with the one closest to Johnson listed first.
- Staley
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Staley is located in Whitman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Staley
- Chambers
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Chambers is located in Whitman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chambers
- Colton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Uniontown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Pullman
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Leon
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Leon is located in Whitman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leon
- Albion
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Shawnee
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Shawnee is located in Whitman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawnee
- Almota
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Almota is located in Whitman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almota
- Palouse
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Colfax
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Glenwood
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Glenwood is located in Whitman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood
- Asotin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Johnson, with the one closest to Johnson listed first.
- Clarkston
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Silcott
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Silcott is located in Asotin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silcott
- West Clarkston - Highland
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Clarkston Heights - Vineland
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Asotin
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Cloverland
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Cloverland is located in Asotin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverland
- Garfield County
- The following are listed by their distance from Johnson, with the one closest to Johnson listed first.
- Mayview
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Mayview is located in Garfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayview
- Pataha
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Pataha is located in Garfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pataha
- Gould City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Gould City is located in Garfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gould City
- Pomeroy
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Peola
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Peola is located in Garfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peola
- Latah County (ID)
- The following are listed by their distance from Johnson, with the one closest to Johnson listed first.
- Moscow
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Genesee
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Lenville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Lenville is located in Latah County (ID)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lenville
- Viola
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Howell
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Howell is located in Latah County (ID)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howell
- Troy
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Juliaetta
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Potlatch Junction
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Potlatch Junction is located in Latah County (ID)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Potlatch Junction
- Kendrick
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Onaway
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Onaway is located in Latah County (ID)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onaway
- Population from the 2020 Census: 198 people
- Potlatch
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Freeze
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Freeze is located in Latah County (ID)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeze
- Lewis County (ID)
- Slickpoo
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Slickpoo is located in Lewis County (ID)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slickpoo
- Nez Perce County (ID)
- The following are listed by their distance from Johnson, with the one closest to Johnson listed first.
- Leon
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Leon is located in Nez Perce County (ID)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leon
- Lewiston
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- North Lapwai
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Spalding
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Lapwai
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Lapwai is located in Nez Perce County (ID)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lapwai
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,152 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lapwai <1>
- Cherrylane
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Cherrylane is located in Nez Perce County (ID)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherrylane
- Sweetwater
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Sweetwater is located in Nez Perce County (ID)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweetwater
- Cameron
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Cameron is located in Nez Perce County (ID)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cameron
- Culdesac
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Lenore
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Johnson, see our County-by-County Page for Johnson.
Cemeteries Near Johnson ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Johnson.
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 Johnson - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Johnson covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Johnson, with the one closest to Johnson listed first.
- Pullman City Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Farr Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Blaine Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Memorial Gardens Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Sunset Memorial Gardens Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- St. Johns Lutheran Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Genesee Valley Lutheran Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Cordelia Lutheran Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Guy Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Buchanan Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Davis Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Kirby Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (59 more) ...
- J.M. Silcott Gravesite
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Pitts Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Moys Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Johnson had a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Johnson, with the one closest to Johnson listed first.
- Staley
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Staley is located in Whitman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Staley
- Colton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Pullman Junction
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Pullman Junction is located in Whitman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pullman Junction
- Uniontown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Sunshine
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Sunshine is located in Whitman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunshine
- Pullman
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Leon
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Leon is located in Nez Perce County (ID)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leon
- Moscow
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Whelan
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Whelan is located in Whitman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whelan
- Genesee
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Wawawai ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Wawawai is located in Whitman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wawawai
- Cornwall
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Cornwall is located in Latah County (ID)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornwall
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Joel
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Joel is located in Latah County (ID)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joel
- Shawnee
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Shawnee is located in Whitman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawnee
- Lenville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Lenville is located in Latah County (ID)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lenville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Johnson. See our List of 1890's Communities around Johnson.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Johnson ...
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 Johnson.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Johnson. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Johnson and those printed in the larger area surrounding Johnson.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<4> of Johnson.
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 Johnson:
- Websites specific to Washington
- Pages specific to Whitman County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Asotin County
- Garfield County
- Latah County
- Lewis County
- Nez Perce 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 Johnson, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Johnson) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |