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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 Ketron (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 Ketron. 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.

Ketron 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 Ketron. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Ketron:

  • Pierce County     (The home county of Ketron)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ketron, with the one closest to Ketron listed first.
    • Steilacoom
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Lake City
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Lake City is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake City
    • DuPont
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Tillicum
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Tillicum is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tillicum
    • Anderson Island
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Anderson Island is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson Island
    • Clover Park
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Clover Park is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clover Park
    • Lakewood
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Gertrude
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Gertrude is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gertrude
    • Fort Lewis
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Fox Island
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • University Place
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Meridian
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Meridian is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meridian
  • King County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ketron, with the one closest to Ketron listed first.
    • Tahlequah
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Tahlequah is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tahlequah
    • Milton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Magnolia Beach
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Magnolia Beach is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia Beach
    • Buenna
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Buenna is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buenna
    • Federal Way
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Pacific
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Algona
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Redondo
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Redondo is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redondo
    • Star Lake
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Star Lake is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star Lake
    • Woodmont Beach
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Woodmont Beach is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodmont Beach
    • Auburn
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Des Moines
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Kitsap County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ketron, with the one closest to Ketron listed first.
    • Burley
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Olalla
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Bethel
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • East Port Orchard
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • East Port Orchard is located in Kitsap County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Port Orchard
    • Gorst
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • South Colby
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • South Colby is located in Kitsap County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Colby
    • Southworth
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Southworth is located in Kitsap County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southworth
    • Colby
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Colby is located in Kitsap County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colby
    • Parkwood
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Parkwood is located in Kitsap County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkwood
    • Port Orchard
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • South Park Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Colchester
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Colchester is located in Kitsap County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colchester
  • Mason County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ketron, with the one closest to Ketron listed first.
    • Grapeview
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Allyn
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Bayshore
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Bayshore is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayshore
    • Belfair
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • New Kamilche
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • New Kamilche is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Kamilche
    • Shelton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Tahuya
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Union ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Union is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
    • Skokomish
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Skokomish is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skokomish
    • Potlatch
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Hoodsport
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Mohrweis
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Mohrweis is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mohrweis
  • Thurston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ketron, with the one closest to Ketron listed first.
    • Puget
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Puget is located in Thurston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puget
    • Nisqually Indian Community
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Tanglewilde
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Tanglewilde is located in Thurston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tanglewilde
    • Lacey
      (12 miles [19.3 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>
    • North Yelm
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • North Yelm is located in Thurston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Yelm
    • Kellys Korner
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Kellys Korner is located in Thurston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellys Korner
    • Yelm
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • 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>
    • Olympia
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • East Olympia
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Tumwater
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Rainier
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • McIntosh
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • McIntosh is located in Thurston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McIntosh

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

Cemeteries Near Ketron ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ketron.

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 Ketron - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Steilacoom Masonic Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Ft. Steilacoom Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Old Settlers Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Settlers Cemetery
    • The Old Settlers Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Gravelly Lake Cemetery
  • Western State Hospital Memorial Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Anderson Island Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Byrd Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • New Tacoma Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Home of Peace Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Old Pioneer Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Pioneer Cemetery
    • The Old Pioneer Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Rigney Cemetery
  • Hillcrest Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Ft. Lewis Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (86 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.<4>

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

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

  • Steilacoom
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Lake City
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Lake City is located in Pierce County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake City
  • Lakeview
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Lakeview is located in Pierce County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview
  • Fox Island
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Hillhurst
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Hillhurst is located in Pierce County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillhurst
  • Meridian
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Meridian is located in Pierce County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meridian
  • Longbranch
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Parkland
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Fern Hill
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Fern Hill is located in Pierce County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fern Hill
  • Excelsior
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Excelsior is located in Pierce County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Excelsior
  • Wollochet
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Wollochet is located in Pierce County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wollochet
  • Puget
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Puget is located in Thurston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puget
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Lakebay
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Artondale
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Artondale is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Artondale
    • Roy
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Roy is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roy
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 823 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Roy <1>

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

Newspapers Published in Ketron ...

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 106 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ketron.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ketron, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Ketron.

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 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 Ketron:

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>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- Ketron) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<4>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 Ketron, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.