RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Washington >> King County >> Midway >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Midway (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 Midway. 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 southwest 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 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.

Midway is located in King 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 King County: Chelan, Kittitas, Pierce & Snohomish.

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

  • King County     (The home county of Midway)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Midway, with the one closest to Midway listed first.
    • Star Lake
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Star Lake is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star Lake
    • Zenith
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Zenith is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zenith
    • Kent
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Kent is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 130,676 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kent <1>
    • Des Moines
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • North Hill
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • North Hill is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Hill
    • Woodmont Beach
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Woodmont Beach is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodmont Beach
    • Redondo
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Redondo is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redondo
    • SeaTac
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Orillia
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Orillia is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orillia
    • Normandy Park
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Federal Way
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Buenna
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Buenna is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buenna
    • Riverton Heights
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Riverton Heights is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverton Heights
  • Kitsap County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Midway, with the one closest to Midway listed first.
    • Olalla
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Southworth
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Southworth is located in Kitsap County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southworth
    • South Colby
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • South Colby is located in Kitsap County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Colby
    • Colby
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Colby is located in Kitsap County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colby
    • Colchester
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Colchester is located in Kitsap County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colchester
    • Manchester
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • South Park Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Burley
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Bethel
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Fort Ward
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Fort Ward is located in Kitsap County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Ward
    • Port Blakely ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Port Blakely is located in Kitsap County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Blakely
    • East Port Orchard
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • East Port Orchard is located in Kitsap County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Port Orchard
    • Parkwood
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Parkwood is located in Kitsap County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkwood
  • Mason County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Midway, with the one closest to Midway listed first.
    • Allyn
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Belfair
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Grapeview
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
  • Pierce County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Midway, with the one closest to Midway listed first.
    • Dash Point
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Dash Point is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dash Point
    • Northeast Tacoma
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Northeast Tacoma is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northeast Tacoma
    • Edgewood
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Fife
      (10 miles [16.1 km] 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
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Gardenville is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gardenville
    • Firwood ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Firwood is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Firwood
    • Lake Tapps
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Lake Tapps is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Tapps
    • Tacoma
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • North Puyallup
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • North Puyallup is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Puyallup
    • Sumner
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Ruston
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Ruston is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruston
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 848 people
    • Puyallup
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Waller
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Waller is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waller
  • Snohomish County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Midway, with the one closest to Midway listed first.
    • Brier
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Brier is located in Snohomish County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brier
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,955 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brier <1>
    • Esperance
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Esperance is located in Snohomish County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Esperance
    • Mountlake Terrace
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Canyon Park
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Canyon Park is located in Snohomish County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canyon Park
    • Woodway
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Woodway is located in Snohomish County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodway
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,391 people
    • Echo Lake
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Echo Lake is located in Snohomish County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo Lake
    • Edmonds
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Maltby
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Maltby is located in Snohomish County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maltby
    • Alderwood Manor
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Alderwood Manor is located in Snohomish County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alderwood Manor
    • Lynnwood
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • North Creek
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • North Creek is located in Snohomish County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Creek
  • Thurston County
    • Puget
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Puget is located in Thurston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puget

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

Cemeteries Near Midway ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Midway.

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

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

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

  • St. Patrick Catholic Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Patrick Catholic Cemetery
    • The St. Patrick Catholic Cemetery has also been known as:
    • St. Patricks Cemetery
    • White River Cemetery
  • Saar Pioneer Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Washington Memorial Park
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Auburn Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Mountain View Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Suise Creek Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Riverton Crest Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Highview Recreational Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Penbrock Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • White Lake Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Gethsemane Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Georges Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (102 more) ...
    • Tahoma National Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tahoma National Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Tahoma National Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located 6 miles [9.7 km]<2> to the east of Kent.
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #109448 <3>
    • Greenwood Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Mt. Olivet Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)

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

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

  • Kent
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Kent is located in King County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 130,676 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kent <1>
  • O'Brien
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • O'Brien is located in King County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for O'Brien
  • Des Moines
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Thomas
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Thomas is located in King County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas
  • Buenna
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Buenna is located in King County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buenna
  • Christopher
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Christopher is located in King County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christopher
  • Orillia
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Orillia is located in King County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orillia
  • Maury
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Maury is located in King County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maury
  • Sunnydale
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Sunnydale is located in King County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnydale
  • Latona ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Latona is located in King County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Latona
  • Stuck
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Stuck is located in King County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stuck
  • Renton
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Chautauqua
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Chautauqua is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chautauqua
    • Duwamish
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Duwamish is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duwamish
    • Covington
      (8 miles [12.9 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 Midway. See our List of 1890's Communities around Midway.

Newspapers Published in Midway ...

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 147 newspapers that have been published in the area around Midway.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Midway, there are papers which were published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Midway.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start 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 Midway:

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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Midway) 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 Midway, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.