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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 O'Brien (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 O'Brien. 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 northwest 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 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 west 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.

O'Brien is located in King County.

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 King County: Chelan, Kittitas, Pierce & Snohomish.

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

  • King County     (The home county of O'Brien)
    • The following are listed by their distance from O'Brien, with the one closest to O'Brien listed first.
    • Orillia
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orillia
      • Orillia is located in King County
    • Kent
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent
      • Kent is located in King County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 130,676 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kent <1>
    • SeaTac
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Tukwila
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Riverton Heights
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverton Heights
      • Riverton Heights is located in King County
    • Star Lake
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star Lake
      • Star Lake is located in King County
    • Woodmont Beach
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodmont Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodmont Beach
      • Woodmont Beach is located in King County
    • Zenith
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zenith
      • Zenith is located in King County
    • Des Moines
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • North Hill
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Hill
      • North Hill is located in King County
    • Renton
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Redondo
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redondo
      • Redondo is located in King County
    • Normandy Park
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Kitsap County
    • The following are listed by their distance from O'Brien, with the one closest to O'Brien listed first.
    • Southworth
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southworth
      • Southworth is located in Kitsap County
    • Olalla
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • South Colby
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Colby
      • South Colby is located in Kitsap County
    • Colby
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colby
      • Colby is located in Kitsap County
    • Colchester
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colchester
      • Colchester is located in Kitsap County
    • Fort Ward
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Ward
      • Fort Ward is located in Kitsap County
    • Manchester
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • South Park Village
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Burley
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • East Port Orchard
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Port Orchard
      • East Port Orchard is located in Kitsap County
    • Parkwood
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Parkwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkwood
      • Parkwood is located in Kitsap County
    • Retsil
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Retsil
      • Retsil is located in Kitsap County
    • Bethel
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
  • Mason County
    • The following are listed by their distance from O'Brien, with the one closest to O'Brien listed first.
    • Allyn
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Belfair
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Grapeview
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
  • Pierce County
    • The following are listed by their distance from O'Brien, with the one closest to O'Brien listed first.
    • Dash Point
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dash Point
      • Dash Point is located in Pierce County
    • Edgewood
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Northeast Tacoma
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northeast Tacoma
      • Northeast Tacoma is located in Pierce County
    • Lake Tapps
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Tapps
      • Lake Tapps is located in Pierce County
    • Gardenville ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gardenville
      • Gardenville is located in Pierce County
    • Fife
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fife
      • Fife is located in Pierce County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,458 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fife <1>
    • Firwood ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Firwood. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Firwood
      • Firwood is located in Pierce County
    • North Puyallup
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Puyallup have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Puyallup
      • North Puyallup is located in Pierce County
    • Sumner
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Tacoma
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Puyallup
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Ruston
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ruston have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruston
      • Ruston is located in Pierce County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 848 people
    • Waller
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Waller have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waller
      • Waller is located in Pierce County
  • Snohomish County
    • The following are listed by their distance from O'Brien, with the one closest to O'Brien listed first.
    • Brier
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brier
      • Brier is located in Snohomish County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,955 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brier <1>
    • Canyon Park
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canyon Park
      • Canyon Park is located in Snohomish County
    • Esperance
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Esperance have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Esperance
      • Esperance is located in Snohomish County
    • Mountlake Terrace
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Echo Lake
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Echo Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo Lake
      • Echo Lake is located in Snohomish County
    • Maltby
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maltby
      • Maltby is located in Snohomish County
    • Woodway
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodway have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodway
      • Woodway is located in Snohomish County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,391 people
    • Alderwood Manor
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alderwood Manor have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alderwood Manor
      • Alderwood Manor is located in Snohomish County
    • Edmonds
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Lynnwood
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • North Creek
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Creek
      • North Creek is located in Snohomish County
    • Clearview
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clearview
      • Clearview is located in Snohomish County
    • Cathcart
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cathcart
      • Cathcart is located in Snohomish County

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

Newspapers Published in O'Brien ...

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 92 newspapers that have been published in the area around O'Brien.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of O'Brien, there are papers which were published within 10 miles [16.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for O'Brien.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 O'Brien:

Cemeteries Near O'Brien ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of O'Brien.

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 O'Brien covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Saar Pioneer Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Saar Pioneer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Saar Pioneer Cemetery
  • St. Patrick Catholic Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Suise Creek Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Suise Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Suise Creek Cemetery
  • Washington Memorial Park
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Washington Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Washington Memorial Park
  • Riverton Crest Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Riverton Crest Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Riverton Crest Cemetery
  • Mt. Olivet Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Olivet Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Olivet Cemetery
  • Highview Recreational Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Highview Recreational Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Highview Recreational Cemetery
  • Tahoma National Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Greenwood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Greenwood Cemetery
  • Auburn Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Auburn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Auburn Cemetery
  • Mountain View Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • White Lake Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (98 more) ...
    • Penbrock Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Penbrock Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Penbrock Cemetery
    • Comet Lodge Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • The Comet Lodge Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Georgetown Cemetery
      • Graham Street Burying Ground
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Comet Lodge Cemetery
    • Hobart - Maple Valley Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)

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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, O'Brien had a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Orillia
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orillia
    • Orillia is located in King County
  • Kent
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent
    • Kent is located in King County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 130,676 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kent <1>
  • Thomas
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thomas have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas
    • Thomas is located in King County
  • Des Moines
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Christopher
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Christopher have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christopher
    • Christopher is located in King County
  • Elliott
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elliott have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliott
    • Elliott is located in King County
  • Latona ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Latona have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Latona
    • Latona is located in King County
  • Renton
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Sunnydale
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunnydale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnydale
    • Sunnydale is located in King County
  • Maury
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maury have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maury
    • Maury is located in King County
  • Buenna
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buenna have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buenna
    • Buenna is located in King County
  • Duwamish
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Duwamish have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duwamish
    • Duwamish is located in King County
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Covington
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Stuck
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stuck have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stuck
      • Stuck is located in King County
    • Cedar Mountain
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Mountain have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Mountain
      • Cedar Mountain is located in King County

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

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for O'Brien. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for King County: www.metrokc.gov/

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>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<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- O'Brien) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in O'Brien. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 47.4123, Longitude: -122.2371       In this case, the coordinates for O'Brien have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>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.
<6>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 O'Brien, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024