RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Washington >> Pierce County >> Ponders Corner >> 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 Ponders Corner (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 Ponders Corner. 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 Ponders Corner ...

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.

  • A typical abbreviation for Ponders Corner: Ponders Cor. (or less commonly used: Ponders Crn.)
  • While the name of this community is Ponders Corner, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Ponders Corner may originally have been Ponder's Corner.

    Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Ponders Corner might be written as Ponder Corner.

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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals 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.

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

  • Pierce County     (The home county of Ponders Corner)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ponders Corner, with the one closest to Ponders Corner listed first.
    • Clover Park
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Clover Park is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clover Park
    • Lake City
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Lake City is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake City
    • Tillicum
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Tillicum is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tillicum
    • Lakewood
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Parkland
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Steilacoom
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Spanaway
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Fort Lewis
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • DuPont
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Fircrest
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • University Place
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Midland
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Midland is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midland
    • Anderson Island
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Anderson Island is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson Island
  • King County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ponders Corner, with the one closest to Ponders Corner listed first.
    • Milton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Tahlequah
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Tahlequah is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tahlequah
    • Buenna
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Buenna is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buenna
    • Federal Way
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Pacific
      (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
    • Algona
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Auburn
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Redondo
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Redondo is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redondo
    • Star Lake
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Star Lake is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star Lake
    • Woodmont Beach
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Woodmont Beach is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodmont Beach
    • Zenith
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Zenith is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zenith
    • Des Moines
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Kitsap County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ponders Corner, with the one closest to Ponders Corner listed first.
    • Burley
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Olalla
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Bethel
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Southworth
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Southworth is located in Kitsap County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southworth
    • East Port Orchard
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • East Port Orchard is located in Kitsap County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Port Orchard
    • South Colby
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • South Colby is located in Kitsap County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Colby
    • Colby
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Colby is located in Kitsap County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colby
    • Colchester
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Colchester is located in Kitsap County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colchester
    • Gorst
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Parkwood
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Parkwood is located in Kitsap County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkwood
    • Port Orchard
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • South Park Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Manchester
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
  • Mason County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ponders Corner, with the one closest to Ponders Corner listed first.
    • Grapeview
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Allyn
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Belfair
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Bayshore
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Bayshore is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayshore
    • New Kamilche
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • New Kamilche is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Kamilche
    • Shelton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Tahuya
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Union ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Union is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
  • Thurston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ponders Corner, with the one closest to Ponders Corner listed first.
    • Nisqually Indian Community
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • North Yelm
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • North Yelm is located in Thurston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Yelm
    • Puget
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Puget is located in Thurston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puget
    • Tanglewilde
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Tanglewilde is located in Thurston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tanglewilde
    • 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 <2>
    • Kellys Korner
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Kellys Korner is located in Thurston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellys Korner
    • Lacey
      (15 miles [24.1 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 <2>
    • East Olympia
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Olympia
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Rainier
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Tumwater
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • McIntosh
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • McIntosh is located in Thurston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McIntosh
    • Tenino
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Ponders Corner ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ponders Corner.

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 Ponders Corner - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Old Settlers Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • 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
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Home of Peace Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Steilacoom Masonic Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Mountain View Memorial Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Old Pioneer Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Pioneer Cemetery
    • The Old Pioneer Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Rigney Cemetery
  • Ft. Steilacoom Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Byrd Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • New Tacoma Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Parkland Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Trinity Lutheran Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (88 more) ...
    • Spanaway Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Fir Lane Memorial Park
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Pauper Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 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.<5>

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

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

  • Lakeview
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Lakeview is located in Pierce County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview
  • Lake City
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Lake City is located in Pierce County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake City
  • Hillhurst
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Hillhurst is located in Pierce County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillhurst
  • Parkland
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Steilacoom
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Fern Hill
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Fern Hill is located in Pierce County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fern Hill
  • Excelsior
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Excelsior is located in Pierce County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Excelsior
  • Midland
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Midland is located in Pierce County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midland
  • Fox Island
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Tacoma
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Roy
    (9 miles [14.5 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 <2>
  • Wollochet
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Wollochet is located in Pierce County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wollochet
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Meridian
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Meridian is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meridian
    • Artondale
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Artondale is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Artondale
    • Puyallup
      (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 Ponders Corner. See our List of 1890's Communities around Ponders Corner.

Newspapers Published in Ponders Corner ...

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 222 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ponders Corner.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ponders Corner, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Ponders Corner.

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 Ponders Corner:

Footnotes ...

<1>It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties).
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Ponders Corner) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<5>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 Ponders Corner, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.