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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 Ragnar (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 Ragnar. 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 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.

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

  • King County     (The home county of Ragnar)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ragnar, with the one closest to Ragnar listed first.
    • Riverbend
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Riverbend is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverbend
    • Tanner
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Tanner is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tanner
    • North Bend
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Snoqualmie
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Kangley
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Kangley is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kangley
    • Spring Glen
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Spring Glen is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Glen
    • Trude
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Trude is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trude
    • Preston
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Fall City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Kanaskat
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Kanaskat is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kanaskat
    • Palmer
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Palmer is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmer
    • Hobart
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Kittitas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ragnar, with the one closest to Ragnar listed first.
    • Snoqualmie Pass
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Martin
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Martin is located in Kittitas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martin
    • Cabin Creek
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Cabin Creek is located in Kittitas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cabin Creek
    • Easton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Pine Glen
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Pine Glen is located in Kittitas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Glen
  • Pierce County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ragnar, with the one closest to Ragnar listed first.
    • Greenwater
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Buckley
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Lake Tapps
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Lake Tapps is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Tapps
    • South Prairie
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Bonney Lake
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Wilkeson
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Carbonado
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Prairie Ridge
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Prairie Ridge is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Ridge
    • Sumner
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Alderton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Alderton is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alderton
    • Edgewood
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Snohomish County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ragnar, with the one closest to Ragnar listed first.
    • Index
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Index is located in Snohomish County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Index
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 214 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Index <1>
    • Gold Bar
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • May Creek
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • May Creek is located in Snohomish County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for May Creek
    • Echo Lake
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Echo Lake is located in Snohomish County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo Lake
    • Startup
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Startup is located in Snohomish County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Startup
    • Sultan
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Sultan is located in Snohomish County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sultan
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,673 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sultan <1>
    • North Sultan
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • North Sultan is located in Snohomish County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Sultan

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

Cemeteries Near Ragnar ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ragnar.

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

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

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

  • Fall City Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Ravensdale Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Hobart - Maple Valley Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hobart - Maple Valley Cemetery
    • The Hobart - Maple Valley Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Maple Valley Hobart Cemetery
  • Franklin Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Hillside Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
  • Black Diamond Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Tahoma National Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • 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>
  • Krain Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
  • Enumclaw Municipal Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Holy Cross Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Suise Creek Cemetery
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (21 more) ...
    • Mt. Olivet Cemetery
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Buckley Cemetery
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckley Cemetery
      • The Buckley Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Buckley Public Cemetery
      • White River Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #76722 <3>
    • Sunset Hills Memorial Park
      (23 miles [37 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.<4>

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

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

  • North Bend
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Snoqualmie Falls
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Snoqualmie Falls is located in King County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snoqualmie Falls
  • Snoqualmie
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Kangley
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Kangley is located in King County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kangley
  • Preston
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Palmer
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Palmer is located in King County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmer
  • Fall City
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Summit
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Summit is located in King County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
  • Franklin ‑ Historic
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Franklin is located in King County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
  • Maple Valley
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
  • Black Diamond
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Veazie
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Veazie is located in King County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Veazie
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Cedar Mountain
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Cedar Mountain is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Mountain
    • Lester ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Lester is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lester
    • Covington
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)

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

Newspapers Published in Ragnar ...

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 30 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ragnar.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ragnar, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Ragnar.

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 websites either 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 Ragnar:

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