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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 Reliance (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 Reliance. 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.

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

  • Pierce County     (The home county of Reliance)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Reliance, with the one closest to Reliance listed first.
    • Alder
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Alder is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alder
    • Elbe
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • La Grande
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Eatonville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Clay City
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Clay City is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clay City
    • Ashford
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Kapowsin
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • South Creek
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • South Creek is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Creek
    • McKenna
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Graham
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Elk Plain
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Elk Plain is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Plain
    • Melmont ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Melmont is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melmont
    • Roy
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • 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>
  • Lewis County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Reliance, with the one closest to Reliance listed first.
    • Mineral
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Morton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Cinebar
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Glenoma
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Ajlune
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Ajlune is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ajlune
    • Mossyrock
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Randle
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Silver Creek
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Lacamas
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Lacamas is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacamas
    • Salkum
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Onalaska
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Wilson
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Wilson is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson
    • Cora
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Cora is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cora
  • Thurston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Reliance, with the one closest to Reliance listed first.
    • Yelm
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • 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>
    • North Yelm
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • North Yelm is located in Thurston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Yelm
    • Rainier
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • McIntosh
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • McIntosh is located in Thurston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McIntosh
    • Nisqually Indian Community
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Kellys Korner
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Kellys Korner is located in Thurston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellys Korner
    • Bucoda
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Tenino
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • East Olympia
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Reliance ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Reliance.

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

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

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

  • Alder Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Eatonville Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eatonville Cemetery
    • The Eatonville Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Glacier Park Cemetery
    • Glacier View Cemetery
  • Mashel Prairie Indian Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Rainier Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rainier Cemetery
    • The Rainier Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Old Indian Cemetery
    • Old Pioneer Cemetery
    • Rainer Free Cemetery
    • Stringtown Cemetery
  • Jensen Pioneer Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Bethany Lutheran Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
  • Yelm Rainier Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Jeschke Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
  • Smith Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smith Cemetery
    • The Smith Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Henry Smith Cemetery
  • Shoestring Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
  • Klickitat Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Wren Family Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (27 more) ...
    • Roy Cemetery
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Alpha Cemetery
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Soldiers Home Cemetery
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soldiers Home Cemetery
      • The Soldiers Home Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Old Soldiers Home Cemetery

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.<2>

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

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

  • Eatonville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Leber
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Leber is located in Pierce County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leber
  • Morton
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
  • Kapowsin
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Bremer
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Bremer is located in Lewis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bremer
  • Cinebar
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Harmony
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Harmony is located in Lewis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmony
  • Alpha
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Alpha is located in Lewis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpha
  • Mossyrock
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
  • Swofford
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Swofford is located in Lewis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swofford
  • Yelm
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • 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>
  • Roy
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • 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>
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Silver Creek
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Orting
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Salkum
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Reliance ...

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 74 newspapers that have been published in the area around Reliance.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Reliance, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Reliance.

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 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 Reliance:

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>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 Reliance, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Reliance) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.