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










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
Washington

The Commemorative Quarter for Washington





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 Ritzville (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 Ritzville. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors 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.

Ritzville is located in Adams County and is the County Seat.

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 Adams County: Franklin, Grant, Lincoln & Whitman.

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

  • Adams County     (The home county of Ritzville)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ritzville, with the one closest to Ritzville listed first.
    • Lind
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Washtucna
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Cunningham
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Grant County
    • Ruff
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruff
      • Ruff is located in Grant County
  • Lincoln County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ritzville, with the one closest to Ritzville listed first.
    • Mohler
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mohler
      • Mohler is located in Lincoln County
    • Odessa
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Sprague
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Harrington
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Bluestem
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluestem
      • Bluestem is located in Lincoln County
  • Whitman County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ritzville, with the one closest to Ritzville listed first.
    • Lamont
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Hooper
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Ritzville ...

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 28 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ritzville.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Ritzville. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Ritzville and those printed in the larger area surrounding Ritzville.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<2> of Ritzville.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Ritzville:

Cemeteries Near Ritzville ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ritzville.

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 Ritzville covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Memorial Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Memorial Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Memorial Cemetery
  • Ritzville Memorial Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Paha Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Paha Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Paha Cemetery
  • Bemis Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bemis Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bemis Cemetery
  • Lind Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lind Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lind Cemetery
  • Odessa Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Odessa Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Odessa Cemetery
  • Lake View Cemetery
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lake View Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lake View Cemetery
  • Macabee Cemetery
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Macabee Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Macabee Cemetery
  • Grisham Cemetery
    (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Grisham Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Grisham Cemetery
  • Delight Cemetery
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
  • Ammaus Cemetery
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ammaus Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ammaus Cemetery
  • Kansas Prairie Cemetery
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Kansas Prairie Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Kansas Prairie Cemetery
  • Continue List   (8 more) ...
    • Washtucna Pioneer Memorial Cemetery
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Caylor Cemetery
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Caylor Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Caylor Cemetery
    • Sassin Cemetery
      (27 miles [43.5 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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Ritzville had a population of 619 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Ritzville had a population of 1,641 people.

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

  • Paha ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Paha have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paha
    • Paha is located in Adams County
  • Bemis
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bemis have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bemis
    • Bemis is located in Adams County
  • Lind
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Fletcher
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fletcher have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fletcher
    • Fletcher is located in Adams County
  • Providence
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Providence have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
    • Providence is located in Adams County
  • Sprague
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Washtucna
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
  • Harrington
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
  • Hooper
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Sutton
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sutton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sutton
    • Sutton is located in Whitman County
  • Earl
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Earl have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Earl
    • Earl is located in Lincoln County

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

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

The official website for Adams County: www.co.adams.wa.us/

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Ritzville) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ritzville. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 47.1276, Longitude: -118.3800    
<3>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.
<4>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.
<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 Ritzville, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

Copyright 2024
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024