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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 Silver Beach (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 Silver Beach. 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 Silver Beach ...

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 have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Silver Beach: Silver Bch.

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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and 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.

Silver Beach is located in Whatcom 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 Whatcom County: Okanogan, San Juan & Skagit.

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

  • Whatcom County     (The home county of Silver Beach)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Silver Beach, with the one closest to Silver Beach listed first.
    • Geneva
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Geneva have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geneva
      • Geneva is located in Whatcom County
    • Bellingham
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Sudden Valley
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sudden Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sudden Valley
      • Sudden Valley is located in Whatcom County
    • Chuckanut Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chuckanut Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chuckanut Village
      • Chuckanut Village is located in Whatcom County
    • Clipper
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clipper
      • Clipper is located in Whatcom County
    • Deming
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Lummi
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lummi
      • Lummi is located in Whatcom County
    • Acme
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Ferndale
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Everson
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Nooksack
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nooksack have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nooksack
      • Nooksack is located in Whatcom County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,659 people
    • Lynden
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Lummi Island
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • San Juan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Silver Beach, with the one closest to Silver Beach listed first.
    • Olga
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Eastsound
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Decatur Island
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Orcas
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Lopez Island
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lopez Island
      • Lopez Island is located in San Juan County
    • Lopez
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lopez
      • Lopez is located in San Juan County
    • Shaw Island
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaw Island
      • Shaw Island is located in San Juan County
    • Deer Harbor
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Waldron
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldron
      • Waldron is located in San Juan County
  • Skagit County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Silver Beach, with the one closest to Silver Beach listed first.
    • Alger
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alger have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alger
      • Alger is located in Skagit County
    • Bow
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Edison
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edison have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edison
      • Edison is located in Skagit County
    • Urban
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Urban
      • Urban is located in Skagit County
    • Indian Village
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
      • Indian Village is located in Skagit County
    • Bay View
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bay View have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay View
      • Bay View is located in Skagit County
    • Sedro - Woolley
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Anacortes
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Burlington
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Clear Lake
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Lake
      • Clear Lake is located in Skagit County
    • Similk Beach
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Similk Beach
      • Similk Beach is located in Skagit County
    • Lyman
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Alexander Beach
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alexander Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexander Beach
      • Alexander Beach is located in Skagit County

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

Newspapers Published in Silver Beach ...

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 138 newspapers that have been published in the area around Silver Beach.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Silver Beach, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Silver Beach.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Silver Beach:

Cemeteries Near Silver Beach ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Silver Beach.

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

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

  • Bayview Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Bayview Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Bellingham.
    • The Bayview Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Bay View Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bayview Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #76707 <4>
  • Sunnyland Memorial Park
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sunnyland Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sunnyland Memorial Park
  • Woodlawn Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Woodlawn Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the east of Ferndale.
    • The Woodlawn Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Paradise Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Woodlawn Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #77126 <4>
  • Greenacres Memorial Park
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Lummi Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lummi Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lummi Cemetery
  • Van Zandt Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Van Zandt Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Van Zandt Cemetery
  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Greenwood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Greenwood Cemetery
  • Mt. Hope Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Hope Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Hope Cemetery
  • Saxon Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Nooksack Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Nooksack Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Nooksack Cemetery
  • Lynden Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Monumenta Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (45 more) ...
    • Indian Joe Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Indian Joe Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Indian Joe Cemetery
    • Enterprise Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Enterprise Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Enterprise Cemetery
    • Berthusen Memorial Park
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Berthusen Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Berthusen Memorial Park

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 in 1895, Silver Beach had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Geneva
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Geneva have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geneva
    • Geneva is located in Whatcom County
  • Van Wyck
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Van Wyck have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Van Wyck
    • Van Wyck is located in Whatcom County
  • Bellingham
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Fairhaven
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fairhaven have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairhaven
    • Fairhaven is located in Whatcom County
  • Wahl
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wahl have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wahl
    • Wahl is located in Whatcom County
  • Laurel
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Laurel have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel
    • Laurel is located in Whatcom County
  • Goshen
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Goshen have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goshen
    • Goshen is located in Whatcom County
  • Chuckanut
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chuckanut have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chuckanut
    • Chuckanut is located in Whatcom County
  • Brennan
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brennan have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brennan
    • Brennan is located in Whatcom County
  • Marietta
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marietta have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marietta
    • Marietta is located in Whatcom County
  • Deming
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Lummi
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lummi
    • Lummi is located in Whatcom County
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Samish
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Samish have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Samish
      • Samish is located in Skagit County
    • Alger
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alger have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alger
      • Alger is located in Skagit County
    • Acme
      (10 miles [16.1 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 Silver Beach. See our List of 1890's Communities around Silver Beach.

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

The official website for Whatcom County: www.co.whatcom.wa.us/

The official website for State of Washington: https://access.wa.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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- Silver Beach) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Silver Beach. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 48.7668, Longitude: -122.4146       In this case, the coordinates for Silver Beach have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Silver Beach, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024