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 Sunrise 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 Sunrise 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 Sunrise 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 occur.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Sunrise Beach: Sunrise Bch.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Sunrise Beach. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Sunrise Beach.
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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Sunrise Beach is located in Thurston 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 Thurston County: Grays Harbor, Lewis, Mason & Pierce.
Below are the counties that are near Sunrise Beach. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Sunrise Beach:
- Thurston County (The home county of Sunrise Beach)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunrise Beach, with the one closest to Sunrise Beach listed first.
- Olympia
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Tumwater
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Lacey
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Puget
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Puget is located in Thurston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puget
- Tanglewilde
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Tanglewilde is located in Thurston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tanglewilde
- East Olympia
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Littlerock
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Kellys Korner
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Kellys Korner is located in Thurston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellys Korner
- Bordeaux ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Bordeaux is located in Thurston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bordeaux
- Nisqually Indian Community
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Tenino
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Grand Mound
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- McIntosh
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- McIntosh is located in Thurston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McIntosh
- Grays Harbor County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunrise Beach, with the one closest to Sunrise Beach listed first.
- McCleary Junction
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- McCleary Junction is located in Grays Harbor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCleary Junction
- McCleary
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Sine
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Sine is located in Grays Harbor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sine
- Garden City
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Garden City is located in Grays Harbor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- Malone - Porter
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Malone - Porter is located in Grays Harbor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malone - Porter
- Malone
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Porter
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Porter is located in Grays Harbor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter
- Cedarville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Cedarville is located in Grays Harbor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarville
- Oakville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Elma
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Elma is located in Grays Harbor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elma
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,378 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elma <1>
- Chehalis Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Chehalis Village is located in Grays Harbor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chehalis Village
- Satsop
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Satsop is located in Grays Harbor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Satsop
- Brady
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Brady is located in Grays Harbor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brady
- King County
- Tahlequah
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Tahlequah is located in King County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tahlequah
- Kitsap County
- Burley
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Lewis County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunrise Beach, with the one closest to Sunrise Beach listed first.
- Galvin
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Fords Prairie
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Fords Prairie is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fords Prairie
- Centralia
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Chehalis
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Claquato
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Claquato is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claquato
- Fayette
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Fayette is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayette
- Mason County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunrise Beach, with the one closest to Sunrise Beach listed first.
- New Kamilche
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- New Kamilche is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Kamilche
- Shelton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Bayshore
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Bayshore is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayshore
- Grapeview
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Union ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Union is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
- Mohrweis
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Mohrweis is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mohrweis
- Skokomish
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Skokomish is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skokomish
- Tahuya
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Allyn
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Potlatch
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Matlock
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Matlock is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matlock
- Hoodsport
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Deckerville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Deckerville is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deckerville
- Pierce County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunrise Beach, with the one closest to Sunrise Beach listed first.
- Longbranch
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Anderson Island
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Anderson Island is located in Pierce County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson Island
- Herron Island
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Meridian
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Meridian is located in Pierce County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meridian
- DuPont
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Home
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Home is located in Pierce County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Home
- Lakebay
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Gertrude
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Gertrude is located in Pierce County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gertrude
- Fort Lewis
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Steilacoom
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Mock City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Mock City is located in Pierce County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mock City
- Tillicum
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Tillicum is located in Pierce County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tillicum
- Fox Island
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Sunrise Beach, see our County-by-County Page for Sunrise Beach.
Cemeteries Near Sunrise Beach ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sunrise 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.
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 Sunrise Beach - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Sunrise Beach covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Sunrise Beach, with the one closest to Sunrise Beach listed first.
- McLane Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McLane Cemetery
- The McLane Cemetery has also been known as:
- Mud Bay Cemetery
- Squaxin Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Mills & Mills Memorial Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mills & Mills Memorial Park
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Mills & Mills Memorial Park is located outside and to the southwest of Tumwater.
- The Mills & Mills Memorial Park has also been known as:
- Olympic Memorial Garden Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #76974 <2>
- Mt. Tabor Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Union Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Miller Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Woodlawn Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Oakland Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Shelton Memorial Park
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- McCleary Pythian Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Anderson Island Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Longbranch Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (56 more) ...
- German Lutheran Cemetery
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for German Lutheran Cemetery
- The German Lutheran Cemetery has also been known as:
- Lakebay German Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery
- Old German Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery
- Lakebay Cemetery
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Hillcrest Cemetery
(16 miles [25.7 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.<3>
While we didn't find Sunrise Beach in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Sunrise Beach.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Sunrise Beach, with the one closest to Sunrise Beach listed first.
- New Kamilche
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- New Kamilche is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Kamilche
- Olympia
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Kamilche
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Kamilche is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kamilche
- Belmore
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Belmore is located in Thurston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmore
- Tumwater
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Lacey
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Puget
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Puget is located in Thurston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puget
- Shelton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Littlerock
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Plumb
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Plumb is located in Thurston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plumb
- Longbranch
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Meridian
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Meridian is located in Pierce County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meridian
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Lakebay
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Tenino
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Porter
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Porter is located in Grays Harbor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Sunrise Beach. See our List of 1890's Communities around Sunrise Beach.
Newspapers Published in Sunrise 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 148 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sunrise Beach.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sunrise Beach, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sunrise Beach.
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 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 Sunrise Beach:
- Websites specific to Washington
- Pages specific to Thurston County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Grays Harbor County
- King County
- Kitsap County
- Lewis County
- Mason County
- Pierce County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Washington
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> | 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. |
| <3> | 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 Sunrise Beach, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Sunrise Beach) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |