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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 Swale (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 Swale. 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 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.

Swale is located in Klickitat 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 Klickitat County: Gilliam (OR), Hood River (OR), Morrow (OR), Sherman (OR), Wasco (OR), Benton, Skamania & Yakima.

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

  • Klickitat County     (The home county of Swale)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Swale, with the one closest to Swale listed first.
    • Wahkiacus
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Wahkiacus is located in Klickitat County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wahkiacus
    • Klickitat
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Centerville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Blockhouse
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Blockhouse is located in Klickitat County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blockhouse
    • Wishram
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Appleton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Dallesport
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Lyle
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Goldendale
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Maryhill
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Bingen
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • White Salmon
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
  • Skamania County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Swale, with the one closest to Swale listed first.
    • Underwood
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Hood
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Hood is located in Skamania County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hood
  • Hood River County (OR)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Swale, with the one closest to Swale listed first.
    • Hood River
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Pine Grove
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Pine Grove is located in Hood River County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Grove
    • Lenz
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Lenz is located in Hood River County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lenz
      • Lenz has also been known as:
      • Sherman Spur
    • Odell
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Mount Hood
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Mount Hood is located in Hood River County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hood
    • Parkdale
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Sherman County (OR)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Swale, with the one closest to Swale listed first.
    • Biggs Junction
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Rufus
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Rufus is located in Sherman County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rufus
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 257 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rufus <1>
    • Wasco
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Wasco is located in Sherman County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wasco
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 419 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wasco <1>
    • Gordon ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Gordon is located in Sherman County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordon
    • Sinks ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Sinks is located in Sherman County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sinks
    • De Moss Springs
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • De Moss Springs is located in Sherman County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Moss Springs
    • Klondike
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Klondike is located in Sherman County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Klondike
    • Moro
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Moro is located in Sherman County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moro
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 332 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moro <1>
    • Emigrant Springs ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Emigrant Springs is located in Sherman County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emigrant Springs
    • Monkland
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Monkland is located in Sherman County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monkland
    • Grass Valley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Wasco County (OR)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Swale, with the one closest to Swale listed first.
    • Fairbanks
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Fairbanks is located in Wasco County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairbanks
    • Celilo Village
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Celilo Village is located in Wasco County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Celilo Village
    • Rowena
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Chenoweth
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Chenoweth is located in Wasco County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chenoweth
    • City of The Dalles
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • City of The Dalles is located in Wasco County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for City of The Dalles
    • The Dalles
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Ortley ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Ortley is located in Wasco County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ortley
    • Mosier
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Mosier is located in Wasco County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mosier
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 458 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mosier <1>
    • Rice ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Rice is located in Wasco County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rice
    • Boyd ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Boyd is located in Wasco County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyd
    • Endersby
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Endersby is located in Wasco County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Endersby
    • Dufur
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Dufur is located in Wasco County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dufur
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 634 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dufur <1>

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

Cemeteries Near Swale ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Swale.

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

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

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

  • Hartland Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Crawford Family Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Centerville Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Wish - Ham Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Celilo Indian Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Celilo Indian Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Viewpoint Grave Island Memorial
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Petersburg Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Lyle Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • St. Peters Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • GAR Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • IOOF Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (37 more) ...
    • Pioneer Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Masonic Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • McClure Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)

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 Swale in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Swale.

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

  • Blockhouse
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Blockhouse is located in Klickitat County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blockhouse
  • Rowena
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Lyle
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • The Dalles
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Biggs
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Biggs is located in Sherman County (OR)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Biggs
  • Goldendale
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Mosier
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Mosier is located in Wasco County (OR)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mosier
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 458 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mosier <1>
  • Rufus
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Rufus is located in Sherman County (OR)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rufus
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 257 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rufus <1>
  • Boyd ‑ Historic
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Boyd is located in Wasco County (OR)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyd
  • White Salmon
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
  • Glenwood
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Gilmer
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Gilmer is located in Klickitat County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilmer
  • Continue List   (9 more) ...
    • Dufur
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Dufur is located in Wasco County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dufur
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 634 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dufur <1>
    • Wasco
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Wasco is located in Sherman County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wasco
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 419 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wasco <1>
    • Nansene
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Nansene is located in Wasco County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nansene

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

Newspapers Published in Swale ...

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 35 newspapers that have been published in the area around Swale.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Swale, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Swale.

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 professional and volunteer 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 Swale:

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 Swale, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Swale) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.