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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 Swede Hill (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 Swede Hill. 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 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.

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

  • Pierce County     (The home county of Swede Hill)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Swede Hill, with the one closest to Swede Hill listed first.
    • Wauna
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Wauna is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wauna
    • Gig Harbor
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Rosedale
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Rosedale is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosedale
    • Artondale
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Artondale is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Artondale
    • Cromwell
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Cromwell is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cromwell
    • Ruston
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Ruston is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruston
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 848 people
    • Vaughn
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Vaughn is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vaughn
    • Fox Island
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Home
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Home is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Home
    • Dash Point
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Dash Point is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dash Point
    • Gertrude
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Gertrude is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gertrude
    • Fircrest
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Lakebay
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Jefferson County
  • King County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Swede Hill, with the one closest to Swede Hill listed first.
    • Tahlequah
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Tahlequah is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tahlequah
    • Magnolia Beach
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Magnolia Beach is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia Beach
    • Vashon
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Buenna
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Buenna is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buenna
    • Vashon Heights
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Vashon Heights is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vashon Heights
    • Redondo
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Redondo is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redondo
    • Des Moines
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Federal Way
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • North Hill
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • North Hill is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Hill
    • Woodmont Beach
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Woodmont Beach is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodmont Beach
    • Zenith
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Zenith is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zenith
    • Normandy Park
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Seahurst
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Seahurst is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seahurst
  • Kitsap County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Swede Hill, with the one closest to Swede Hill listed first.
    • Burley
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Olalla
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Bethel
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • East Port Orchard
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • East Port Orchard is located in Kitsap County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Port Orchard
    • Colby
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Colby is located in Kitsap County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colby
    • Gorst
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Parkwood
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Parkwood is located in Kitsap County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkwood
    • Port Orchard
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • South Colby
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • South Colby is located in Kitsap County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Colby
    • South Park Village
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Southworth
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Southworth is located in Kitsap County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southworth
    • Colchester
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Colchester is located in Kitsap County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colchester
    • Navy Yard City
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Navy Yard City is located in Kitsap County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Navy Yard City
  • Mason County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Swede Hill, with the one closest to Swede Hill listed first.
    • Allyn
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Grapeview
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Belfair
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Tahuya
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Bayshore
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Bayshore is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayshore
    • Union ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Union is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
    • Shelton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Hoodsport
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Lilliwaup
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Potlatch
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Skokomish
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Skokomish is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skokomish
    • New Kamilche
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • New Kamilche is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Kamilche
    • Mohrweis
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Mohrweis is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mohrweis
  • Thurston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Swede Hill, with the one closest to Swede Hill listed first.
    • Puget
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Puget is located in Thurston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puget
    • Tanglewilde
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Tanglewilde is located in Thurston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tanglewilde
    • Nisqually Indian Community
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Lacey
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Lacey is located in Thurston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacey
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 54,178 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lacey <1>
    • Olympia
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Kellys Korner
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Kellys Korner is located in Thurston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellys Korner
    • North Yelm
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • North Yelm is located in Thurston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Yelm
    • Tumwater
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • East Olympia
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Yelm
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • 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>

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

Cemeteries Near Swede Hill ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Swede Hill.

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 Swede Hill - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Rosedale Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Haven of Rest Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haven of Rest Cemetery
    • Former name for Haven of Rest Cemetery:
    • Perkins Cemetery
  • Artondale Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Gig Harbor Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gig Harbor Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Gig Harbor Cemetery is located outside and to the north of Gig Harbor.
    • The Gig Harbor Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Cresent Valley Cemetery
  • Minter Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minter Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Minter Cemetery is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<2> to the west of Wauna.
    • The Minter Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Elgin Cemetery
  • Cromwell Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cromwell Cemetery
    • The Cromwell Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Hales Passage Cemetery
    • Hales Passage Scandinavian Lutheran Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2259125 <3>
  • Fox Island Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Vaughn Bay Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vaughn Bay Cemetery
    • The Vaughn Bay Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Bayview Cemetery
    • Niemann Family Cemetery
  • Fraola Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Lakebay Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Penbrock Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • German Lutheran Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • 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
  • Continue List   (104 more) ...

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.<4>

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

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

  • Rosedale
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Rosedale is located in Pierce County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosedale
  • Gig Harbor
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Purdy
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Purdy is located in Pierce County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Purdy
  • Artondale
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Artondale is located in Pierce County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Artondale
  • Minter
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Minter is located in Pierce County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minter
  • Wollochet
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Wollochet is located in Pierce County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wollochet
  • Olalla
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Vaughn
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Vaughn is located in Pierce County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vaughn
  • Fox Island
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Lakebay
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Chautauqua
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Chautauqua is located in King County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chautauqua
  • Vashon
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Meridian
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Meridian is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meridian
    • Tacoma
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Allyn
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)

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

Newspapers Published in Swede Hill ...

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 48 newspapers that have been published in the area around Swede Hill.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Swede Hill, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Swede Hill.

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 Swede Hill:

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 '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- Swede Hill) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<4>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 Swede Hill, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.