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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 Tanwax (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 Tanwax. 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 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.

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

  • Pierce County     (The home county of Tanwax)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Tanwax, with the one closest to Tanwax listed first.
    • Kapowsin
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Graham
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Clay City
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Clay City is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clay City
    • Orting
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • South Creek
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • South Creek is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Creek
    • Elk Plain
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Elk Plain is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Plain
    • Frederickson
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Frederickson is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frederickson
    • McMillin
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • McMillin is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McMillin
    • South Hill
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • South Hill is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Hill
    • Eatonville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Melmont ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Melmont is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melmont
    • Carbonado
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Prairie Ridge
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Prairie Ridge is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Ridge
  • King County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Tanwax, with the one closest to Tanwax listed first.
    • Osceola
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Osceola is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osceola
    • Milton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Pacific
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Enumclaw
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Algona
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Auburn
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Krain
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Krain is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Krain
    • Green River
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Green River is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green River
    • Federal Way
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Lea Hill
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Lea Hill is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lea Hill
    • Buenna
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Buenna is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buenna
    • Lake Morton - Berrydale
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Black Diamond
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
  • Lewis County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Tanwax, with the one closest to Tanwax listed first.
    • Mineral
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Morton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Cinebar
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Thurston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Tanwax, with the one closest to Tanwax listed first.
    • North Yelm
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • North Yelm is located in Thurston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Yelm
    • Yelm
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • 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>
    • Nisqually Indian Community
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Rainier
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Kellys Korner
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Kellys Korner is located in Thurston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellys Korner
    • Tanglewilde
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Tanglewilde is located in Thurston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tanglewilde
    • McIntosh
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • McIntosh is located in Thurston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McIntosh
    • Lacey
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • 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>
    • Puget
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Puget is located in Thurston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puget
    • East Olympia
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Tenino
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)

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

Cemeteries Near Tanwax ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Tanwax.

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

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

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

  • Soldiers Home Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soldiers Home Cemetery
    • The Soldiers Home Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Old Soldiers Home Cemetery
  • Orting Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orting Cemetery
    • The Orting Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Orting IOOF Cemetery
    • Orting IOOF Cemetery
  • Jensen Pioneer Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Bethany Lutheran Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Rainier Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rainier Cemetery
    • The Rainier Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Old Indian Cemetery
    • Old Pioneer Cemetery
    • Rainer Free Cemetery
    • Stringtown Cemetery
  • Eatonville Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eatonville Cemetery
    • The Eatonville Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Glacier Park Cemetery
    • Glacier View Cemetery
  • Smith Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smith Cemetery
    • The Smith Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Henry Smith Cemetery
  • Carbonado Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Fir Lane Memorial Park
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Spanaway Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Wren Family Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Jeschke Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (61 more) ...
    • Woodbine Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbine Cemetery
      • The Woodbine Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Puyallup Cemetery
    • Mashel Prairie Indian Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Wilkeson Catholic Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilkeson Catholic Cemetery
      • The Wilkeson Catholic Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Lady of the Lourdes Catholic Church Cemetery

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

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

  • Kapowsin
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Leber
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Leber is located in Pierce County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leber
  • Orting
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Eatonville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • McMillin
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • McMillin is located in Pierce County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McMillin
  • Carbonado
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Wilkeson
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • South Prairie
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Alderton
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Alderton is located in Pierce County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alderton
  • Puyallup
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Burnett
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Burnett is located in Pierce County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnett
  • Cascade Junction
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Cascade Junction is located in Pierce County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cascade Junction
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Meeker
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Meeker is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meeker
    • Sumner
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Parkland
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Tanwax ...

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 180 newspapers that have been published in the area around Tanwax.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Tanwax, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Tanwax.

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 Tanwax:

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 Tanwax, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Tanwax) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.