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 Thatcher (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 Thatcher. 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 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.
Thatcher is located in San Juan 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 San Juan County: Island, Skagit & Whatcom.
Below are the counties that are near Thatcher. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Thatcher:
- San Juan County (The home county of Thatcher)
- The following are listed by their distance from Thatcher, with the one closest to Thatcher listed first.
- Decatur Island
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Olga
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Lopez Island
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Lopez Island is located in San Juan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lopez Island
- Lopez
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Lopez is located in San Juan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lopez
- Orcas
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Shaw Island
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Shaw Island is located in San Juan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaw Island
- Deer Harbor
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Argyle
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Argyle is located in San Juan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argyle
- Friday Harbor
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Eastsound
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- False Bay
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Waldron
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Waldron is located in San Juan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldron
- Roche Harbor
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Island County
- The following are listed by their distance from Thatcher, with the one closest to Thatcher listed first.
- Oak Harbor
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- San de Fuca
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- San de Fuca is located in Island County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San de Fuca
- Coupeville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Camano
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Juniper Beach
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Juniper Beach is located in Island County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Juniper Beach
- Jefferson County
- Port Townsend
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Skagit County
- The following are listed by their distance from Thatcher, with the one closest to Thatcher listed first.
- Indian Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Indian Village is located in Skagit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
- Urban
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Urban is located in Skagit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Urban
- Anacortes
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Alexander Beach
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Alexander Beach is located in Skagit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexander Beach
- Similk Beach
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Similk Beach is located in Skagit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Similk Beach
- Snee Oosh
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Snee Oosh is located in Skagit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snee Oosh
- Bay View
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Bay View is located in Skagit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay View
- Edison
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Edison is located in Skagit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edison
- Swinomish Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Swinomish Village is located in Skagit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swinomish Village
- La Conner
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Shelter Bay
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Shelter Bay is located in Skagit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shelter Bay
- Bow
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Fish Town
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Fish Town is located in Skagit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fish Town
- Snohomish County
- The following are listed by their distance from Thatcher, with the one closest to Thatcher listed first.
- Utsalady
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Utsalady is located in Snohomish County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Utsalady
- Lake Ketchum
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Lake Ketchum is located in Snohomish County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Ketchum
- North Stanwood
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- North Stanwood is located in Snohomish County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Stanwood
- Stanwood
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Whatcom County
- The following are listed by their distance from Thatcher, with the one closest to Thatcher listed first.
- Lummi Island
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Chuckanut Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Chuckanut Village is located in Whatcom County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chuckanut Village
- Lummi
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Lummi is located in Whatcom County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lummi
- Marietta
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Marietta is located in Whatcom County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marietta
- Bellingham
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Ferndale
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Kickerville
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Kickerville is located in Whatcom County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kickerville
- Geneva
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Geneva is located in Whatcom County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geneva
- Silver Beach
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Silver Beach is located in Whatcom County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Beach
- Sudden Valley
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Sudden Valley is located in Whatcom County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sudden Valley
- Birch Bay
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Custer
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Wickersham
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Wickersham is located in Whatcom County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wickersham
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Thatcher, see our County-by-County Page for Thatcher.
Cemeteries Near Thatcher ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Thatcher.
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 Thatcher - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Thatcher covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Thatcher, with the one closest to Thatcher listed first.
- Olga - Doe Bay Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Shaw Island Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Lopez Union Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Eden Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Grandview Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Woodlawn Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Fern Hill Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Bay View Cemetery
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Maple Leaf Cemetery
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Lummi Cemetery
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Bow Cemetery
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Pleasant Ridge Cemetery
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (33 more) ...
- Bayview Cemetery
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayview Cemetery
- 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 Find-A-Grave: FG ID #76707 <2>
- Sunnyland Memorial Park
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Green Hills Memorial Cemetery
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
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 Thatcher in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Thatcher.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Thatcher, with the one closest to Thatcher listed first.
- Decatur Island
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Lopez Island
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Lopez Island is located in San Juan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lopez Island
- Olga
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Doe Bay
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Doe Bay is located in San Juan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doe Bay
- Orcas
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Richardson
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Richardson is located in San Juan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richardson
- Argyle
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Argyle is located in San Juan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argyle
- Anacortes
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Guemes
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Guemes is located in Skagit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guemes
- Friday Harbor
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Eastsound
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Beach
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Beach is located in Whatcom County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beach
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Gibraltar
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Gibraltar is located in Skagit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibraltar
- Waldron
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Waldron is located in San Juan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldron
- Roche Harbor
(15 miles [24.1 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 Thatcher. See our List of 1890's Communities around Thatcher.
Newspapers Published in Thatcher ...
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 89 newspapers that have been published in the area around Thatcher.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Thatcher, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Thatcher.
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 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 Thatcher:
- Websites specific to Washington
- Pages specific to San Juan County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Island County
- Jefferson County
- Skagit County
- Snohomish County
- Whatcom 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 Thatcher, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Thatcher) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |