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A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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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 Thrift (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 Thrift. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.

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 north 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.

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

  • Pierce County     (The home county of Thrift)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thrift, with the one closest to Thrift listed first.
    • Graham
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Orting
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Kapowsin
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Frederickson
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Frederickson is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frederickson
    • McMillin
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • McMillin is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McMillin
    • South Hill
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • South Hill is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Hill
    • Elk Plain
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Elk Plain is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Plain
    • Prairie Ridge
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Prairie Ridge is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Ridge
    • South Creek
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • South Creek is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Creek
    • Alderton
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Alderton is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alderton
    • Clay City
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Clay City is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clay City
    • Bonney Lake
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • King County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thrift, with the one closest to Thrift listed first.
    • Milton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Pacific
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Osceola
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Osceola is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osceola
    • Algona
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Enumclaw
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Auburn
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Federal Way
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Green River
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Green River is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green River
    • Krain
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Krain is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Krain
    • Buenna
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Buenna is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buenna
    • Lea Hill
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Lea Hill is located in King County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lea Hill
    • Lake Morton - Berrydale
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
  • Kitsap County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thrift, with the one closest to Thrift listed first.
    • Olalla
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Burley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Lewis County
  • Thurston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thrift, with the one closest to Thrift 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
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • 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
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Rainier
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • 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
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Tanglewilde is located in Thurston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tanglewilde
    • Lacey
      (26 miles [41.8 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
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Puget is located in Thurston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puget
    • McIntosh
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • McIntosh is located in Thurston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McIntosh
    • East Olympia
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Olympia
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)

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

Cemeteries Near Thrift ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Thrift.

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

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

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

  • Soldiers Home Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soldiers Home Cemetery
    • The Soldiers Home Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Old Soldiers Home Cemetery
  • Orting Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orting Cemetery
    • The Orting Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Orting IOOF Cemetery
    • Orting IOOF Cemetery
  • Bethany Lutheran Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Jensen Pioneer Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Woodbine Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbine Cemetery
    • The Woodbine Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Puyallup Cemetery
  • Fir Lane Memorial Park
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Spanaway Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Carbonado Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Parkland Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Trinity Lutheran Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Wren Family Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Jeschke Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (68 more) ...
    • Smith Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smith Cemetery
      • The Smith Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Henry Smith Cemetery
    • Wilkeson Catholic Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 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
    • Wilkeson Town Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilkeson Town Cemetery
      • The Wilkeson Town Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Knights of Pythias 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.<3>

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

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

  • Orting
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Kapowsin
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • McMillin
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • McMillin is located in Pierce County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McMillin
  • Leber
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Leber is located in Pierce County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leber
  • Alderton
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Alderton is located in Pierce County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alderton
  • Puyallup
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Carbonado
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • South Prairie
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Meeker
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Meeker is located in Pierce County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meeker
  • Wilkeson
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Burnett
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Burnett is located in Pierce County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnett
  • Cascade Junction
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Cascade Junction is located in Pierce County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cascade Junction
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Sumner
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Midland
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Midland is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midland
    • Parkland
      (11 miles [17.7 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 Thrift. See our List of 1890's Communities around Thrift.

Newspapers Published in Thrift ...

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 183 newspapers that have been published in the area around Thrift.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Thrift, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Thrift.

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 Thrift:

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