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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 Washington Harbor (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 Washington Harbor. 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.

Name Variations for Washington Harbor ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Washington Harbor: Washington Hbr. (or less commonly used: Washington Harb. or Washington Hrbr.)

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Washington Harbor. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Washington Harbor.

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

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 hospitals and doctors 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.

Washington Harbor is located in Clallam County.

To see how the shape of Washington's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

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

  • Clallam County     (The home county of Washington Harbor)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Washington Harbor, with the one closest to Washington Harbor listed first.
    • Port Williams
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Port Williams is located in Clallam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Williams
    • Bell Hill
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Bell Hill is located in Clallam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell Hill
    • Sequim
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • River Road
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • River Road is located in Clallam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Road
    • Blyn
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Blyn is located in Clallam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blyn
    • Carlsborg
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Old Town
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Old Town is located in Clallam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Town
    • Little Oklahoma
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Little Oklahoma is located in Clallam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Oklahoma
    • Port Angeles
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Elwha
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Elwha is located in Clallam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elwha
  • Island County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Washington Harbor, with the one closest to Washington Harbor listed first.
    • San de Fuca
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • San de Fuca is located in Island County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San de Fuca
    • Coupeville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Greenbank
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Oak Harbor
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Camano
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Freeland
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Bay View
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Bay View is located in Island County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay View
    • Camp Diana
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Camp Diana is located in Island County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camp Diana
    • Langley
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Jefferson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Washington Harbor, with the one closest to Washington Harbor listed first.
    • Gardiner
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Adelma Beach
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Adelma Beach is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adelma Beach
    • Irondale ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Irondale is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irondale
    • Port Hadlock - Irondale
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Chimacum
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Port Hadlock
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Port Townsend
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Leland
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Leland is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leland
    • Marrowstone
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Nordland
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Beaver Valley
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Beaver Valley is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Valley
    • Port Ludlow
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
  • Kitsap County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Washington Harbor, with the one closest to Washington Harbor listed first.
    • Hansville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Lofall
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Lofall is located in Kitsap County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lofall
    • Port Gamble
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Poulsbo
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • San Juan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Washington Harbor, with the one closest to Washington Harbor listed first.
    • False Bay
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Argyle
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Argyle is located in San Juan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argyle
    • Lopez Island
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Lopez Island is located in San Juan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lopez Island
  • Snohomish County
    • Utsalady
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Utsalady is located in Snohomish County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Utsalady

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

Cemeteries Near Washington Harbor ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Washington Harbor.

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 Washington Harbor - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Jamestown Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Sequim View Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Laurel Grove Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Mt. Angeles Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
  • Sound View Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
  • Sunnyside Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Quilcene Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
  • Ocean View Cemetery
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
  • Maple Leaf Cemetery
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
  • Hansville Cemetery
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Harling Point Chinese Cemetery
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Breidablik Cemetery
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Breidablik Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Breidablik Cemetery is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<3> to the north of Poulsbo.
    • The Breidablik Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Breidablik Chapel Cemetery
    • Breidablik Church Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2188982 <2>
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Buena Vista Cemetery
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Ross Bay Cemetery
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Vinland Lutheran Church Cemetery
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)

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

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

  • Port Williams
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Port Williams is located in Clallam County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Williams
  • Blyn
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Blyn is located in Clallam County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blyn
  • Rena
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Rena is located in Clallam County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rena
  • Port Discovery ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Port Discovery is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Discovery
  • Irondale ‑ Historic
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Irondale is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irondale
  • Chimacum
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Port Townsend
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Leland
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Leland is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leland
  • San de Fuca
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • San de Fuca is located in Island County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San de Fuca
  • Port Angeles
    (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
  • Quilcene
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
  • Port Ludlow
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (8 more) ...
    • Coupeville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Oak Harbor
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Port Gamble
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Washington Harbor ...

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 58 newspapers that have been published in the area around Washington Harbor.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Washington Harbor, 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 Washington Harbor.

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 websites either 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 Washington Harbor:

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>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Washington Harbor) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Washington Harbor, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.