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 West Sound (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 West Sound. 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 West Sound ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for West Sound: W. Sound
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 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.
West Sound 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 West Sound. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to West Sound:
- San Juan County (The home county of West Sound)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Sound, with the one closest to West Sound listed first.
- Deer Harbor
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Orcas
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Shaw Island
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Shaw Island is located in San Juan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaw Island
- Olga
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Eastsound
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Waldron
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Waldron is located in San Juan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldron
- Friday Harbor
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Lopez
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Lopez is located in San Juan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lopez
- Argyle
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Argyle is located in San Juan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argyle
- Roche Harbor
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Lopez Island
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Lopez Island is located in San Juan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lopez Island
- Decatur Island
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- False Bay
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Island County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Sound, with the one closest to West Sound listed first.
- Oak Harbor
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- San de Fuca
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- San de Fuca is located in Island County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San de Fuca
- Skagit County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Sound, with the one closest to West Sound listed first.
- Urban
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Urban is located in Skagit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Urban
- Indian Village
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Indian Village is located in Skagit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
- Alexander Beach
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Alexander Beach is located in Skagit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexander Beach
- Anacortes
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Similk Beach
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Similk Beach is located in Skagit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Similk Beach
- Edison
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Edison is located in Skagit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edison
- Snee Oosh
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Snee Oosh is located in Skagit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snee Oosh
- Bay View
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Bay View is located in Skagit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay View
- Bow
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Swinomish Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Swinomish Village is located in Skagit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swinomish Village
- La Conner
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Shelter Bay
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Shelter Bay is located in Skagit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shelter Bay
- Alger
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Alger is located in Skagit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alger
- Whatcom County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Sound, with the one closest to West Sound listed first.
- Lummi Island
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Lummi
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Lummi is located in Whatcom County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lummi
- Kickerville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Kickerville is located in Whatcom County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kickerville
- Marietta
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Marietta is located in Whatcom County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marietta
- Chuckanut Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Chuckanut Village is located in Whatcom County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chuckanut Village
- Birch Bay
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Ferndale
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Bellingham
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Custer
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Point Roberts
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Geneva
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Geneva is located in Whatcom County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geneva
- Silver Beach
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Silver Beach is located in Whatcom County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Beach
- Blaine
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to West Sound, see our County-by-County Page for West Sound.
Cemeteries Near West Sound ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Sound.
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 West Sound - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for West Sound covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from West Sound, with the one closest to West Sound listed first.
- Woodlawn Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Shaw Island Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Olga - Doe Bay Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Lopez Union Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Eden Cemetery
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Grandview Cemetery
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Lummi Cemetery
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Pender Island Cemetery
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Fern Hill Cemetery
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Royal Oak Burial Park
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Congregation Emanu-El Cemetery
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Harling Point Chinese Cemetery
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (33 more) ...
- Holy Trinity Anglican Church Cemetery
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- St. Stephen's Anglican Church Cemetery
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Quadra Street Cemetery
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
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 West Sound in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of West Sound.
These communities are listed based on their distance from West Sound, with the one closest to West Sound listed first.
- Orcas
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Olga
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Waldron
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Waldron is located in San Juan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldron
- Eastsound
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Friday Harbor
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Argyle
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Argyle is located in San Juan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argyle
- Doe Bay
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Doe Bay is located in San Juan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doe Bay
- Roche Harbor
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Lopez Island
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Lopez Island is located in San Juan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lopez Island
- Decatur Island
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Richardson
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Richardson is located in San Juan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richardson
- Beach
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Beach is located in Whatcom County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beach
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Guemes
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Guemes is located in Skagit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guemes
- Anacortes
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Lummi
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Lummi is located in Whatcom County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lummi
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around West Sound. See our List of 1890's Communities around West Sound.
Newspapers Published in West Sound ...
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 70 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Sound.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Sound, 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 West Sound.
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 West Sound:
- Websites specific to Washington
- Pages specific to San Juan County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Island County
- Skagit 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 West Sound, 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' (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- West Sound) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |