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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 Whitcomb (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 Whitcomb. 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 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.

Whitcomb is located in Benton 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 Benton County: Morrow (OR), Umatilla (OR), Franklin, Grant, Klickitat, Walla Walla & Yakima.

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

  • Benton County     (The home county of Whitcomb)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whitcomb, with the one closest to Whitcomb listed first.
    • Paterson
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Plymouth
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Plymouth is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plymouth
    • Prosser
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
  • Klickitat County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whitcomb, with the one closest to Whitcomb listed first.
    • Bluelight
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Bluelight is located in Klickitat County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluelight
    • Roosevelt
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Bickleton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Dot
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Dot is located in Klickitat County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dot
    • Cleveland
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Cleveland is located in Klickitat County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleveland
  • Yakima County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whitcomb, with the one closest to Whitcomb listed first.
    • Byron
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Byron is located in Yakima County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byron
    • Mabton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Grandview
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
  • Gilliam County (OR)
    • Arlington
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Morrow County (OR)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whitcomb, with the one closest to Whitcomb listed first.
    • Boardman
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Irrigon
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Irrigon is located in Morrow County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irrigon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,799 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Irrigon <1>
    • Alpine
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Alpine is located in Morrow County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpine
    • Ione
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Ione is located in Morrow County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ione
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 329 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ione <1>
    • Pine City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Pine City is located in Morrow County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine City
    • Lexington
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Umatilla County (OR)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whitcomb, with the one closest to Whitcomb listed first.
    • Ordnance ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Ordnance is located in Umatilla County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ordnance
    • Umatilla
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Umatilla is located in Umatilla County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Umatilla
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,360 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Umatilla <1>
    • Hinkle
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Hinkle is located in Umatilla County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hinkle
    • Hermiston
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Hermiston is located in Umatilla County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hermiston
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,791 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hermiston <1>
    • Power City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Power City is located in Umatilla County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Power City
    • Stanfield
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Cold Springs
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Cold Springs is located in Umatilla County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cold Springs
    • Echo
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Echo is located in Umatilla County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 705 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Echo <1>

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

Cemeteries Near Whitcomb ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Whitcomb.

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

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

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

  • Riverview Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Sixprong Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Irrigon Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Desert Lawn Memorial Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
  • Wells Spring Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
  • Huit - Juniper Canyon Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
  • Glade Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Sunset Hills Cemetery
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
  • Pioneer Memorial Cemetery
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
  • Umatilla Cemetery
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
  • Arlington Masonic Cemetery
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Morgan Cemetery
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (18 more) ...
    • Eightmile Cemetery
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Prosser Cemetery
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Highview Cemetery
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)

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

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

  • Willows
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Willows is located in Gilliam County (OR)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willows
  • Ella
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Ella is located in Morrow County (OR)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ella
  • Cecil
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Cecil is located in Morrow County (OR)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cecil
  • Alpine
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Alpine is located in Morrow County (OR)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpine
  • Umatilla
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Umatilla is located in Umatilla County (OR)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Umatilla
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,360 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Umatilla <1>
  • Arlington
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Byron
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Byron is located in Yakima County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byron
  • Ione
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Ione is located in Morrow County (OR)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ione
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 329 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ione <1>
  • Galloway ‑ Historic
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Galloway is located in Morrow County (OR)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galloway
  • Mabton
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Bickleton
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
  • Dot
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Dot is located in Klickitat County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dot
  • Continue List   (4 more) ...
    • Cleveland
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Cleveland is located in Klickitat County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleveland
    • Lexington
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Echo
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Echo is located in Umatilla County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 705 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Echo <1>

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

Newspapers Published in Whitcomb ...

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 49 newspapers that have been published in the area around Whitcomb.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Whitcomb, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Whitcomb.

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 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 Whitcomb:

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 Whitcomb, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Whitcomb) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.