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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 Wilderness (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 Wilderness. 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 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.

Wilderness is located in King County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of King County: Chelan, Kittitas, Pierce & Snohomish.

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

  • King County     (The home county of Wilderness)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wilderness, with the one closest to Wilderness listed first.
    • Wilderness Village
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wilderness Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilderness Village
      • Wilderness Village is located in King County
    • Orchard Grove
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orchard Grove
      • Orchard Grove is located in King County
    • Maple Valley
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Danville
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danville
      • Danville is located in King County
    • Covington
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Landsburg
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Landsburg
      • Landsburg is located in King County
    • Ravensdale
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ravensdale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ravensdale
      • Ravensdale is located in King County
    • Hobart
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Maple Heights - Lake Desire
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • One Hundred One Pines
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Lake Morton - Berrydale
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Black Diamond
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Green River
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green River have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green River
      • Green River is located in King County
  • Kitsap County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wilderness, with the one closest to Wilderness listed first.
    • Southworth
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southworth
      • Southworth is located in Kitsap County
    • Olalla
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • South Colby
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Colby
      • South Colby is located in Kitsap County
    • Colby
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colby
      • Colby is located in Kitsap County
    • Colchester
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colchester
      • Colchester is located in Kitsap County
    • Fort Ward
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Ward
      • Fort Ward is located in Kitsap County
    • Manchester
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • South Park Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Yeomalt
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yeomalt
      • Yeomalt is located in Kitsap County
    • Burley
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Bainbridge Island
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bainbridge Island
      • Bainbridge Island is located in Kitsap County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 25,358 people
      • Bainbridge Island has also been known as:
      • Winslow
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bainbridge Island <2>
    • Bethel
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • East Port Orchard
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Port Orchard
      • East Port Orchard is located in Kitsap County
  • Kittitas County
  • Pierce County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wilderness, with the one closest to Wilderness listed first.
    • Lake Tapps
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Tapps
      • Lake Tapps is located in Pierce County
    • Edgewood
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Buckley
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Bonney Lake
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Sumner
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • South Prairie
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Alderton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alderton
      • Alderton is located in Pierce County
    • Firwood ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Firwood. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Firwood
      • Firwood is located in Pierce County
    • North Puyallup
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Puyallup have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Puyallup
      • North Puyallup is located in Pierce County
    • Northeast Tacoma
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northeast Tacoma
      • Northeast Tacoma is located in Pierce County
    • Prairie Ridge
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prairie Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Ridge
      • Prairie Ridge is located in Pierce County
    • Fife
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fife
      • Fife is located in Pierce County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,458 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fife <2>
    • Gardenville ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gardenville
      • Gardenville is located in Pierce County
  • Snohomish County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wilderness, with the one closest to Wilderness listed first.
    • Echo Lake
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Echo Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo Lake
      • Echo Lake is located in Snohomish County
    • Brier
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brier
      • Brier is located in Snohomish County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,955 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brier <2>
    • Canyon Park
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canyon Park
      • Canyon Park is located in Snohomish County
    • Maltby
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maltby
      • Maltby is located in Snohomish County
    • North Creek
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Creek
      • North Creek is located in Snohomish County
    • Mountlake Terrace
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Wilderness ...

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 92 newspapers that have been published in the area around Wilderness.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Wilderness, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Wilderness.

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 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 Wilderness:

Cemeteries Near Wilderness ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wilderness.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

  • Tahoma National Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Ravensdale Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ravensdale Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ravensdale Cemetery
  • Hobart - Maple Valley Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Black Diamond Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Suise Creek Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Suise Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Suise Creek Cemetery
  • Franklin Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Franklin Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Franklin Cemetery
  • White Lake Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Saar Pioneer Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Saar Pioneer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Saar Pioneer Cemetery
  • Krain Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Krain Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Krain Cemetery
  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Greenwood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Greenwood Cemetery
  • Mt. Olivet Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Olivet Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Olivet Cemetery
  • Holy Cross Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Holy Cross Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Holy Cross Cemetery
  • Continue List   (77 more) ...
    • Enumclaw Municipal Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Enumclaw Municipal Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Enumclaw Municipal Cemetery
    • Hillside Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Mountain View Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 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.<6>

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

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

  • Maple Valley
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Summit
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Summit have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
    • Summit is located in King County
  • Covington
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Cedar Mountain
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Mountain have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Mountain
    • Cedar Mountain is located in King County
  • Black Diamond
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Green River
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green River have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green River
    • Green River is located in King County
  • Franklin ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
    • Franklin is located in King County
  • Kangley
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kangley
    • Kangley is located in King County
  • Elliott
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elliott have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliott
    • Elliott is located in King County
  • Thomas
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thomas have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas
    • Thomas is located in King County
  • Palmer
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Palmer have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmer
    • Palmer is located in King County
  • Kent
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent
    • Kent is located in King County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 130,676 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kent <2>
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Christopher
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Christopher have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christopher
      • Christopher is located in King County
    • O'Brien
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for O'Brien have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for O'Brien
      • O'Brien is located in King County
    • Stuck
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stuck have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stuck
      • Stuck is located in King County

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

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Wilderness. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for King County: www.metrokc.gov/

The official website for State of Washington: https://access.wa.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Wilderness) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Wilderness. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 47.3798, Longitude: -122.0482       In this case, the coordinates for Wilderness have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>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.
<6>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 Wilderness, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 10 Mar 2024