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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 Islay (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 Islay. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Islay is located in Laramie County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Laramie County: Larimer (CO), Weld (CO), Banner (NE), Kimball (NE), Albany, Goshen & Platte.

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

  • Laramie County     (The home county of Islay)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Islay, with the one closest to Islay listed first.
    • Horse Creek
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Ranchettes
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ranchettes have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ranchettes
      • Ranchettes is located in Laramie County
    • Cheyenne
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Speer
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Speer. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speer
      • Speer is located in Laramie County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Speer
      • From Islay to Speer
    • South Greeley
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Greeley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Greeley
      • South Greeley is located in Laramie County
  • Albany County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Islay, with the one closest to Islay listed first.
    • Buford
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Sherman ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sherman. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherman
      • Sherman is located in Albany County
      • Sherman has also been known as:
      • Old Sherman
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Sherman
      • From Islay to Sherman
    • Laramie
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • The Buttes
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for The Buttes have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Buttes
      • The Buttes is located in Albany County
    • Hermosa
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hermosa. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hermosa
      • Hermosa is located in Albany County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hermosa
      • From Islay to Hermosa
    • Tie Siding
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Red Buttes ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Red Buttes. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Buttes
      • Red Buttes is located in Albany County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Red Buttes
      • From Islay to Red Buttes
    • Wyoming Station ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Larimer County (CO)

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

Cemeteries Near Islay ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Islay.

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 Islay covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Islay had a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Horse Creek
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Hecla ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hecla have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hecla
    • Hecla is located in Laramie County
  • Silver Crown
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Silver Crown have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Crown
    • Silver Crown is located in Laramie County
  • Altus
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Altus have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altus
    • Altus is located in Laramie County
  • Buford
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Borie
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Borie have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borie
    • Borie is located in Laramie County
  • Sherman ‑ Historic
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sherman. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherman
    • Sherman is located in Albany County
    • Sherman has also been known as:
    • Old Sherman
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Sherman
    • From Islay to Sherman
  • Dale Creek
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dale Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dale Creek
    • Dale Creek is located in Albany County
  • Cheyenne
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Laramie
    (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
  • Red Buttes ‑ Historic
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Red Buttes. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Buttes
    • Red Buttes is located in Albany County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Red Buttes
    • From Islay to Red Buttes
  • Tie Siding
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (5 more) ...
    • Howell
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Howell have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howell
      • Howell is located in Albany County
    • Archer
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Archer have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Archer
      • Archer is located in Laramie County
    • Virginia Dale
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Islay ...

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 47 newspapers that have been published in the area around Islay.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Islay, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Islay.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Islay:

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

The official website for Laramie County: www.webgate.co.laramie.wy.us/

The official website for State of Wyoming: https://www.wyo.gov/

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 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.
<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>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.
<5>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Islay) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Islay. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.3172, Longitude: -105.1346       In this case, the coordinates for Islay have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Islay, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025