RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Idaho >> Valley County >> Alpha >> Genealogy HelperIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
Idaho

The Commemorative Quarter for Idaho





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 Alpha (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 Alpha. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most 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.

Alpha is located in Valley County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Valley County: Adams, Boise, Custer, Gem & Idaho.

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

  • Valley County     (The home county of Alpha)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alpha, with the one closest to Alpha listed first.
    • Belvidere
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belvidere
      • Belvidere is located in Valley County
    • Cascade
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cascade have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cascade
      • Cascade is located in Valley County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,053 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cascade <2>
    • Donnelly
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Donnelly have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donnelly
      • Donnelly is located in Valley County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 229 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Donnelly <2>
    • Roseberry
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseberry
      • Roseberry is located in Valley County
    • Warm Lake
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warm Lake
      • Warm Lake is located in Valley County
    • Lake Fork
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Fork have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Fork
      • Lake Fork is located in Valley County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lake Fork <2>
  • Adams County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alpha, with the one closest to Alpha listed first.
    • Indian Valley
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Valley
      • Indian Valley is located in Adams County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Indian Valley <2>
    • Mesa
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mesa have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mesa
      • Mesa is located in Adams County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mesa <2>
  • Boise County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alpha, with the one closest to Alpha listed first.
    • Crouch
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crouch have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crouch
      • Crouch is located in Boise County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 192 people
    • Garden Valley
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Banks
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Banks have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banks
      • Banks is located in Boise County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Banks <2>
    • Grimes Pass
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grimes Pass
      • Grimes Pass is located in Boise County
    • Lowman
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lowman have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowman
      • Lowman is located in Boise County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lowman <2>
    • Brownlee
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brownlee have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownlee
      • Brownlee is located in Boise County
  • Gem County
    • Ola
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ola have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ola
      • Ola is located in Gem County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ola <2>

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

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 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 Alpha:

Cemeteries Near Alpha ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Alpha.

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

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

  • Alpha Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Alpha Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Alpha Cemetery
  • Ola Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Garden Valley Pioneer Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Garden Valley Pioneer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Garden Valley Pioneer Cemetery
  • Homes Cemetery
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Homes Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Homes Cemetery
  • Klines Grave
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Klines Grave have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Klines Grave
  • Indian Valley Cemetery
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
  • Grimes Pass Cemetery
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
  • Brownlee Cemetery
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Spink Cemetery
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Spink Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Spink Cemetery
  • Finn Cemetery
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Finn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Finn Cemetery
  • Cottonwood Cemetery
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)

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.<5>

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

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

  • Ola
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ola have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ola
    • Ola is located in Gem County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ola <2>
  • Garden Valley
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
  • Crane ‑ Historic
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crane have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crane
    • Crane is located in Washington County
  • Quartzburg
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Quartzburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quartzburg
    • Quartzburg is located in Boise County

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

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

The official website for State of Idaho: www.state.id.us/

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>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.
<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 from Point A (ie- Alpha) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Alpha. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.3910, Longitude: -116.0079       In this case, the coordinates for Alpha have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>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 Alpha, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

Copyright 2024
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024