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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 Wood Lake (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 Wood Lake. 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 Wood Lake ...

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.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

Another variation: WoodLake.

  • A typical abbreviation for Wood Lake: Wood Lk.

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 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.

Wood Lake is located in Cherry County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Cherry County: Blaine, Brown, Grant, Hooker, Keya Paha, Sheridan, Thomas, Bennett (SD), Oglala Lakota (SD), Todd (SD) & Tripp (SD).

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

  • Cherry County     (The home county of Wood Lake)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wood Lake, with the one closest to Wood Lake listed first.
    • Arabia ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arabia have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arabia
      • Arabia is located in Cherry County
    • Sparks
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Valentine
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Audacious ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Audacious. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Audacious
      • Audacious is located in Cherry County
    • Kennedy
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kennedy
      • Kennedy is located in Cherry County
  • Brown County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wood Lake, with the one closest to Wood Lake listed first.
    • Johnstown
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Johnstown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnstown
      • Johnstown is located in Brown County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 60 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Johnstown <2>
    • Ainsworth
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Long Pine
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
  • Keya Paha County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wood Lake, with the one closest to Wood Lake listed first.
    • Norden
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norden
      • Norden is located in Keya Paha County
    • Meadville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadville
      • Meadville is located in Keya Paha County
    • Springview
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Springview have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springview
      • Springview is located in Keya Paha County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 222 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Springview <2>
  • Todd County (SD)
    • Littleburg
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Littleburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littleburg
      • Littleburg is located in Todd County (SD)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Wood Lake ...

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 51 newspapers that have been published in the area around Wood Lake.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Wood Lake. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Wood Lake and those printed in the larger area surrounding Wood Lake.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<4> of Wood Lake.

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 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 Wood Lake:

Cemeteries Near Wood Lake ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wood Lake.

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

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

  • Mt. Hope Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Woodlawn Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Woodlawn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Woodlawn Cemetery
  • East Woodlawn Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the East Woodlawn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the East Woodlawn Cemetery
  • Grand Prairie Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Grand Prairie Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Grand Prairie Cemetery
  • German Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the German Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the German Cemetery
  • Pleasant Vale Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Vale Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Vale Cemetery
  • Norden Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Norden Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Norden Cemetery
  • Taylor Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Taylor Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Taylor Cemetery
  • Kewanee Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
  • Sparks Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
  • Ainsworth Cemetery
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
  • Park Cemetery
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Park Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Park Cemetery
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Mt. Hope Cemetery
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Simeon Cemetery
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • St. Joseph Cemetery
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Joseph Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Joseph Cemetery

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 Wood Lake had a population of 210 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Wood Lake had a population of 64 people.

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

  • Arabia ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arabia have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arabia
    • Arabia is located in Cherry County
  • Johnstown
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Johnstown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnstown
    • Johnstown is located in Brown County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 60 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Johnstown <2>
  • Thatcher
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thatcher have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thatcher
    • Thatcher is located in Cherry County
  • Norden
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norden
    • Norden is located in Keya Paha County
  • Ainsworth
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
  • Sparks
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
  • Meadville
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadville
    • Meadville is located in Keya Paha County
  • Valentine
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Simeon
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Simeon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simeon
    • Simeon is located in Cherry County
  • Springview
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Springview have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springview
    • Springview is located in Keya Paha County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 222 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Springview <2>
  • Long Pine
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
  • Winfield ‑ Historic
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Winfield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winfield
    • Winfield is located in Brown County

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

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

The official website for Cherry County: www.co.cherry.ne.us/

The official website for State of Nebraska: www.nebraska.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' (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- Wood Lake) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Wood Lake. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.6387, Longitude: -100.2379    
<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 Wood Lake, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024