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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 River (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 River. 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 River ...

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.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Wood River: Wood Riv.

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 and 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.

Wood River is located in Hall 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 Hall County: Adams, Buffalo, Hamilton, Howard & Merrick.

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

  • Hall County     (The home county of Wood River)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wood River, with the one closest to Wood River listed first.
    • Cameron
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cameron
      • Cameron is located in Hall County
    • Alda
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alda have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alda
      • Alda is located in Hall County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 660 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alda <2>
    • Doniphan
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Doniphan have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doniphan
      • Doniphan is located in Hall County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 832 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Doniphan <2>
    • Cairo
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Grand Island
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Adams County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wood River, with the one closest to Wood River listed first.
    • Prosser
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prosser have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prosser
      • Prosser is located in Adams County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 71 people
    • Hayland
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayland
      • Hayland is located in Adams County
    • Kenesaw
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kenesaw have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenesaw
      • Kenesaw is located in Adams County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 950 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kenesaw <2>
    • Hansen
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hansen
      • Hansen is located in Adams County
    • Juniata
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Hastings
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Blaine
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blaine
      • Blaine is located in Adams County
    • Good Samaritan Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Good Samaritan Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Good Samaritan Village
      • Good Samaritan Village is located in Adams County
    • Assumption
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Assumption
      • Assumption is located in Adams County
    • Holstein
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Roseland
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Ayr
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ayr have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayr
      • Ayr is located in Adams County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 120 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ayr <2>
  • Buffalo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wood River, with the one closest to Wood River listed first.
    • Shelton
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shelton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shelton
      • Shelton is located in Buffalo County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,055 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Shelton <2>
    • Denman
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denman
      • Denman is located in Buffalo County
    • Gibbon
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gibbon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibbon
      • Gibbon is located in Buffalo County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,875 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gibbon <2>
    • Ravenna
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Buda
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buda have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buda
      • Buda is located in Buffalo County
    • Poole
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poole
      • Poole is located in Buffalo County
    • Prairie Center
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Center
      • Prairie Center is located in Buffalo County
    • Sweetwater
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweetwater
      • Sweetwater is located in Buffalo County
    • Kearney
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Pleasanton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Riverdale
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Riverdale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverdale
      • Riverdale is located in Buffalo County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 179 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Riverdale <2>
  • Clay County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wood River, with the one closest to Wood River listed first.
    • Trumbull
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Trumbull have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trumbull
      • Trumbull is located in Clay County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 196 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Trumbull <2>
    • Inland
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Glenvil
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Harvard
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Hamilton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wood River, with the one closest to Wood River listed first.
    • Phillips
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Giltner
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Giltner have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Giltner
      • Giltner is located in Hamilton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 363 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Giltner <2>
  • Howard County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wood River, with the one closest to Wood River listed first.
    • Boelus
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Howard City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Howard City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howard City
      • Howard City is located in Howard County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 187 people
    • Dannebrog
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dannebrog have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dannebrog
      • Dannebrog is located in Howard County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 307 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dannebrog <2>
    • Nysted
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nysted
      • Nysted is located in Howard County
    • Saint Libory
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Farwell
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Saint Paul
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
  • Kearney County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wood River, with the one closest to Wood River listed first.
    • Valley City ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Valley City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley City
      • Valley City is located in Kearney County
    • Heartwell
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Heartwell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heartwell
      • Heartwell is located in Kearney County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 72 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Heartwell <2>
    • Norman
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Kearney City ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kearney City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kearney City
      • Kearney City is located in Kearney County
      • Kearney City has also been known as:
      • Dobytown
    • Minden
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Merrick County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wood River, with the one closest to Wood River listed first.
    • Worms
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worms
      • Worms is located in Merrick County
    • Chapman
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Sherman County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wood River, with the one closest to Wood River listed first.
    • Rockville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Hazard
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Wood River ...

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 91 newspapers that have been published in the area around Wood River.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Wood River. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Wood River and those printed in the larger area surrounding Wood River.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3> of Wood River.

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 Wood River:

Cemeteries Near Wood River ...

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Wood River, with the one closest to Wood River 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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Wood River had a population of 481 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Wood River had a population of 1,307 people.

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

  • Cameron
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cameron
    • Cameron is located in Hall County
  • Shelton
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shelton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shelton
    • Shelton is located in Buffalo County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,055 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Shelton <2>
  • Alda
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alda have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alda
    • Alda is located in Hall County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 660 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alda <2>
  • Prosser
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prosser have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prosser
    • Prosser is located in Adams County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 71 people
  • Cairo
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Doniphan
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Doniphan have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doniphan
    • Doniphan is located in Hall County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 832 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Doniphan <2>
  • Abbott
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Abbott have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbott
    • Abbott is located in Hall County
  • Gibbon
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gibbon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibbon
    • Gibbon is located in Buffalo County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,875 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gibbon <2>
  • Kenesaw
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kenesaw have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenesaw
    • Kenesaw is located in Adams County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 950 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kenesaw <2>
  • Hansen
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hansen
    • Hansen is located in Adams County
  • Grand Island
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Saint Michael
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Michael have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Michael
    • Saint Michael is located in Buffalo County
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Juniata
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Lowell
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lowell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowell
      • Lowell is located in Kearney County
    • Boelus
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)

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

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

The official website for Hall County: www.hcgi.org/

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Wood River) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Wood River. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.8225, Longitude: -98.6016    
<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>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 River, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024