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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 Wichita (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 Wichita. 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.

Wichita is located in Guthrie County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Guthrie County: Adair, Audubon, Carroll, Cass, Dallas, Greene & Madison.

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

  • Guthrie County     (The home county of Wichita)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wichita, with the one closest to Wichita listed first.
    • Guthrie Center
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Bayard
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • North Branch
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • North Branch is located in Guthrie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Branch
    • Bagley
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Bagley is located in Guthrie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bagley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 285 people
    • Panora
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Yale
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Yale is located in Guthrie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 239 people
    • Glendon
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Glendon is located in Guthrie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendon
    • Herndon
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Herndon is located in Guthrie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herndon
    • Adair
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Casey
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Dale
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Dale is located in Guthrie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dale
    • Jamaica
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Menlo
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Adair County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wichita, with the one closest to Wichita listed first.
    • Arbor Hill
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Arbor Hill is located in Adair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arbor Hill
    • Fontanelle
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Fontanelle is located in Adair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fontanelle
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 612 people
    • Greenfield
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Audubon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wichita, with the one closest to Wichita listed first.
    • Audubon
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Hamlin
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Hamlin is located in Audubon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamlin
    • Ross
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Ross is located in Audubon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ross
    • Exira
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Brayton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Gray
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Fiscus
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Fiscus is located in Audubon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fiscus
    • Kimballton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
  • Boone County
    • Berkley
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Berkley is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berkley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 33 people
  • Carroll County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wichita, with the one closest to Wichita listed first.
    • Coon Rapids
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Dedham
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Willey
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Willey is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willey
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 97 people
    • Ralston
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Ralston is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ralston
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 72 people
    • Templeton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Glidden
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Roselle
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Roselle is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roselle
    • Carroll Community Estates
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Carroll
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Halbur
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Halbur is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halbur
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 252 people
    • Manning
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Lidderdale
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Lidderdale is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lidderdale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 167 people
  • Cass County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wichita, with the one closest to Wichita listed first.
    • Anita
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Wiota
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Grove City ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Grove City is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove City
    • Norway Center
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Norway Center is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norway Center
    • Sycamore Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Sycamore Village is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sycamore Village
  • Crawford County
    • Aspinwall
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Aspinwall is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aspinwall
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 40 people
  • Dallas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wichita, with the one closest to Wichita listed first.
    • Linden
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Linden is located in Dallas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linden
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 214 people
    • Dawson
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Dawson is located in Dallas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 127 people
    • Redfield
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Wiscotta
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Wiscotta is located in Dallas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wiscotta
    • Dexter
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Panther
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Panther is located in Dallas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panther
    • Perry
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Minburn
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Minburn is located in Dallas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minburn
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 357 people
    • Adel
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Adel is located in Dallas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adel
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,607 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Adel <1>
  • Greene County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wichita, with the one closest to Wichita listed first.
    • Cooper
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Cooper is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooper
    • Scranton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Jefferson
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Rippey
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Rippey is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rippey
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 269 people
    • Farlin
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Farlin is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farlin
    • Grand Junction
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Churdan
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Churdan is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Churdan
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 363 people
  • Madison County
    • Earlham
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Shelby County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wichita, with the one closest to Wichita listed first.
    • Elk Horn
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Botna
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Botna is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Botna

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

Cemeteries Near Wichita ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wichita.

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.

Although we don't have the information ourselves, if you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our list of websites on our Genealogy Helper Page for Wichita - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Wichita Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Van Ocker Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Union Twp. Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Sutton Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Bear Grove Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Union Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Valley Twp. Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Victory Union Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Highland Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Pleasant Hill Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Maplewood Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Orange Twp. Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (166 more) ...
    • Bear Grove Twp. Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Resurrection Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Van Order Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)

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.<3>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Wichita had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Guthrie Center
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Fanslers
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Fanslers is located in Guthrie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fanslers
  • North Branch
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • North Branch is located in Guthrie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Branch
  • Bayard
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Coon Rapids
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Monteith
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Monteith is located in Guthrie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monteith
  • Bagley
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Bagley is located in Guthrie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bagley
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 285 people
  • Viola Center
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Viola Center is located in Audubon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Viola Center
  • Panora
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Yale
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Yale is located in Guthrie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yale
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 239 people
  • Glendon
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Glendon is located in Guthrie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendon
  • Herndon
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Herndon is located in Guthrie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herndon
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Hamlin
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Hamlin is located in Audubon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamlin
    • Adair
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Casey
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in Wichita ...

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 126 newspapers that have been published in the area around Wichita.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Wichita, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Wichita.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Wichita:

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 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.
<3>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 Wichita, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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- Wichita) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.