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 Kansas (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 Kansas. 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 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.
Kansas is located in Bartholomew County.
To see how the shape of Indiana's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Bartholomew County: Brown, Decatur, Jackson, Jennings, Johnson & Shelby.
Below are the counties that are near Kansas. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Kansas:
- Bartholomew County (The home county of Kansas)
- The following are listed by their distance from Kansas, with the one closest to Kansas listed first.
- Pleasant View Village
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Pleasant View Village is located in Bartholomew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant View Village
- Taylorsville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Corn Brook
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Corn Brook is located in Bartholomew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corn Brook
- Clifford
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Clifford is located in Bartholomew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 252 people
- Stony Lonesome
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Stony Lonesome is located in Bartholomew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Lonesome
- Columbus
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Garden City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Garden City is located in Bartholomew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- North Ogilville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- North Ogilville is located in Bartholomew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Ogilville
- Bethel Village
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Bethel Village is located in Bartholomew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel Village
- Jewell Village
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Jewell Village is located in Bartholomew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jewell Village
- Petersville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Petersville is located in Bartholomew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersville
- Hope
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Hope is located in Bartholomew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,248 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hope <1>
- Brown County
- The following are listed by their distance from Kansas, with the one closest to Kansas listed first.
- Spearsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Spearsville is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spearsville
- Gnaw Bone
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Liberty
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Liberty is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Liberty
- Beanblossom
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Beanblossom is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beanblossom
- Beanblossom has also been known as:
- Bean Blossom
- Nashville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Helmsburg
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Helmsburg is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helmsburg
- Pikes Peak
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Pikes Peak is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pikes Peak
- Becks Grove
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Becks Grove is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Becks Grove
- Story
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Story is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Story
- Decatur County
- The following are listed by their distance from Kansas, with the one closest to Kansas listed first.
- Burney
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Burney is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burney
- Germantown
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Germantown is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Germantown
- Milford
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Saint Paul
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Alert
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Alert is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alert
- Saint Omer
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Saint Omer is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Omer
- Sardinia
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Sardinia is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sardinia
- Adams
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Adams is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adams
- Letts Corner
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Letts Corner is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Letts Corner
- Letts
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Letts is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Letts
- Harper
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Harper is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harper
- Westport
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Westport is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westport
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,416 people
- Hancock County
- New Palestine
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Kansas, with the one closest to Kansas listed first.
- Spraytown
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Spraytown is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spraytown
- Houston
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Houston is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houston
- Cortland
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Cortland is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cortland
- Freetown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Seymour
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Kurtz
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Kurtz is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kurtz
- Fleming
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Fleming is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fleming
- New Elizabethtown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- New Elizabethtown is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Elizabethtown
- Norman
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Kriete Corner
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Kriete Corner is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kriete Corner
- Jennings County
- The following are listed by their distance from Kansas, with the one closest to Kansas listed first.
- Scipio
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Scipio is located in Jennings County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scipio
- Queensville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Queensville is located in Jennings County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Queensville
- Hayden
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Hayden is located in Jennings County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayden
- Four Corners
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Four Corners is located in Jennings County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Corners
- Johnson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Kansas, with the one closest to Kansas listed first.
- Edinburgh
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Nineveh
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Princes Lakes
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Princes Lakes is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princes Lakes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,342 people
- Amity
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Amity is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amity
- Peoga
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Peoga is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peoga
- Trafalgar
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Samaria
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Samaria is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Samaria
- Franklin
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Anita ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Anita is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anita
- Urmeyville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Urmeyville is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Urmeyville
- Providence
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Providence is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
- Bargersville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Lawrence County
- Zelma
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Zelma is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zelma
- Marion County
- The following are listed by their distance from Kansas, with the one closest to Kansas listed first.
- Acton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Acton is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acton
- Homecroft
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Homecroft is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homecroft
- Population from the 2020 Census: 764 people
- Southport
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Charlesmac Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Charlesmac Village is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlesmac Village
- West Newton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- West Newton is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Newton
- Beech Grove
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Camby
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Indianapolis
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Monroe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Kansas, with the one closest to Kansas listed first.
- Unionville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Dolan
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Dolan is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dolan
- Bloomington
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Morgan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Kansas, with the one closest to Kansas listed first.
- Morgantown
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Mahalasville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Mahalasville is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mahalasville
- Taggart Crossing ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Taggart Crossing is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taggart Crossing
- Waverly
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Waverly is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waverly
- Red House ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Red House is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red House
- Martinsville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Bethany
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Bethany is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethany
- Population from the 2020 Census: 88 people
- Brooklyn
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Brookmoor
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Brookmoor is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookmoor
- Young
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Young is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Young
- Lake Hart
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Lake Hart is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Hart
- Mooresville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Rush County
- The following are listed by their distance from Kansas, with the one closest to Kansas listed first.
- Manilla
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Manilla is located in Rush County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manilla
- Moscow
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Moscow is located in Rush County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moscow
- Gowdy
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Gowdy is located in Rush County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gowdy
- Homer
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Homer is located in Rush County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homer
- Shelby County
- The following are listed by their distance from Kansas, with the one closest to Kansas listed first.
- Mount Auburn
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Auburn is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Auburn
- Flat Rock
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Norristown
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Norristown is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norristown
- Wilson Corner
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Wilson Corner is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson Corner
- Geneva
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Geneva is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geneva
- Boggstown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Riley Village
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Riley Village is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riley Village
- Beech Brook
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Beech Brook is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beech Brook
- Fairland
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Hildebrand Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Hildebrand Village is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hildebrand Village
- Shelbyville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Candleglo Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Candleglo Village is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Candleglo Village
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Kansas, see our County-by-County Page for Kansas.
Cemeteries Near Kansas ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Kansas.
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 Kansas - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Kansas covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Kansas, with the one closest to Kansas listed first.
- Kansas Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Mt. Moriah Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Tannehill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Rest Haven Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Freeman Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Prisoner of War Camp Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Anderson Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Treadway Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Schooler Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Steenbarger Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Hamner Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Taylor Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (344 more) ...
- Tucker Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Duncan Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Zion Church Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
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.<4>
While we didn't find Kansas in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Kansas.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Kansas, with the one closest to Kansas listed first.
- Edinburgh
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Nineveh
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Taylorsville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Amity
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Amity is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amity
- Corn Brook
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Corn Brook is located in Bartholomew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corn Brook
- Mount Auburn
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Auburn is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Auburn
- Trafalgar
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Spearsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Spearsville is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spearsville
- Clifford
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Clifford is located in Bartholomew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 252 people
- Saint Louis Crossing
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Saint Louis Crossing is located in Bartholomew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Louis Crossing
- Samaria
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Samaria is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Samaria
- Columbus
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Flat Rock
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Marietta
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Marietta is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marietta
- Franklin
(10 miles [16.1 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 Kansas. See our List of 1890's Communities around Kansas.
Newspapers Published in Kansas ...
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 36 newspapers that have been published in the area around Kansas.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Kansas, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Kansas.
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 Kansas:
- Websites specific to Indiana
- Pages specific to Bartholomew County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Brown County
- Decatur County
- Hancock County
- Jackson County
- Jennings County
- Johnson County
- Lawrence County
- Marion County
- Monroe County
- Morgan County
- Rush County
- Shelby County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Indiana
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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Kansas) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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> | 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 Kansas, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |