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 Alma (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 Alma. 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 and hospitals 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.
Alma is located in Wabaunsee County and is the County Seat.
To see how the shape of Kansas' counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Wabaunsee County: Geary, Lyon, Morris, Osage, Pottawatomie, Riley & Shawnee.
Below are the counties that are near Alma. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Alma:
- Wabaunsee County (The home county of Alma)
- The following are listed by their distance from Alma, with the one closest to Alma listed first.
- McFarland
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- McFarland is located in Wabaunsee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McFarland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 250 people
- Paxico
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Vera
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Vera is located in Wabaunsee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vera
- Maple Hill
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Eskridge
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Eskridge is located in Wabaunsee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eskridge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 502 people
- Alta Vista
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Harveyville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Harveyville is located in Wabaunsee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harveyville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 246 people
- Wilmington
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Wilmington is located in Wabaunsee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmington
- Geary County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alma, with the one closest to Alma listed first.
- Grandview Plaza
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Grandview Plaza is located in Geary County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview Plaza
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,553 people
- Junction City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Wreford
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Wreford is located in Geary County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wreford
- Jackson County
- Delia
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Delia is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 176 people
- Lyon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alma, with the one closest to Alma listed first.
- Agnes City ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Agnes City is located in Lyon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agnes City
- Allen
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Allen is located in Lyon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allen
- Population from the 2020 Census: 169 people
- Bushong
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Bushong is located in Lyon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bushong
- Population from the 2020 Census: 33 people
- Admire
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Miller
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Miller is located in Lyon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miller
- Morris County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alma, with the one closest to Alma listed first.
- Dwight
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Dwight is located in Morris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dwight
- Population from the 2020 Census: 255 people
- Downing ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Downing is located in Morris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downing
- Kelso
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Kelso is located in Morris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelso
- Council Grove
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Council Grove is located in Morris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Council Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,100 people
- Council Grove has also been known as:
- Council
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Council Grove <1>
- Parkerville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Parkerville is located in Morris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkerville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 59 people
- White City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Skiddy ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Skiddy is located in Morris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skiddy
- Dunlap
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Dunlap is located in Morris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunlap
- Population from the 2020 Census: 29 people
- Osage County
- Burlingame
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Burlingame is located in Osage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlingame
- Population from the 2020 Census: 884 people
- Former name for Burlingame:
- American Settlement
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Burlingame <1>
- Pottawatomie County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alma, with the one closest to Alma listed first.
- Wamego
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Saint George
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Belvue
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Belvue is located in Pottawatomie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belvue
- Population from the 2020 Census: 204 people
- Louisville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Louisville is located in Pottawatomie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Louisville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 228 people
- Louisville has also been known as:
- Louisville Springs
- Rock City
- Rock Creek Falls
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Louisville <1>
- Saint Marys
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Emmett
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Aikins
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Aikins is located in Pottawatomie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aikins
- Westmoreland
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Saint Clere
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Saint Clere is located in Pottawatomie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clere
- Riley County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alma, with the one closest to Alma listed first.
- Pillsbury Crossing ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Pillsbury Crossing is located in Riley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pillsbury Crossing
- Zeandale
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Zeandale is located in Riley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zeandale
- Fairmont
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Fairmont is located in Riley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmont
- Ashland ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Ashland is located in Riley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
- Ashland has also been known as:
- Ashland Bottoms
- Manhattan
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Eureka Lake
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Eureka Lake is located in Riley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka Lake
- Ogden
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Keats
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Keats is located in Riley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keats
- Shawnee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alma, with the one closest to Alma listed first.
- Dover
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Willard
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Willard is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willard
- Population from the 2020 Census: 88 people
- Rossville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Silver Lake
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Auburn
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Auburn is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auburn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,203 people
- Kiro
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Kiro is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kiro
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Alma, see our County-by-County Page for Alma.
Cemeteries Near Alma ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Alma.
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 Alma - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Alma covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Alma, with the one closest to Alma listed first.
- Alma Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Fairview Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Troemper Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- McFarland Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Schwanke Family Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Kuenzli Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Fix Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Nehring Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Swedish Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Bethlehem Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Wabaunsee Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Smith Family Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (121 more) ...
- Mission View Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- East Templin Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Alma had a population of 1,125 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Alma had a population of 776 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Alma, with the one closest to Alma listed first.
- McFarland
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- McFarland is located in Wabaunsee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McFarland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 250 people
- Volland
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Volland is located in Wabaunsee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Volland
- Paxico
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Wabaunsee
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Wabaunsee is located in Wabaunsee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wabaunsee
- Vera
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Vera is located in Wabaunsee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vera
- Keene
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Keene is located in Wabaunsee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keene
- Wamego
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Eskridge
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Eskridge is located in Wabaunsee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eskridge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 502 people
- Maple Hill
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Saint George
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Alta Vista
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Belvue
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Belvue is located in Pottawatomie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belvue
- Population from the 2020 Census: 204 people
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Louisville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Louisville is located in Pottawatomie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Louisville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 228 people
- Louisville has also been known as:
- Louisville Springs
- Rock City
- Rock Creek Falls
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Louisville <1>
- Saint Marys
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Bradford
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Bradford is located in Wabaunsee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradford
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Alma. See our List of 1890's Communities around Alma.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Alma ...
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 63 newspapers that have been published in the area around Alma.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Alma. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Alma and those printed in the larger area surrounding Alma.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3> of Alma.
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 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 Alma:
- Websites specific to Kansas
- Pages specific to Wabaunsee County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Geary County
- Jackson County
- Lyon County
- Morris County
- Osage County
- Pottawatomie County
- Riley County
- Shawnee County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Kansas
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> | 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 from Point A (ie- Alma) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Alma, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |