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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 Almena (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 Almena. 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 and doctors 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.

Almena is located in Norton County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Norton County: Decatur, Graham, Phillips, Sheridan, Furnas (NE) & Harlan (NE).

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

  • Norton County     (The home county of Almena)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Almena, with the one closest to Almena listed first.
    • Norton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Norton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norton
      • Norton is located in Norton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,709 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Norton <2>
    • Densmore
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Densmore
      • Densmore is located in Norton County
    • Oronoque
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oronoque
      • Oronoque is located in Norton County
    • Edmond
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edmond have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmond
      • Edmond is located in Norton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 46 people
      • Edmond has also been known as:
      • Edmond City
    • Dellvale
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dellvale
      • Dellvale is located in Norton County
    • Rockwell City ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rockwell City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockwell City
      • Rockwell City is located in Norton County
    • Lenora
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lenora have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lenora
      • Lenora is located in Norton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 229 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lenora <2>
    • Clayton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clayton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clayton
      • Clayton is located in Norton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 54 people
  • Decatur County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Almena, with the one closest to Almena listed first.
    • Norcatur
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norcatur
      • Norcatur is located in Decatur County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 142 people
    • Lyle
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lyle. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyle
      • Lyle is located in Decatur County
  • Graham County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Almena, with the one closest to Almena listed first.
    • Roscoe
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Roscoe. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roscoe
      • Roscoe is located in Graham County
    • Smithfield
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Smithfield. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smithfield
      • Smithfield is located in Graham County
  • Phillips County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Almena, with the one closest to Almena listed first.
    • Prairie View
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie View
      • Prairie View is located in Phillips County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 120 people
    • Long Island
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Island
      • Long Island is located in Phillips County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 120 people
    • Stuttgart
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stuttgart
      • Stuttgart is located in Phillips County
    • Logan
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Speed
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Speed have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speed
      • Speed is located in Phillips County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 34 people
    • Phillipsburg
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Phillipsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phillipsburg
      • Phillipsburg is located in Phillips County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,420 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Phillipsburg <2>
    • Glade
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glade
      • Glade is located in Phillips County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 89 people
  • Riley County
    • Clayton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clayton
      • Clayton is located in Riley County
  • Furnas County (NE)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Almena, with the one closest to Almena listed first.
    • Beaver City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Hollinger
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hollinger. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollinger
      • Hollinger is located in Furnas County (NE)
    • Hendley
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hendley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hendley
      • Hendley is located in Furnas County (NE)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 23 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hendley <2>
    • Oxford
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oxford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxford
      • Oxford is located in Furnas County (NE)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 711 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oxford <2>
    • Wilsonville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wilsonville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilsonville
      • Wilsonville is located in Furnas County (NE)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 85 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wilsonville <2>
    • Edison
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edison
      • Edison is located in Furnas County (NE)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 123 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Edison <2>
    • Arapahoe
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Harlan County (NE)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Almena, with the one closest to Almena listed first.
    • Stamford
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Flynn Junction
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flynn Junction
      • Flynn Junction is located in Harlan County (NE)
    • Orleans
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Orleans have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orleans
      • Orleans is located in Harlan County (NE)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 363 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Orleans <2>
    • Alma
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alma have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alma
      • Alma is located in Harlan County (NE)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,116 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alma <2>
    • Mascot
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mascot
      • Mascot is located in Harlan County (NE)
    • Republican City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Almena ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Almena.

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

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

  • Mt. Hope Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Hope Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Hope Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Carlson Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Carlson Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Carlson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Farmingdale Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Farmingdale Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Farmingdale Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Zellmer Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Zellmer Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Zellmer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Vineman Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Vineman Cemetery
    • The Vineman Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Veneman Family Cemetery
    • Vineman Family Cemetery
  • Fairview Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fairview Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fairview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sheley Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sheley Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sheley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. Olive Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Olive Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Olive Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Prairie View Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Prairie View Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Prairie View Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Norton Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Luctor Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Luctor Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Luctor Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Long Island Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Long Island Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Long Island Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (68 more) ...
    • Delimont Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Delimont Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Delimont Cemetery is located 9 miles [14.5 km]<5> to the north of Stamford (NE).
      • The Delimont Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Home Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #100794 <4>
    • Maple Creek Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Maple Creek Cemetery
      • The Maple Creek Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Precept Cemetery
    • German Lutheran Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)

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 Almena had a population of 366 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Almena had a population of 376 people.

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

  • Calvert
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Calvert have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvert
    • Calvert is located in Norton County
  • Prairie View
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie View
    • Prairie View is located in Phillips County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 120 people
  • Norton
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Norton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norton
    • Norton is located in Norton County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,709 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Norton <2>
  • Long Island
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Island
    • Long Island is located in Phillips County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 120 people
  • Precept
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Precept have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Precept
    • Precept is located in Furnas County (NE)
  • Stuttgart
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stuttgart
    • Stuttgart is located in Phillips County
  • Woodruff
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodruff have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodruff
    • Woodruff is located in Phillips County
  • Densmore
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Densmore
    • Densmore is located in Norton County
  • Logan
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Stamford
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
  • Oronoque
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oronoque
    • Oronoque is located in Norton County
  • Beaver City
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Dellvale
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dellvale
      • Dellvale is located in Norton County
    • Edmond
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edmond have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmond
      • Edmond is located in Norton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 46 people
      • Edmond has also been known as:
      • Edmond City
    • Devizes
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Devizes have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Devizes
      • Devizes is located in Norton County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Almena ...

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 161 newspapers that have been published in the area around Almena.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Almena. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Almena and those printed in the larger area surrounding Almena.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<5> of Almena.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Almena:

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

The official website for Norton County: www.nortoncountyks.org/

The official website for State of Kansas: https://portal.kansas.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>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>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Almena) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Almena. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.8913, Longitude: -99.7097       In this case, the coordinates for Almena have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Almena, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025