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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 Alton (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 Alton. 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 Alton ...

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.

Another variation: Bull's City.

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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Alton is located in Osborne 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 Osborne County: Ellis, Jewell, Lincoln, Mitchell, Rooks, Russell & Smith.

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

  • Osborne County     (The home county of Alton)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alton, with the one closest to Alton listed first.
    • Bloomington
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomington
      • Bloomington is located in Osborne County
    • Osborne
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Osborne have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osborne
      • Osborne is located in Osborne County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,280 people
      • Osborne has also been known as:
      • Peru
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Osborne <2>
    • Portis
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portis
      • Portis is located in Osborne County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 92 people
    • Natoma
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Natoma have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Natoma
      • Natoma is located in Osborne County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 296 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Natoma <2>
    • Downs
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
  • Mitchell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alton, with the one closest to Alton listed first.
    • Tipton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Cawker City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cawker City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cawker City
      • Cawker City is located in Mitchell County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 426 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cawker City <2>
  • Phillips County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alton, with the one closest to Alton listed first.
    • Kirwin
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Agra
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agra
      • Agra is located in Phillips County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 238 people
    • Glade
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glade
      • Glade is located in Phillips County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 89 people
    • Phillipsburg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • 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>
    • Speed
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • 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
  • Rooks County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alton, with the one closest to Alton listed first.
    • Woodston
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodston
      • Woodston is located in Rooks County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 126 people
      • Woodston has also been known as:
      • Woodston Saw
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Woodston <2>
    • Stockton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stockton
      • Stockton is located in Rooks County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,234 people
      • Former name for Stockton:
      • Stocktown
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Stockton <2>
    • Codell
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Codell
      • Codell is located in Rooks County
      • Former name for Codell:
      • Florreyville
    • Plainville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Zurich
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Zurich have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zurich
      • Zurich is located in Rooks County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 94 people
  • Russell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alton, with the one closest to Alton listed first.
    • Paradise
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Paradise have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise
      • Paradise is located in Russell County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 48 people
    • Waldo
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldo
      • Waldo is located in Russell County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 29 people
      • Former name for Waldo:
      • Pleasant Run
    • Luray
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luray
      • Luray is located in Russell County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 182 people
  • Smith County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alton, with the one closest to Alton listed first.
    • Cedar
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar
      • Cedar is located in Smith County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 13 people
    • Gaylord
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gaylord have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gaylord
      • Gaylord is located in Smith County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 104 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gaylord <2>
    • Harlan
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlan
      • Harlan is located in Smith County
    • Claudell
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claudell
      • Claudell is located in Smith County
    • Athol
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athol
      • Athol is located in Smith County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 40 people
    • Kensington
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kensington
      • Kensington is located in Smith County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 433 people
    • Smith Center
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Dispatch
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dispatch
      • Dispatch is located in Smith County
    • Bellaire
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellaire
      • Bellaire is located in Smith County

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

Newspapers Published in Alton ...

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 166 newspapers that have been published in the area around Alton.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Alton, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Alton.

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 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 Alton:

Cemeteries Near Alton ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Alton.

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

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

  • Sumner Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sumner Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sumner Cemetery
  • Pioneer Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pioneer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pioneer Cemetery
  • Pleasant Valley Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Valley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Valley Cemetery
  • Grant Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Grant Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Grant Cemetery
  • Mt. Ayr Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Spring Branch Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Spring Branch Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Spring Branch Cemetery
  • Mt. Hope Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Bloomington Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Butler Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Butler Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Butler Cemetery
  • Leasburg Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Leasburg Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Leasburg Cemetery
  • Ash Rock Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ash Rock Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ash Rock Cemetery
  • Woodstown Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Woodstown Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Woodstown Cemetery
  • Continue List   (93 more) ...
    • Pleasant Plain Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Plain Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Plain Cemetery
    • Survey Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Survey Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Survey Cemetery
    • Bohemian Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bohemian Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bohemian Cemetery

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 Alton had a population of 338 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Alton had a population of 92 people.

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

  • Bloomington
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomington
    • Bloomington is located in Osborne County
  • Woodston
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodston
    • Woodston is located in Rooks County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 126 people
    • Woodston has also been known as:
    • Woodston Saw
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Woodston <2>
  • Osborne
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Osborne have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osborne
    • Osborne is located in Osborne County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,280 people
    • Osborne has also been known as:
    • Peru
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Osborne <2>
  • Harlan
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlan
    • Harlan is located in Smith County
  • Gaylord
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gaylord have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gaylord
    • Gaylord is located in Smith County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 104 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gaylord <2>
  • Cedar
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar
    • Cedar is located in Smith County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 13 people
  • Laton
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Laton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laton
    • Laton is located in Rooks County
  • Covert
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Covert have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Covert
    • Covert is located in Osborne County
  • Portis
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portis
    • Portis is located in Osborne County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 92 people
  • Kirwin
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Stockton
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stockton
    • Stockton is located in Rooks County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,234 people
    • Former name for Stockton:
    • Stocktown
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Stockton <2>
  • Natoma
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Natoma have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Natoma
    • Natoma is located in Osborne County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 296 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Natoma <2>
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Athol
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athol
      • Athol is located in Smith County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 40 people
    • Kensington
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kensington
      • Kensington is located in Smith County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 433 people
    • Corinth
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Corinth have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corinth
      • Corinth is located in Osborne County

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

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

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Alton) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Alton. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.4678, Longitude: -98.9486       In this case, the coordinates for Alton have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Alton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024