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 Aurora (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 Aurora. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.
Aurora is located in Cloud County.
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 Cloud County: Clay, Jewell, Lincoln, Mitchell, Ottawa, Republic & Washington.
Below are the counties that are near Aurora. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Aurora:
- Cloud County (The home county of Aurora)
- The following are listed by their distance from Aurora, with the one closest to Aurora listed first.
- Huscher
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Huscher is located in Cloud County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huscher
- Saint Joseph
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Saint Joseph is located in Cloud County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Joseph
- Cook
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Cook is located in Cloud County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cook
- Rice
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Rice is located in Cloud County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rice
- Miltonvale
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Ames
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Ames is located in Cloud County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ames
- Concordia
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Clyde
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Yuma
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Yuma is located in Cloud County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yuma
- Macyville ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Macyville is located in Cloud County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macyville
- Glasco
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Glasco is located in Cloud County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glasco
- Population from the 2020 Census: 448 people
- Former names for Glasco:
- Dell Ray
- Glasgow
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Glasco <1>
- Jamestown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Jamestown is located in Cloud County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 258 people
- Clay County
- The following are listed by their distance from Aurora, with the one closest to Aurora listed first.
- Browndale
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Browndale is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browndale
- Vining
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Vining is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vining
- Population from the 2020 Census: 42 people
- Idana
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Idana is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Idana
- Morganville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Morganville is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morganville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 190 people
- Morganville has also been known as:
- Morgantown
- Oak Hill
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Oak Hill is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 24 people
- Oscar ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Oscar is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oscar
- Clay Center
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Garfield Center
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Garfield Center is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garfield Center
- Ladysmith
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Ladysmith is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ladysmith
- Longford
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Longford is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 73 people
- Longford has also been known as:
- Longford Station
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Longford <1>
- Broughton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Broughton is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broughton
- Green
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Dickinson County
- Manchester
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Manchester is located in Dickinson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manchester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 95 people
- Jewell County
- Randall
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Randall is located in Jewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randall
- Population from the 2020 Census: 61 people
- Lincoln County
- Milo
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Milo is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milo
- Mitchell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Aurora, with the one closest to Aurora listed first.
- Scottsville
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Scottsville is located in Mitchell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scottsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 23 people
- Asherville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Asherville is located in Mitchell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asherville
- Gilbert
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Gilbert is located in Mitchell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilbert
- Beloit
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Ottawa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Aurora, with the one closest to Aurora listed first.
- Lamar
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Lamar is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamar
- Delphos
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Delphos is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delphos
- Population from the 2020 Census: 329 people
- Wells
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Wells is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wells
- Vine Creek
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Vine Creek is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vine Creek
- Former name for Vine Creek:
- Vine
- Ackley
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Ackley is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ackley
- Minneapolis
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Alfmil
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Alfmil is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alfmil
- Lindsey
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Lindsey is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lindsey
- Lindsey has also been known as:
- Ayersville
- Brewer
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Brewer is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brewer
- Ada
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Ada is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ada
- Bennington
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Republic County
- The following are listed by their distance from Aurora, with the one closest to Aurora listed first.
- Agenda
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Agenda is located in Republic County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agenda
- Population from the 2020 Census: 64 people
- Norway
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Norway is located in Republic County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norway
- Cuba
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Kackley
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Kackley is located in Republic County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kackley
- Belleville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Scandia
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Courtland
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Aurora, with the one closest to Aurora listed first.
- Clifton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Clifton is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 506 people
- Clifton has also been known as:
- West Clifton
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clifton <1>
- Brantford
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Brantford is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brantford
- Palmer
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Palmer is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmer
- Population from the 2020 Census: 105 people
- Linn
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Kimeo
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Kimeo is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimeo
- Haddam
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Haddam is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haddam
- Population from the 2020 Census: 97 people
- Haddam has also been known as:
- Haddam City
- West Haddam
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Aurora, see our County-by-County Page for Aurora.
Cemeteries Near Aurora ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Aurora.
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 Aurora - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Aurora covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Aurora, with the one closest to Aurora listed first.
- Princeville Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- St. Peters Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Sulphur Springs Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Enterprise Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Nelson Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Oakland Union Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Pleasant Hill Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Kindel Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Rice Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Pleasant View Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Smith Gravesite
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Walnut Grove Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Continue List (141 more) ...
- Miltonvale Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Cedar Hill Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- St. Concordia Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
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 in 1895, Aurora had a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Aurora had a population of 55 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Aurora, with the one closest to Aurora listed first.
- Saint Joseph
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Saint Joseph is located in Cloud County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Joseph
- Miltonvale
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Rice
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Rice is located in Cloud County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rice
- Ames
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Ames is located in Cloud County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ames
- Concordia
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Clyde
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Lamar
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Lamar is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamar
- Vining
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Vining is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vining
- Population from the 2020 Census: 42 people
- Yuma
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Yuma is located in Cloud County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yuma
- Idana
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Idana is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Idana
- Clifton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Clifton is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 506 people
- Clifton has also been known as:
- West Clifton
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clifton <1>
- Macyville ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Macyville is located in Cloud County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macyville
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Talmo
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Talmo is located in Republic County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talmo
- Glasco
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Glasco is located in Cloud County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glasco
- Population from the 2020 Census: 448 people
- Former names for Glasco:
- Dell Ray
- Glasgow
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Glasco <1>
- Delphos
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Delphos is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delphos
- Population from the 2020 Census: 329 people
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Aurora. See our List of 1890's Communities around Aurora.
Newspapers Published in Aurora ...
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 37 newspapers that have been published in the area around Aurora.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Aurora, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Aurora.
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 Aurora:
- Websites specific to Kansas
- Pages specific to Cloud County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Clay County
- Dickinson County
- Jewell County
- Lincoln County
- Mitchell County
- Ottawa County
- Republic County
- Washington 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Aurora) 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 Aurora, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |