Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
So far, we found very little information about Bell Town. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>
We've added Bell Town to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Bell Town, please Contact Us.
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 Bell Town (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 Bell Town. 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 Bell Town ...
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: Belltown.
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 northwest 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 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.
Although our information shows that the community of Bell Town is historic, it would have been located within present day Bourbon 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 Bourbon County: Allen, Anderson, Crawford, Linn, Neosho & Vernon (MO).
Below are the counties that are near Bell Town. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Bell Town:
- Bourbon County (The home county of Bell Town)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bell Town, with the one closest to Bell Town listed first.
- Fort Scott
(Less than 2 miles to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Scott
- Fort Scott is located in Bourbon County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,648 people
- Fort Scott has also been known as:
- Fort Scott City
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fort Scott <2>
- Hammond
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hammond
- Hammond is located in Bourbon County
- Godfrey
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south) - Ronald
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest) - Marmaton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west) - Devon
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Devon
- Devon is located in Bourbon County
- Garland
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garland
- Garland is located in Bourbon County
- Redfield
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west) - Fulton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fulton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulton
- Fulton is located in Bourbon County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 154 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fulton <2>
- Barnesville ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Barnesville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnesville
- Barnesville is located in Bourbon County
- Berlin
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest) - Pawnee Station
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pawnee Station
- Pawnee Station is located in Bourbon County
- Allen County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bell Town, with the one closest to Bell Town listed first.
- Elsmore
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west) - Savonburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west) - Moran
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moran have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moran
- Moran is located in Allen County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 509 people
- Moran has also been known as:
- Moran City
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moran <2>
- Bayard
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west) - Mildred
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Anderson County
- Crawford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bell Town, with the one closest to Bell Town listed first.
- Cato
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south) - Dry Wood
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Wood
- Dry Wood is located in Crawford County
- Arcadia
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcadia
- Arcadia is located in Crawford County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 309 people
- Coalvale
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalvale
- Coalvale is located in Crawford County
- Englevale
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south) - Farlington
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farlington
- Farlington is located in Crawford County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Farlington <2>
- Gross
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south) - Hepler
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest) - Arma
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arma
- Arma is located in Crawford County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,412 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Arma <2>
- Mulberry
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mulberry have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mulberry
- Mulberry is located in Crawford County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 521 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mulberry <2>
- Breezy Hill ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Breezy Hill. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Breezy Hill
- Breezy Hill is located in Crawford County
- Franklin
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Linn County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bell Town, with the one closest to Bell Town listed first.
- Prescott
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prescott
- Prescott is located in Linn County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 268 people
- Mound City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mound City
- Mound City is located in Linn County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 672 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mound City <2>
- Pleasanton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasanton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasanton
- Pleasanton is located in Linn County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,158 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pleasanton <2>
- Critzer
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest) - Blue Mound
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blue Mound have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Mound
- Blue Mound is located in Linn County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 267 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Blue Mound <2>
- Centerville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
- Centerville is located in Linn County
- Neosho County
- Barton County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bell Town, with the one closest to Bell Town listed first.
- Burgess
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south) - Liberal
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast) - Mindenmines
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mindenmines have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mindenmines
- Mindenmines is located in Barton County (MO)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 342 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mindenmines <2>
- Bates County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bell Town, with the one closest to Bell Town listed first.
- Hume
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast) - New Home
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast) - Worland
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worland
- Worland is located in Bates County (MO)
- Foster
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast) - Rich Hill
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rich Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rich Hill
- Rich Hill is located in Bates County (MO)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,322 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rich Hill <2>
- Amoret
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amoret
- Amoret is located in Bates County (MO)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 181 people
- Vernon County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bell Town, with the one closest to Bell Town listed first.
- Richards
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast) - Deerfield
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east) - Stotesbury
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stotesbury have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stotesbury
- Stotesbury is located in Vernon County (MO)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 17 people
- Moundville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moundville
- Moundville is located in Vernon County (MO)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 117 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moundville <2>
- Metz
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Metz
- Metz is located in Vernon County (MO)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 47 people
- Bronaugh
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bronaugh
- Bronaugh is located in Vernon County (MO)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 231 people
- Nevada
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nevada
- Nevada is located in Vernon County (MO)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,196 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nevada <2>
- Horton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast) - Milo
(23 miles [37 km] to the east) - Walker
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east) - Sheldon
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheldon
- Sheldon is located in Vernon County (MO)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 515 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sheldon <2>
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Bell Town, see our County-by-County Page for Bell Town.
Newspapers Published in Bell Town ...
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 55 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bell Town.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bell Town, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bell Town.
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 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 Bell Town:
- Websites specific to Kansas
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Website for the Kansas Historical Society
- Pages specific to Bourbon County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Allen County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Anderson County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Crawford County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Linn County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Neosho County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Barton County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Bates County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Vernon County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Allen County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Kansas
- Cemetery Junction: Cemeteries of Kansas
- Cyndi's List
- Cemeteries of Kansas
- Cemeteries of Bourbon County
- FamilySearch.org: Cemeteries of Kansas
- Find-A-Grave: Home Page
- Interment.net
- Cemeteries of Kansas
- Cemeteries of Bourbon County
Cemeteries Near Bell Town ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bell Town.
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 Bell Town covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Bell Town, with the one closest to Bell Town listed first.
- St. Marys Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Marys Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Marys Cemetery
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oak Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak Grove Cemetery
- Ft. Scott National Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ft. Scott National Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ft. Scott National Cemetery
- Lath Branch Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lath Branch Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lath Branch Cemetery
- West Plains Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)- To give a relative sense of its location, the West Plains Cemetery is located 4 miles [6.4 km]<5> to the southeast of Fort Scott.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the West Plains Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #94051 <6>
- Evergreen Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Evergreen Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #92395 <6>
- Mayberry Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mayberry Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mayberry Cemetery
- Union Center Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Union Center Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Union Center Cemetery
- Maple Grove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Maple Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Maple Grove Cemetery
- Coleman Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Coleman Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Coleman Cemetery
- Marmaton Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Marmaton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Marmaton Cemetery
- Glendale Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Glendale Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Glendale Cemetery
- Continue List (188 more) ...
- Centerville Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- To give a relative sense of its location, the Centerville Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the south of Devon.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Centerville Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #161162 <6>
- Clarksburg Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Clarksburg Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Clarksburg Cemetery
- Cox Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cox Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cox Cemetery
- Centerville 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.
While we didn't find Bell Town in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Bell Town.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Bell Town, with the one closest to Bell Town listed first.
- Fort Scott
(Less than 2 miles to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Scott
- Fort Scott is located in Bourbon County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,648 people
- Fort Scott has also been known as:
- Fort Scott City
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fort Scott <2>
- Hammond
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hammond
- Hammond is located in Bourbon County
- Marmaton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west) - Ronald
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest) - Godfrey
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south) - Eve
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east) - Garland
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garland
- Garland is located in Bourbon County
- Richards
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast) - Redfield
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west) - Fulton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fulton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulton
- Fulton is located in Bourbon County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 154 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fulton <2>
- Pawnee Station
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pawnee Station
- Pawnee Station is located in Bourbon County
- Deerfield
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east) - Continue List (14 more) ...
- Harding
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest) - Barnesville ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Barnesville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnesville
- Barnesville is located in Bourbon County
- Berlin
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Harding
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Bell Town. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bell Town.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Bourbon County: www.bourboncountyks.org/
The official website for State of Kansas: https://portal.kansas.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Bell Town, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | 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 from Point A (ie- Bell Town) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Bell Town. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.8533, Longitude: -94.7113 |
| <6> | 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. |