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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 Bellaire (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 Bellaire. 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 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.

Bellaire is located in Smith 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 Smith County: Jewell, Osborne, Phillips, Rooks, Franklin (NE) & Webster (NE).

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

  • Smith County     (The home county of Bellaire)
  • Jewell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bellaire, with the one closest to Bellaire listed first.
    • Esbon
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Esbon have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Esbon
      • Esbon is located in Jewell County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 91 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Esbon <1>
    • Burr Oak
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Burr Oak have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burr Oak
      • Burr Oak is located in Jewell County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 160 people
    • Mankato
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Jewell
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jewell have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jewell
      • Jewell is located in Jewell County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 396 people
  • Mitchell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bellaire, with the one closest to Bellaire listed first.
    • Cawker City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cawker City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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 <1>
    • Glen Elder
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Osborne County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bellaire, with the one closest to Bellaire listed first.
    • Portis
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Downs
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Bloomington
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Osborne
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Alton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alton
      • Alton is located in Osborne County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 92 people
  • Phillips County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bellaire, with the one closest to Bellaire listed first.
    • Agra
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Kirwin
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
  • Franklin County (NE)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bellaire, with the one closest to Bellaire listed first.
    • Riverton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Franklin
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Franklin have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
      • Franklin is located in Franklin County (NE)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 899 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Franklin <1>
    • Bloomington
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Webster County (NE)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bellaire, with the one closest to Bellaire listed first.
    • Inavale
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Red Cloud
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Pawnee Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pawnee Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pawnee Village
      • Pawnee Village is located in Webster County (NE)
    • Amboy
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Guide Rock
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Guide Rock have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guide Rock
      • Guide Rock is located in Webster County (NE)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 197 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Guide Rock <1>
    • Cowles
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cowles. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowles
      • Cowles is located in Webster County (NE)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 27 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Cowles
      • From Bellaire to Cowles

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

Cemeteries Near Bellaire ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bellaire.

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

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

  • Price Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Price Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Price Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Custer Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Oak Hill Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oak Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sweet Home Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sweet Home Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sweet Home Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Cedar Hill Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cedar Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cedar Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Fairview Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • 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.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Crystal Plains Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Crystal Plains Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Crystal Plains Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pleasant Plains Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Plains Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Plains Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • North Oak Creek Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the North Oak Creek Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the North Oak Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bell Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Salem Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Salem Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Salem Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Oriole Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oriole Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oriole Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (110 more) ...
    • Christ Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Christ Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Christ Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Twelvemile Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Twelvemile Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Twelvemile Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Odessa Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Odessa Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Odessa Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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, Bellaire had a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Smith Center
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Lebanon
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Cora
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cora have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cora
    • Cora is located in Smith County
  • Esbon
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Esbon have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Esbon
    • Esbon is located in Jewell County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 91 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Esbon <1>
  • Womer
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Gaylord
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Dentonia
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dentonia have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dentonia
    • Dentonia is located in Jewell County
  • Reamsville
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reamsville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reamsville
    • Reamsville is located in Smith County
  • Athol
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Harlan
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
  • Portis
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
  • Cedar
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Otego
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Otego have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otego
      • Otego is located in Jewell County
    • Ionia
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ionia have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ionia
      • Ionia is located in Jewell County
    • Northbranch
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Northbranch have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northbranch
      • Northbranch is located in Jewell County

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

Newspapers Published in Bellaire ...

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 123 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bellaire.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bellaire, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bellaire.

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 helpful 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 Bellaire:

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

The official website for State of Kansas: https://portal.kansas.gov/

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 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.
<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>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 Bellaire, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 drawn from Point A (ie- Bellaire) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Bellaire. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.7994, Longitude: -98.6730    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025