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 Bison (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 Bison. 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 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.
Bison is located in Rush 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 Rush County: Barton, Ellis, Ness, Pawnee, Russell & Trego.
Below are the counties that are near Bison. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Bison:
- Rush County (The home county of Bison)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bison, with the one closest to Bison listed first.
- Timken
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Timken is located in Rush County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timken
- Population from the 2020 Census: 62 people
- La Crosse
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Otis
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Rush Center
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Loretta
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Loretta is located in Rush County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loretta
- Former names for Loretta:
- Illinois
- Marienfeld
- Liebenthal
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Liebenthal is located in Rush County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liebenthal
- Population from the 2020 Census: 91 people
- Hargrave
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Hargrave is located in Rush County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hargrave
- Nekoma
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Nekoma is located in Rush County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nekoma
- Alexander
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Alexander is located in Rush County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexander
- Population from the 2020 Census: 57 people
- McCracken
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Barton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bison, with the one closest to Bison listed first.
- Albert
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Olmitz
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Galatia
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Galatia is located in Barton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galatia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 36 people
- Heizer
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Heizer is located in Barton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heizer
- Boyd ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Boyd is located in Barton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyd
- Millard
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Millard is located in Barton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millard
- Stickney
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Stickney is located in Barton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stickney
- Pawnee Rock
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Hoisington
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- South Hoisington
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- South Hoisington is located in Barton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Hoisington
- Dundee
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Dundee is located in Barton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dundee
- Anchorway
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Anchorway is located in Barton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anchorway
- Ellis County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bison, with the one closest to Bison listed first.
- Pfeifer
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Pfeifer is located in Ellis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pfeifer
- Schoenchen
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Schoenchen is located in Ellis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schoenchen
- Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
- Munjor
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Munjor is located in Ellis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Munjor
- Antonino
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Antonino is located in Ellis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antonino
- Toulon
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Toulon is located in Ellis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toulon
- Victoria
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Victoria is located in Ellis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victoria
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,215 people
- Walker
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Walker is located in Ellis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walker
- Hays
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Catharine
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Catharine is located in Ellis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catharine
- Catharine has also been known as:
- Catherine
- Yocemento
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Yocemento is located in Ellis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yocemento
- Emmeram
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Emmeram is located in Ellis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmeram
- Ness County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bison, with the one closest to Bison listed first.
- Bazine
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Bazine is located in Ness County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bazine
- Population from the 2020 Census: 294 people
- Brownell
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Pawnee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bison, with the one closest to Bison listed first.
- Ash Valley
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Ash Valley is located in Pawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ash Valley
- Larned
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Rozel
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Rozel is located in Pawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rozel
- Population from the 2020 Census: 137 people
- Ray ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Ray is located in Pawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ray
- Burdett
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Burdett is located in Pawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burdett
- Population from the 2020 Census: 219 people
- Garfield
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Garfield is located in Pawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 168 people
- Russell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bison, with the one closest to Bison listed first.
- Milberger
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Milberger is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milberger
- Gorham
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Balta ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Balta is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balta
- Stafford County
- Radium
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Radium is located in Stafford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radium
- Population from the 2020 Census: 23 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Bison, see our County-by-County Page for Bison.
Cemeteries Near Bison ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bison.
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 Bison - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Bison covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Bison, with the one closest to Bison listed first.
- Lone Star Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Baptist Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Holy Cross Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Bohemian Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- La Crosse Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- St. Michaels Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Lutheran Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Locust Hill Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- St. Mary's Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Svatopluk Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Friends Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Continue List (68 more) ...
- St. Anthony Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Albert Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Pleasantdale Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 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.<2>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Bison had a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Bison had a population of 224 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Bison, with the one closest to Bison listed first.
- Timken
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Timken is located in Rush County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timken
- Population from the 2020 Census: 62 people
- La Crosse
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Rush Center
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Otis
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Albert
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Liebenthal
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Liebenthal is located in Rush County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liebenthal
- Population from the 2020 Census: 91 people
- Nekoma
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Nekoma is located in Rush County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nekoma
- Pfeifer
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Pfeifer is located in Ellis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pfeifer
- Hargrave
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Hargrave is located in Rush County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hargrave
- Ash Valley
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Ash Valley is located in Pawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ash Valley
- Olmitz
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Galatia
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Galatia is located in Barton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galatia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 36 people
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Heizer
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Heizer is located in Barton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heizer
- Boyd ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Boyd is located in Barton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyd
- Millard
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Millard is located in Barton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millard
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Bison. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bison.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Bison ...
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 62 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bison.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Bison. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Bison and those printed in the larger area surrounding Bison.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3> of Bison.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we start 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 Bison:
- Websites specific to Kansas
- Pages specific to Rush County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Barton County
- Ellis County
- Ness County
- Pawnee County
- Russell County
- Stafford 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> | 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 Bison, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Bison) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |