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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 Brainerd (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 Brainerd. 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 southwest 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 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.

Brainerd is located in Butler 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 Butler County: Chase, Cowley, Elk, Greenwood, Harvey, Marion, Sedgwick & Sumner.

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

  • Butler County     (The home county of Brainerd)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brainerd, with the one closest to Brainerd listed first.
    • Whitewater
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Potwin
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Elbing
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elbing have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elbing
      • Elbing is located in Butler County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 230 people
    • Hopkins
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hopkins. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopkins
      • Hopkins is located in Butler County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hopkins
      • From Brainerd to Hopkins
    • Benton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Benton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton
      • Benton is located in Butler County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 865 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Benton <2>
    • Towanda
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Towanda have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Towanda
      • Towanda is located in Butler County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,446 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Towanda <2>
    • De Graff
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for De Graff. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Graff
      • De Graff is located in Butler County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to De Graff
      • From Brainerd to De Graff
    • Midian
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Midian. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midian
      • Midian is located in Butler County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Midian
      • From Brainerd to Midian
    • Sunset Acres
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • El Dorado
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Chelsea ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chelsea have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chelsea
      • Chelsea is located in Butler County
    • Prairie Village
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prairie Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Village
      • Prairie Village is located in Butler County
    • Andover
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Andover have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Andover
      • Andover is located in Butler County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,672 people
      • Andover has also been known as:
      • Cloud City
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Andover <2>
  • Chase County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brainerd, with the one closest to Brainerd listed first.
    • Wonsevu
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wonsevu. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wonsevu
      • Wonsevu is located in Chase County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Wonsevu
      • From Brainerd to Wonsevu
    • Cedar Point
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Point have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Point
      • Cedar Point is located in Chase County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 26 people
    • Clements
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Harvey County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brainerd, with the one closest to Brainerd listed first.
    • Annelly
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Annelly. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Annelly
      • Annelly is located in Harvey County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Annelly
      • From Brainerd to Annelly
    • McLains
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for McLains. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McLains
      • McLains is located in Harvey County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to McLains
      • From Brainerd to McLains
    • Walton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Newton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • McGraw
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for McGraw. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGraw
      • McGraw is located in Harvey County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to McGraw
      • From Brainerd to McGraw
    • Putnam
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • North Newton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Newton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Newton
      • North Newton is located in Harvey County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,762 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for North Newton <2>
    • Sedgwick
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sedgwick have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedgwick
      • Sedgwick is located in Harvey County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,657 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sedgwick <2>
    • Van Arsdale
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Zimmerdale
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Zimmerdale. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zimmerdale
      • Zimmerdale is located in Harvey County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Zimmerdale
      • From Brainerd to Zimmerdale
    • Hesston
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Halstead
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Halstead have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halstead
      • Halstead is located in Harvey County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,028 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Halstead <2>
    • Paxton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Paxton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paxton
      • Paxton is located in Harvey County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Paxton
      • From Brainerd to Paxton
  • Marion County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brainerd, with the one closest to Brainerd listed first.
    • Burns
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Burns have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burns
      • Burns is located in Marion County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 204 people
    • Peabody
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Aulne ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Aulne. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aulne
      • Aulne is located in Marion County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Aulne
      • From Brainerd to Aulne
    • Florence
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Oursler
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Oursler. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oursler
      • Oursler is located in Marion County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Oursler
      • From Brainerd to Oursler
    • Goessel
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Goessel have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goessel
      • Goessel is located in Marion County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 489 people
    • Canada
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Marion
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Hillsboro
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Eastshore
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eastshore have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastshore
      • Eastshore is located in Marion County
  • McPherson County
  • Sedgwick County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brainerd, with the one closest to Brainerd listed first.
    • Greenwich
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenwich have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwich
      • Greenwich is located in Sedgwick County
    • Kechi
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kechi have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kechi
      • Kechi is located in Sedgwick County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,109 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kechi <2>
    • Bel Aire
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bel Aire have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bel Aire
      • Bel Aire is located in Sedgwick County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,469 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bel Aire <2>
    • Park City
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Park City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park City
      • Park City is located in Sedgwick County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,943 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Park City <2>
    • Valley Center
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Valley Center have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Center
      • Valley Center is located in Sedgwick County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,385 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Valley Center <2>
    • Wichita Heights
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Eastborough
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eastborough have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastborough
      • Eastborough is located in Sedgwick County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 730 people
    • Coleman
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Cow Town
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cow Town have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cow Town
      • Cow Town is located in Sedgwick County
    • Wichita
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Bentley
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bentley have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bentley
      • Bentley is located in Sedgwick County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 515 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bentley <2>
    • Maize
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maize have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maize
      • Maize is located in Sedgwick County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,267 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Maize <2>
    • Colwich
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Colwich have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colwich
      • Colwich is located in Sedgwick County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,492 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Colwich <2>

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

Cemeteries Near Brainerd ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Brainerd.

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

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

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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Brainerd had a population of 180 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Whitewater
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Potwin
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Annelly
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Annelly. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Annelly
    • Annelly is located in Harvey County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Annelly
    • From Brainerd to Annelly
  • Furley
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Furley have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Furley
    • Furley is located in Sedgwick County
  • McLains
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for McLains. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McLains
    • McLains is located in Harvey County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to McLains
    • From Brainerd to McLains
  • Benton
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Benton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton
    • Benton is located in Butler County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 865 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Benton <2>
  • Towanda
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Towanda have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Towanda
    • Towanda is located in Butler County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,446 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Towanda <2>
  • Sunnydale
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunnydale have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnydale
    • Sunnydale is located in Sedgwick County
  • De Graff
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for De Graff. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Graff
    • De Graff is located in Butler County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to De Graff
    • From Brainerd to De Graff
  • Greenwich
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenwich have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwich
    • Greenwich is located in Sedgwick County
  • Kechi
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kechi have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kechi
    • Kechi is located in Sedgwick County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,109 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kechi <2>
  • Burns
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Burns have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burns
    • Burns is located in Marion County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 204 people
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Brainerd ...

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 224 newspapers that have been published in the area around Brainerd.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Brainerd. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Brainerd and those printed in the larger area surrounding Brainerd.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<5> of Brainerd.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to 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 Brainerd:

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

The official website for Butler County: www.bucoks.com/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<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>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.
<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- Brainerd) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Brainerd. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.9511, Longitude: -97.0954       In this case, the coordinates for Brainerd have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>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 Brainerd, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025