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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 Cedar Bluffs (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 Cedar Bluffs. 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 Cedar Bluffs ...

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.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Cedar Bluffs: Cedar Blfs.

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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors 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.

Cedar Bluffs is located in Decatur 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 Decatur County: Norton, Rawlins, Sheridan, Thomas, Furnas (NE) & Red Willow (NE).

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

  • Decatur County     (The home county of Cedar Bluffs)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cedar Bluffs, with the one closest to Cedar Bluffs listed first.
    • Traer
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Traer have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Traer
      • Traer is located in Decatur County
    • Oberlin
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oberlin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oberlin
      • Oberlin is located in Decatur County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,669 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oberlin <2>
    • Kanona
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kanona have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kanona
      • Kanona is located in Decatur County
    • Norcatur
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norcatur
      • Norcatur is located in Decatur County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 142 people
    • Dresden
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Jennings
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jennings
      • Jennings is located in Decatur County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 90 people
    • Leoville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Leoville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leoville
      • Leoville is located in Decatur County
  • Norton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cedar Bluffs, with the one closest to Cedar Bluffs listed first.
    • Clayton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clayton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clayton
      • Clayton is located in Norton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 54 people
    • Rockwell City ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rockwell City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockwell City
      • Rockwell City is located in Norton County
  • Rawlins County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cedar Bluffs, with the one closest to Cedar Bluffs listed first.
    • Herndon
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Herndon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herndon
      • Herndon is located in Rawlins County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 129 people
    • Ludell
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ludell
      • Ludell is located in Rawlins County
    • Atwood
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Atwood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atwood
      • Atwood is located in Rawlins County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,208 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Atwood <2>
  • Riley County
    • Clayton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clayton
      • Clayton is located in Riley County
  • Sheridan County
    • Selden
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selden
      • Selden is located in Sheridan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 211 people
  • Furnas County (NE)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cedar Bluffs, with the one closest to Cedar Bluffs listed first.
    • Wilsonville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wilsonville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilsonville
      • Wilsonville is located in Furnas County (NE)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 85 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wilsonville <2>
    • Cambridge
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Hitchcock County (NE)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cedar Bluffs, with the one closest to Cedar Bluffs listed first.
    • Culbertson
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Trenton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Trenton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trenton
      • Trenton is located in Hitchcock County (NE)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 533 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Trenton <2>
    • Beverly
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beverly have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beverly
      • Beverly is located in Hitchcock County (NE)
  • Red Willow County (NE)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cedar Bluffs, with the one closest to Cedar Bluffs listed first.
    • Danbury
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danbury
      • Danbury is located in Red Willow County (NE)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 94 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Danbury <2>
    • Lebanon
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lebanon
      • Lebanon is located in Red Willow County (NE)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 76 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lebanon <2>
    • McCook
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCook
      • McCook is located in Red Willow County (NE)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,499 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for McCook <2>
    • Red Willow
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Willow
      • Red Willow is located in Red Willow County (NE)
    • Indianola
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Bartley
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bartley
      • Bartley is located in Red Willow County (NE)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 266 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bartley <2>

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

Newspapers Published in Cedar Bluffs ...

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 112 newspapers that have been published in the area around Cedar Bluffs.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Cedar Bluffs, 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 Cedar Bluffs.

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 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 Cedar Bluffs:

Cemeteries Near Cedar Bluffs ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Cedar Bluffs.

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

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

  • Cedar Bluffs Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cedar Bluffs Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cedar Bluffs Cemetery
  • Pleasant Prairie Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Prairie Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Prairie Cemetery
  • Traer Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Traer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Traer Cemetery
  • Danbury - Marion Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Danbury - Marion Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Danbury - Marion Cemetery
  • Fairview Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Johns Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Johns Cemetery
  • Oberlin Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oberlin Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oberlin Cemetery
  • Vallonia Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Vallonia Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Vallonia Cemetery
  • Evangelical Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Evangelical Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Evangelical Cemetery
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Johns Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Johns Cemetery
  • St. John Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. John Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. John Cemetery
  • Union Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Union Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Union Cemetery
  • Continue List   (58 more) ...
    • Redman Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Hamburg Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hamburg Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hamburg Cemetery
    • St. Mary's Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Mary's Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Mary's 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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Cedar Bluffs had a population of 25 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Traer
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Traer have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Traer
    • Traer is located in Decatur County
  • Danbury
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danbury
    • Danbury is located in Red Willow County (NE)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 94 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Danbury <2>
  • Oberlin
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oberlin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oberlin
    • Oberlin is located in Decatur County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,669 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oberlin <2>
  • Herndon
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Herndon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herndon
    • Herndon is located in Rawlins County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 129 people
  • Kanona
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kanona have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kanona
    • Kanona is located in Decatur County
  • Lebanon
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lebanon
    • Lebanon is located in Red Willow County (NE)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 76 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lebanon <2>
  • McCook
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCook
    • McCook is located in Red Willow County (NE)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,499 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for McCook <2>
  • Red Willow
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Willow
    • Red Willow is located in Red Willow County (NE)
  • Lyle
    (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lyle have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyle
    • Lyle is located in Decatur County
  • Perry
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Perry have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perry
    • Perry is located in Red Willow County (NE)
  • Indianola
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
  • Cornell ‑ Historic
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cornell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornell
    • Cornell is located in Hitchcock County (NE)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Ludell
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ludell
      • Ludell is located in Rawlins County
    • Norcatur
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norcatur
      • Norcatur is located in Decatur County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 142 people
    • Culbertson
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)

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

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

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Cedar Bluffs) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Cedar Bluffs. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.9789, Longitude: -100.5618       In this case, the coordinates for Cedar Bluffs have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Cedar Bluffs, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024