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 (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. 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 and hospitals 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.
Cedar is located in Smith 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 Smith County: Jewell, Osborne, Phillips, Rooks, Franklin (NE) & Webster (NE).
Below are the counties that are near Cedar. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Cedar:
- Smith County (The home county of Cedar)
- The following are listed by their distance from Cedar, with the one closest to Cedar listed first.
- Claudell
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Claudell is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claudell
- Gaylord
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Athol
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Athol is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athol
- Population from the 2020 Census: 40 people
- Harlan
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Harlan is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlan
- Kensington
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Kensington is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kensington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 433 people
- Smith Center
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Bellaire
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Bellaire is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellaire
- Dispatch
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Dispatch is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dispatch
- Lebanon
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Womer
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Womer is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Womer
- Jewell County
- Esbon
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Mitchell County
- Cawker City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Osborne County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cedar, with the one closest to Cedar listed first.
- Alton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Alton is located in Osborne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 92 people
- Portis
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Portis is located in Osborne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portis
- Population from the 2020 Census: 92 people
- Bloomington
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bloomington is located in Osborne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomington
- Osborne
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Osborne is located in Osborne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osborne
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,280 people
- Osborne has also been known as:
- Peru
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Osborne <1>
- Downs
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Phillips County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cedar, with the one closest to Cedar listed first.
- Kirwin
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Agra
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Agra is located in Phillips County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agra
- Population from the 2020 Census: 238 people
- Glade
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Glade is located in Phillips County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glade
- Population from the 2020 Census: 89 people
- Phillipsburg
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Speed
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Speed is located in Phillips County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speed
- Population from the 2020 Census: 34 people
- Stuttgart
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Stuttgart is located in Phillips County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stuttgart
- Rooks County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cedar, with the one closest to Cedar listed first.
- Woodston
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Woodston is located in Rooks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 126 people
- Woodston has also been known as:
- Woodston Saw
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Woodston <1>
- Stockton
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Stockton is located in Rooks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stockton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,234 people
- Former name for Stockton:
- Stocktown
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Stockton <1>
- Franklin County (NE)
- The following are listed by their distance from Cedar, with the one closest to Cedar listed first.
- Bloomington
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Franklin
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Naponee
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Cedar, see our County-by-County Page for Cedar.
Cemeteries Near Cedar ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Cedar.
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 Cedar - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Cedar covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Cedar, with the one closest to Cedar listed first.
- St. Francis Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Leasburg Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Cedar Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Gaylord Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Christ Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Bohemian Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Olive Branch Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Grant Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Butler Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Pleasant View Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Kirin Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Ash Rock Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (99 more) ...
- Spring Branch Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Hammond Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Agra Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
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.<3>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Cedar had a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Cedar had a population of 13 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Cedar, with the one closest to Cedar listed first.
- Gaylord
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Athol
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Athol is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athol
- Population from the 2020 Census: 40 people
- Harlan
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Harlan is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlan
- Kensington
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Kensington is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kensington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 433 people
- Kirwin
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Smith Center
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Agra
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Agra is located in Phillips County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agra
- Population from the 2020 Census: 238 people
- Alton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Alton is located in Osborne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 92 people
- Portis
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Portis is located in Osborne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portis
- Population from the 2020 Census: 92 people
- Woodston
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Woodston is located in Rooks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 126 people
- Woodston has also been known as:
- Woodston Saw
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Woodston <1>
- Bloomington
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bloomington is located in Osborne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomington
- Gretna
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Gretna is located in Phillips County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gretna
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Bellaire
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Bellaire is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellaire
- Osborne
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Osborne is located in Osborne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osborne
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,280 people
- Osborne has also been known as:
- Peru
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Osborne <1>
- Reamsville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Reamsville is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reamsville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Cedar. See our List of 1890's Communities around Cedar.
Newspapers Published in Cedar ...
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 177 newspapers that have been published in the area around Cedar.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Cedar, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Cedar.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Cedar:
- Websites specific to Kansas
- Pages specific to Smith County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Jewell County
- Mitchell County
- Osborne County
- Phillips County
- Rooks County
- Franklin 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> | 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. |
| <3> | 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, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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- Cedar) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |