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 Devizes (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 Devizes. 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 Devizes ...
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 occur.
Another variation: Devizers.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Devizes. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Devizes.
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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and 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.
Devizes is located in Norton 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 Norton County: Decatur, Graham, Phillips, Sheridan, Furnas (NE) & Harlan (NE).
Below are the counties that are near Devizes. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Devizes:
- Norton County (The home county of Devizes)
- The following are listed by their distance from Devizes, with the one closest to Devizes listed first.
- Rockwell City ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Rockwell City is located in Norton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockwell City
- Norton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Oronoque
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Oronoque is located in Norton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oronoque
- Dellvale
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Dellvale is located in Norton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dellvale
- Clayton
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Clayton is located in Norton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clayton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 54 people
- Almena
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Almena is located in Norton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almena
- Population from the 2020 Census: 376 people
- Lenora
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Edmond
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Edmond is located in Norton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmond
- Population from the 2020 Census: 46 people
- Edmond has also been known as:
- Edmond City
- Densmore
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Densmore is located in Norton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Densmore
- Decatur County
- The following are listed by their distance from Devizes, with the one closest to Devizes listed first.
- Lyle
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Lyle is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyle
- Norcatur
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Norcatur is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norcatur
- Population from the 2020 Census: 142 people
- Kanona
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Kanona is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kanona
- Jennings
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Jennings is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jennings
- Population from the 2020 Census: 90 people
- Oberlin
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Allison ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Allison is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allison
- Phillips County
- The following are listed by their distance from Devizes, with the one closest to Devizes listed first.
- Long Island
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Long Island is located in Phillips County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Island
- Population from the 2020 Census: 120 people
- Prairie View
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Prairie View is located in Phillips County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie View
- Population from the 2020 Census: 120 people
- Furnas County (NE)
- The following are listed by their distance from Devizes, with the one closest to Devizes listed first.
- Wilsonville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Hendley
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Beaver City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Cambridge
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Holbrook
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Hollinger
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Hollinger is located in Furnas County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollinger
- Arapahoe
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Edison
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Oxford
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Harlan County (NE)
- The following are listed by their distance from Devizes, with the one closest to Devizes listed first.
- Stamford
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Flynn Junction
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Flynn Junction is located in Harlan County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flynn Junction
- Red Willow County (NE)
- The following are listed by their distance from Devizes, with the one closest to Devizes listed first.
- Lebanon
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Danbury
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Bartley
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Indianola
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Red Willow
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Red Willow is located in Red Willow County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Willow
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Devizes, see our County-by-County Page for Devizes.
Cemeteries Near Devizes ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Devizes.
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 Devizes - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Devizes covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Devizes, with the one closest to Devizes listed first.
- Devizes Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Railsback Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Wray Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Rockton Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Butler Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butler Cemetery
- The Butler Cemetery has also been known as:
- Crystal Twp. Cemetery
- Deal Cemetery
- Watton Cemetery
- Wotton Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Maple Grove Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Spring Green Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Shirley Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Lynden Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Norcatur Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Tyrone Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (68 more) ...
- White Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Oronoque Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Norton Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
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 Devizes had a population of 48 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Devizes, with the one closest to Devizes listed first.
- Lyle
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Lyle is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyle
- Wilsonville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Rockwell City ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Rockwell City is located in Norton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockwell City
- Hendley
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Norcatur
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Norcatur is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norcatur
- Population from the 2020 Census: 142 people
- Lebanon
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Norton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Oronoque
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Oronoque is located in Norton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oronoque
- Dellvale
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Dellvale is located in Norton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dellvale
- Beaver City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Precept
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Precept is located in Furnas County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Precept
- Clayton
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Clayton is located in Norton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clayton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 54 people
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Calvert
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Calvert is located in Norton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvert
- Danbury
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Almena
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Almena is located in Norton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almena
- Population from the 2020 Census: 376 people
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Devizes. See our List of 1890's Communities around Devizes.
Newspapers Published in Devizes ...
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 135 newspapers that have been published in the area around Devizes.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Devizes, 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 Devizes.
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 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 Devizes:
- Websites specific to Kansas
- Pages specific to Norton County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Decatur County
- Phillips County
- Furnas County
- Harlan County
- Red Willow 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 Devizes, 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' (or 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- Devizes) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |