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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 Dexter (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 Dexter. 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 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.

Dexter is located in Cowley 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 Cowley County: Butler, Chautauqua, Elk, Sedgwick, Sumner, Kay (OK) & Osage (OK).

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

  • Cowley County     (The home county of Dexter)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dexter, with the one closest to Dexter listed first.
    • Eaton
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Eaton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eaton
      • Eaton is located in Cowley County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Eaton
      • From Dexter to Eaton
    • Hooser
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hooser. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooser
      • Hooser is located in Cowley County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hooser
      • From Dexter to Hooser
    • Vinton
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Vinton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vinton
      • Vinton is located in Cowley County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Vinton
      • From Dexter to Vinton
    • Tisdale
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tisdale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tisdale
      • Tisdale is located in Cowley County
    • Maple City
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Burden
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Cambridge
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cambridge have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambridge
      • Cambridge is located in Cowley County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 81 people
    • Taussig
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Taussig have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taussig
      • Taussig is located in Cowley County
    • Cameron
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cameron. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cameron
      • Cameron is located in Cowley County
      • Cameron has also been known as:
      • Cameron City
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Cameron
      • From Dexter to Cameron
    • New Salem
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Silverdale
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Silverdale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silverdale
      • Silverdale is located in Cowley County
    • Grand Summit
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Winfield
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
  • Butler County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dexter, with the one closest to Dexter listed first.
    • Wingate
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wingate have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wingate
      • Wingate is located in Butler County
    • Clay Center
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Clay Center. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clay Center
      • Clay Center is located in Butler County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Clay Center
      • From Dexter to Clay Center
    • Latham
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Latham have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Latham
      • Latham is located in Butler County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 137 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Latham <3>
    • Smileyville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Smileyville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smileyville
      • Smileyville is located in Butler County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Smileyville
      • From Dexter to Smileyville
    • Bloomington
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Douglass
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Douglass have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douglass
      • Douglass is located in Butler County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,646 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Douglass <3>
    • Bois d'Arc
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bois d'Arc. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bois d'Arc
      • Bois d'Arc is located in Butler County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Bois d'Arc
      • From Dexter to Bois d'Arc
  • Chautauqua County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dexter, with the one closest to Dexter listed first.
    • Cedar Vale
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Osro
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Osro. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osro
      • Osro is located in Chautauqua County
      • Osro has also been known as:
      • Osrow
      • Ozro Falls
      • Ozro
      • Ozrow
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Osro
      • From Dexter to Osro
    • Layton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Layton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Layton
      • Layton is located in Chautauqua County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Layton
      • From Dexter to Layton
    • Wauneta
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wauneta. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wauneta
      • Wauneta is located in Chautauqua County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Wauneta
      • From Dexter to Wauneta
    • Hewins
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hewins have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hewins
      • Hewins is located in Chautauqua County
    • Gibbs
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Gibbs. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibbs
      • Gibbs is located in Chautauqua County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Gibbs
      • From Dexter to Gibbs
    • Rogers
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rogers. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers
      • Rogers is located in Chautauqua County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Rogers
      • From Dexter to Rogers
    • Elgin
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elgin have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elgin
      • Elgin is located in Chautauqua County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 79 people
      • Elgin has also been known as:
      • New Elgin
    • Sedan
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Elk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dexter, with the one closest to Dexter listed first.
    • Grenola
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Moline
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moline have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moline
      • Moline is located in Elk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 319 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moline <3>
  • Sumner County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dexter, with the one closest to Dexter listed first.
    • Geuda Springs
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Geuda Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geuda Springs
      • Geuda Springs is located in Sumner County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 176 people
    • Oxford
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Paton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Paton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paton
      • Paton is located in Sumner County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Paton
      • From Dexter to Paton
  • Kay County (OK)
  • Osage County (OK)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dexter, with the one closest to Dexter listed first.
    • Frankfort
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Frankfort. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frankfort
      • Frankfort is located in Osage County (OK)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Frankfort
      • From Dexter to Frankfort
    • Grainola
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Foraker
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Webb City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Webb City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webb City
      • Webb City is located in Osage County (OK)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 61 people
    • Shidler
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shidler have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shidler
      • Shidler is located in Osage County (OK)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 426 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Shidler <3>

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

Cemeteries Near Dexter ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Dexter.

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

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

  • Dexter Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dexter Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dexter Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Prairie Ridge Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Prairie Ridge Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Prairie Ridge Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Maple City Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Maple City Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Maple City Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Gospel Ridge Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gospel Ridge Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gospel Ridge Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Patton Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Patton Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Patton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Rose Valley Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rose Valley Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rose Valley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Silver Creek Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Silver Creek Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Silver Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Cambridge Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Tisdale Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Tisdale Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Tisdale Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Liberty Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Liberty Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Liberty Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Cedar Creek Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cedar Creek Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cedar Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Fairview - Griffith Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fairview - Griffith Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fairview - Griffith Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (83 more) ...
    • Burden Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Burden Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Burden Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • South Bend Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the South Bend Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the South Bend Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Cedar Vale Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cedar Vale Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cedar Vale Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Dexter had a population of 371 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Dexter had a population of 271 people.

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

  • Hooser
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hooser. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooser
    • Hooser is located in Cowley County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Hooser
    • From Dexter to Hooser
  • Vinton
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Vinton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vinton
    • Vinton is located in Cowley County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Vinton
    • From Dexter to Vinton
  • Maple City
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Tisdale
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tisdale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tisdale
    • Tisdale is located in Cowley County
  • Burden
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Taussig
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Taussig have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taussig
    • Taussig is located in Cowley County
  • Cambridge
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cambridge have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambridge
    • Cambridge is located in Cowley County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 81 people
  • Cameron
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cameron. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cameron
    • Cameron is located in Cowley County
    • Cameron has also been known as:
    • Cameron City
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Cameron
    • From Dexter to Cameron
  • Cedar Vale
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Cloverdale
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cloverdale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverdale
    • Cloverdale is located in Chautauqua County
  • Silverdale
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Silverdale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silverdale
    • Silverdale is located in Cowley County
  • New Salem
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • 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 Dexter. See our List of 1890's Communities around Dexter.

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Dexter ...

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 116 newspapers that have been published in the area around Dexter.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Dexter. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Dexter and those printed in the larger area surrounding Dexter.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<6> of Dexter.

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 helpful 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 Dexter:

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

The official website for Cowley County: www.cowleycounty.org/

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>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.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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>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 Dexter, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Dexter) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Dexter. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.1792, Longitude: -96.7170    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025