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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 Dispatch (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 Dispatch. 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 northwest 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 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 west 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.

Dispatch is primarily located in Smith County. A portion of Dispatch extends into Jewell 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 Smith County: Jewell, Osborne, Phillips, Rooks, Franklin (NE) & Webster (NE).

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

  • Smith County     (The home county of Dispatch)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dispatch, with the one closest to Dispatch listed first.
    • Harlan
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlan
      • Harlan is located in Smith County
    • Lebanon
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Bellaire
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellaire
      • Bellaire is located in Smith County
    • Gaylord
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gaylord have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gaylord
      • Gaylord is located in Smith County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 104 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gaylord <1>
    • Smith Center
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Cedar
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar
      • Cedar is located in Smith County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 13 people
    • Athol
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athol
      • Athol is located in Smith County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 40 people
    • Womer
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Womer
      • Womer is located in Smith County
    • Claudell
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claudell
      • Claudell is located in Smith County
    • Kensington
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kensington
      • Kensington is located in Smith County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 433 people
  • Jewell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dispatch, with the one closest to Dispatch listed first.
    • Esbon
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Esbon have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Esbon
      • Esbon is located in Jewell County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 91 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Esbon <1>
    • Jewell
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jewell have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jewell
      • Jewell is located in Jewell County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 396 people
    • Mankato
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Burr Oak
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Burr Oak have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burr Oak
      • Burr Oak is located in Jewell County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 160 people
    • Randall
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randall
      • Randall is located in Jewell County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 61 people
    • Montrose
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montrose
      • Montrose is located in Jewell County
      • Former name for Montrose:
      • Delta
    • Formoso
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Formoso have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Formoso
      • Formoso is located in Jewell County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 86 people
  • Mitchell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dispatch, with the one closest to Dispatch listed first.
    • Cawker City
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cawker City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cawker City
      • Cawker City is located in Mitchell County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 426 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cawker City <1>
    • Glen Elder
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Tipton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Beloit
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beloit have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beloit
      • Beloit is located in Mitchell County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,564 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Beloit <1>
    • Gilbert
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilbert
      • Gilbert is located in Mitchell County
    • Hunter
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hunter have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunter
      • Hunter is located in Mitchell County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 53 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hunter <1>
    • Scottsville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scottsville
      • Scottsville is located in Mitchell County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 23 people
    • Asherville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asherville
      • Asherville is located in Mitchell County
  • Osborne County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dispatch, with the one closest to Dispatch listed first.
    • Downs
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Portis
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portis
      • Portis is located in Osborne County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 92 people
    • Osborne
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Osborne have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osborne
      • Osborne is located in Osborne County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,280 people
      • Osborne has also been known as:
      • Peru
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Osborne <1>
    • Bloomington
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomington
      • Bloomington is located in Osborne County
    • Alton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alton
      • Alton is located in Osborne County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 92 people

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

Newspapers Published in Dispatch ...

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 41 newspapers that have been published in the area around Dispatch.

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

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start 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 Dispatch:

Cemeteries Near Dispatch ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Dispatch.

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

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

  • Reformed Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Reformed Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Reformed Cemetery
  • Rooker Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • South Oak Creek Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Rose Valley Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • 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.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rose Valley Cemetery
  • Oakdale Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oakdale Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oakdale Cemetery
  • Downs Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Downs Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Downs Cemetery
  • Prairie Grove Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Prairie Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Prairie Grove Cemetery
  • North Oak Creek Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the North Oak Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the North Oak Creek Cemetery
  • Odessa Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Odessa Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Odessa Cemetery
  • Twelvemile Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Twelvemile Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Twelvemile Cemetery
  • St.s Peter & Paul Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St.s Peter & Paul Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St.s Peter & Paul Cemetery
  • Bethany Center Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bethany Center Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bethany Center Cemetery
  • Continue List   (119 more) ...
    • Granite Creek Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Granite Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Granite Creek Cemetery
    • Ionia Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ionia Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ionia Cemetery
    • Corinth Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Corinth Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Corinth 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.<5>

While we didn't find Dispatch in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Dispatch.

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

  • Downs
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Dentonia
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dentonia have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dentonia
    • Dentonia is located in Jewell County
  • Cawker City
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cawker City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cawker City
    • Cawker City is located in Mitchell County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 426 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cawker City <1>
  • Ionia
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ionia have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ionia
    • Ionia is located in Jewell County
  • Portis
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portis
    • Portis is located in Osborne County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 92 people
  • Corinth
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Corinth have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corinth
    • Corinth is located in Osborne County
  • Glen Elder
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Harlan
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlan
    • Harlan is located in Smith County
  • Lebanon
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Osborne
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Osborne have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osborne
    • Osborne is located in Osborne County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,280 people
    • Osborne has also been known as:
    • Peru
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Osborne <1>
  • Bellaire
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellaire
    • Bellaire is located in Smith County
  • Esbon
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Esbon have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Esbon
    • Esbon is located in Jewell County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 91 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Esbon <1>
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Bloomington
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomington
      • Bloomington is located in Osborne County
    • Tipton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Otego
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Otego have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otego
      • Otego is located in Jewell County

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

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

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

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 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>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 from Point A (ie- Dispatch) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Dispatch. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.5966, Longitude: -98.5051    
<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 Dispatch, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024