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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 Downs (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 Downs. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Downs is located in Osborne 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 Osborne County: Ellis, Jewell, Lincoln, Mitchell, Rooks, Russell & Smith.

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

  • Osborne County     (The home county of Downs)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Downs, with the one closest to Downs listed first.
    • Portis
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portis
      • Portis is located in Osborne County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 92 people
    • Osborne
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Osborne have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <2>
    • Bloomington
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomington
      • Bloomington is located in Osborne County
    • Alton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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
  • Jewell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Downs, with the one closest to Downs listed first.
    • Esbon
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Esbon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <2>
    • Jewell
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jewell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Randall
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randall
      • Randall is located in Jewell County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 61 people
    • Burr Oak
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Burr Oak have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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
  • Mitchell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Downs, with the one closest to Downs listed first.
    • Cawker City
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cawker City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <2>
    • Glen Elder
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Tipton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Hunter
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hunter have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <2>
    • Beloit
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beloit have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <2>
    • Gilbert
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilbert
      • Gilbert is located in Mitchell County
    • Asherville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asherville
      • Asherville is located in Mitchell County
  • Rooks County
    • Woodston
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodston
      • Woodston is located in Rooks County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 126 people
      • Woodston has also been known as:
      • Woodston Saw
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Woodston <2>
  • Russell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Downs, with the one closest to Downs listed first.
    • Luray
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luray
      • Luray is located in Russell County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 182 people
    • Waldo
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldo
      • Waldo is located in Russell County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 29 people
      • Former name for Waldo:
      • Pleasant Run
    • Lucas
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Smith County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Downs, with the one closest to Downs listed first.
    • Dispatch
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dispatch
      • Dispatch is located in Smith County
    • Harlan
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlan
      • Harlan is located in Smith County
    • Gaylord
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gaylord have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <2>
    • Bellaire
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellaire
      • Bellaire is located in Smith County
    • Lebanon
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Smith Center
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Cedar
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athol
      • Athol is located in Smith County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 40 people
    • Claudell
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claudell
      • Claudell is located in Smith County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Downs ...

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 81 newspapers that have been published in the area around Downs.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Downs. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Downs and those printed in the larger area surrounding Downs.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3> of Downs.

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 Downs:

Cemeteries Near Downs ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Downs.

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

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

  • Downs Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Downs Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Downs Cemetery
  • Oakdale Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oakdale Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oakdale Cemetery
  • Rose Valley Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rose Valley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rose Valley Cemetery
  • Corinth Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Corinth Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Corinth Cemetery
  • Baker Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • The Baker Cemetery has also been known as:
    • South Solomon Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Baker Cemetery
  • Bethany Center Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bethany Center Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bethany Center Cemetery
  • St.s Peter & Paul Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St.s Peter & Paul Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St.s Peter & Paul Cemetery
  • Prairie Grove Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Prairie Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Prairie Grove Cemetery
  • Reformed Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Reformed Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Reformed Cemetery
  • Rooker Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • St. Aloysius Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Aloysius Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Aloysius Cemetery
  • Iowa Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Iowa Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Iowa Cemetery
  • Continue List   (116 more) ...
    • Granite Creek Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Granite Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Granite Creek Cemetery
    • Osborne Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Osborne Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Osborne Cemetery
    • Lutheran Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lutheran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lutheran 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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Downs had a population of 938 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Downs had a population of 818 people.

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

  • Cawker City
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cawker City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <2>
  • Corinth
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Corinth have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corinth
    • Corinth is located in Osborne County
  • Portis
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portis
    • Portis is located in Osborne County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 92 people
  • Osborne
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Osborne have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <2>
  • Tipton
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Glen Elder
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Bloomington
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomington
    • Bloomington is located in Osborne County
  • Dentonia
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dentonia have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dentonia
    • Dentonia is located in Jewell County
  • Harlan
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlan
    • Harlan is located in Smith County
  • Ionia
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ionia have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ionia
    • Ionia is located in Jewell County
  • Blue Hill
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blue Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Hill
    • Blue Hill is located in Mitchell County
  • Solomon Rapids
    (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Solomon Rapids have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Solomon Rapids
    • Solomon Rapids is located in Mitchell County
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Gaylord
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gaylord have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <2>
    • Covert
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Covert have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Covert
      • Covert is located in Osborne County
    • Bellaire
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellaire
      • Bellaire is located in Smith County

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

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Downs. 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 from Point A (ie- Downs) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Downs. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.5048, Longitude: -98.5444    
<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 Downs, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024