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 Elgin (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 Elgin. 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 Elgin ...
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.
Elgin has also been known as: New Elgin.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Elgin. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Elgin.
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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals 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.
Elgin is located in Chautauqua 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 Chautauqua County: Cowley, Elk, Montgomery, Osage (OK) & Washington (OK).
Below are the counties that are near Elgin. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Elgin:
- Chautauqua County (The home county of Elgin)
- The following are listed by their distance from Elgin, with the one closest to Elgin listed first.
- Chautauqua
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Chautauqua is located in Chautauqua County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chautauqua
- Population from the 2020 Census: 88 people
- Hewins
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Hewins is located in Chautauqua County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hewins
- Layton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Layton is located in Chautauqua County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Layton
- Jonesburg ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Jonesburg is located in Chautauqua County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonesburg
- Gibbs
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Gibbs is located in Chautauqua County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibbs
- Sedan
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Osro
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Osro is located in Chautauqua County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osro
- Osro has also been known as:
- Osrow
- Ozro Falls
- Ozro
- Ozrow
- Wauneta
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Wauneta is located in Chautauqua County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wauneta
- Rogers
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Rogers is located in Chautauqua County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers
- Peru
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Peru is located in Chautauqua County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peru
- Population from the 2020 Census: 125 people
- Monett
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Monett is located in Chautauqua County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monett
- Cedar Vale
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Cedar Vale is located in Chautauqua County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Vale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 503 people
- Cedar Vale has also been known as:
- Cedar
- Cedarvale
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cedar Vale <1>
- Cowley County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elgin, with the one closest to Elgin listed first.
- Taussig
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Taussig is located in Cowley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taussig
- Hooser
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Hooser is located in Cowley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooser
- Dexter
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Maple City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Maple City is located in Cowley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple City
- Grand Summit
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Grand Summit is located in Cowley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Summit
- Cambridge
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Cambridge is located in Cowley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambridge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 81 people
- Vinton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Vinton is located in Cowley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vinton
- Elk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elgin, with the one closest to Elgin listed first.
- Moline
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Grenola
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Grenola is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grenola
- Population from the 2020 Census: 187 people
- Elk Falls
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Oak Valley
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Oak Valley is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Valley
- Longton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Longton is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 306 people
- Former name for Longton:
- Elk Rapids
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Longton <1>
- Montgomery County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elgin, with the one closest to Elgin listed first.
- Caney
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Havana
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Havana is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Havana
- Population from the 2020 Census: 104 people
- Tyro
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Tyro is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyro
- Population from the 2020 Census: 195 people
- Elk City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Elk City is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 289 people
- Nowata County (OK)
- Wann
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Osage County (OK)
- The following are listed by their distance from Elgin, with the one closest to Elgin listed first.
- Herd
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Herd is located in Osage County (OK)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herd
- Whippoorwill
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Whippoorwill is located in Osage County (OK)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whippoorwill
- Bowring
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Foraker
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Foraker is located in Osage County (OK)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foraker
- Population from the 2020 Census: 19 people
- Grainola
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Grainola is located in Osage County (OK)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grainola
- Population from the 2020 Census: 30 people
- Frankfort
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Frankfort is located in Osage County (OK)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frankfort
- Pawhuska
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Shidler
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Webb City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Webb City is located in Osage County (OK)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webb City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 61 people
- Pershing
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Pershing is located in Osage County (OK)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pershing
- Little Chief
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Little Chief is located in Osage County (OK)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Chief
- Washington County (OK)
- The following are listed by their distance from Elgin, with the one closest to Elgin listed first.
- Copan
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Copan is located in Washington County (OK)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Copan
- Population from the 2020 Census: 746 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Copan <1>
- Bartlesville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Dewey
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Dewey is located in Washington County (OK)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dewey
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,411 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dewey <1>
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Elgin, see our County-by-County Page for Elgin.
Cemeteries Near Elgin ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Elgin.
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 Elgin - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Elgin covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Elgin, with the one closest to Elgin listed first.
- Elgin Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- District 1 Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- De Bask Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Wilson Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Boulanger Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Robert Marshall Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Moore Prairie Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- McClarney Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Oak Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Findley Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Rose Dale Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Continue List (88 more) ...
- Ozro Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Casement Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Denick Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
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.<2>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Elgin had a population of 156 people in 1895 with railroad service and no post office. In 2020, Elgin had a population of 79 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Elgin, with the one closest to Elgin listed first.
- Chautauqua
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Chautauqua is located in Chautauqua County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chautauqua
- Population from the 2020 Census: 88 people
- Hewins
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Hewins is located in Chautauqua County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hewins
- Jonesburg ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Jonesburg is located in Chautauqua County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonesburg
- Sedan
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Wauneta
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Wauneta is located in Chautauqua County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wauneta
- Osro
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Osro is located in Chautauqua County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osro
- Osro has also been known as:
- Osrow
- Ozro Falls
- Ozro
- Ozrow
- Rogers
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Rogers is located in Chautauqua County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers
- Peru
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Peru is located in Chautauqua County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peru
- Population from the 2020 Census: 125 people
- Monett
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Monett is located in Chautauqua County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monett
- Cedar Vale
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Cedar Vale is located in Chautauqua County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Vale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 503 people
- Cedar Vale has also been known as:
- Cedar
- Cedarvale
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cedar Vale <1>
- Niotaze
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Niotaze is located in Chautauqua County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Niotaze
- Population from the 2020 Census: 72 people
- Grafton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Grafton is located in Chautauqua County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grafton
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Taussig
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Taussig is located in Cowley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taussig
- Caney
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Havana
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Havana is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Havana
- Population from the 2020 Census: 104 people
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Elgin. See our List of 1890's Communities around Elgin.
Newspapers Published in Elgin ...
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 163 newspapers that have been published in the area around Elgin.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Elgin, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Elgin.
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 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 Elgin:
- Websites specific to Kansas
- Pages specific to Chautauqua County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cowley County
- Elk County
- Montgomery County
- Nowata County
- Osage County
- Washington 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> | 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 Elgin, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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- Elgin) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |