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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 Empire City (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 Empire City. 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 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.

Empire City is located in Cherokee 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 Cherokee County: Crawford, Labette, Jasper (MO), Newton (MO), Craig (OK) & Ottawa (OK).

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

  • Cherokee County     (The home county of Empire City)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Empire City, with the one closest to Empire City listed first.
    • Galena
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • South Galena
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • South Galena is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Galena
    • East Galena
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • East Galena is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Galena
    • Riverton
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Badger
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Badger is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Badger
    • Lowell
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Lowell is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowell
      • Lowell has also been known as:
      • Lowell Station
    • Crestline
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Crestline is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crestline
    • Baxter Springs
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Quaker
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Quaker is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quaker
    • Baxter Junction
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Baxter Junction is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baxter Junction
    • Commonwealth
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Commonwealth is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Commonwealth
    • Neutral
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Neutral is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neutral
      • Neutral has also been known as:
      • Neutral City
  • Crawford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Empire City, with the one closest to Empire City listed first.
    • Opolis
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Opolis is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Opolis
    • Kirkwood
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Kirkwood is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirkwood
    • Klendike
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Klendike is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Klendike
    • Cherokee
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Pittsburg
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Lone Oak
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Lone Oak is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Oak
    • Monmouth
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Monmouth is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monmouth
    • Cornell
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Cornell is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornell
    • Frontenac
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Capaldo
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Capaldo is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capaldo
    • Beulah
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Beulah is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beulah
    • McCune
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Labette County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Empire City, with the one closest to Empire City listed first.
    • Chetopa
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Oswego
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Strauss
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Strauss is located in Labette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strauss
  • Barton County (MO)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Empire City, with the one closest to Empire City listed first.
    • Nashville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Nashville is located in Barton County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nashville
    • Mindenmines
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Oakton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Oakton is located in Barton County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakton
  • Jasper County (MO)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Empire City, with the one closest to Empire City listed first.
    • Central City
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Central City is located in Jasper County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central City
    • Klondike
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Klondike is located in Jasper County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Klondike
    • Iron Gates
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Iron Gates is located in Jasper County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Gates
    • Smithfield
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Smithfield is located in Jasper County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smithfield
    • Lone Elm
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Lone Elm is located in Jasper County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Elm
    • West Joplin
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • West Joplin is located in Jasper County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Joplin
    • Dupont ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Dupont is located in Jasper County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dupont
    • Thoms
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Thoms is located in Jasper County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thoms
    • Joplin
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Joplin is located in Jasper County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joplin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 50,956 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Joplin <1>
    • Airport Drive
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Airport Drive is located in Jasper County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Airport Drive
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 862 people
    • Carl Junction
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • East Joplin
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • East Joplin is located in Jasper County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Joplin
  • McDonald County (MO)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Empire City, with the one closest to Empire City listed first.
    • May
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • May is located in McDonald County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for May
    • Goodman
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Goodman is located in McDonald County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodman
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,258 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Goodman <1>
    • Tiff City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Tiff City is located in McDonald County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tiff City
    • Erie
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Erie is located in McDonald County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erie
  • Newton County (MO)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Empire City, with the one closest to Empire City listed first.
    • Grand Falls Plaza
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Grand Falls Plaza is located in Newton County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Falls Plaza
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 112 people
    • Loma Linda
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Loma Linda is located in Newton County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loma Linda
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 782 people
    • Shoal Creek Drive
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Shoal Creek Drive is located in Newton County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shoal Creek Drive
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 327 people
    • Dennis Acres
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Dennis Acres is located in Newton County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dennis Acres
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 72 people
    • Cliff Village
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Cliff Village is located in Newton County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliff Village
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 39 people
    • Redings Mill
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Redings Mill is located in Newton County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redings Mill
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 150 people
    • Leawood
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Leawood is located in Newton County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leawood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 678 people
    • Shoal Creek Estates
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Shoal Creek Estates is located in Newton County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shoal Creek Estates
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 92 people
    • Spring City
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Spring City is located in Newton County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring City
    • Silver Creek
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Silver Creek is located in Newton County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Creek
      • Estimated population in 2012: 631 people
    • Saginaw
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Saginaw is located in Newton County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saginaw
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 305 people
    • Racine
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Racine is located in Newton County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Racine
  • Craig County (OK)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Empire City, with the one closest to Empire City listed first.
    • Welch
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Welch is located in Craig County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welch
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 584 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Welch <1>
    • Bluejacket
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Ottawa County (OK)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Empire City, with the one closest to Empire City listed first.
    • Hockerville ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Hockerville is located in Ottawa County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hockerville
    • Lincolnville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Lincolnville is located in Ottawa County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincolnville
    • Peoria
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Peoria is located in Ottawa County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peoria
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
    • Picher ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Quapaw
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Quapaw is located in Ottawa County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quapaw
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 871 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Quapaw <1>
    • Cardin
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Commerce
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • North Miami
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • North Miami is located in Ottawa County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Miami
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 370 people
    • Ottawa
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Ottawa is located in Ottawa County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ottawa
    • Miami
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Miami is located in Ottawa County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miami
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 12,947 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Miami <1>
    • Wyandotte
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Dotyville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Dotyville is located in Ottawa County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dotyville

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

Cemeteries Near Empire City ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Empire City.

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 Empire City - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Empire City covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Galena Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Oak Hill Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Stevenson Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Faith Community Church Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Hillcrest Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Union Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Cemetery
    • The Union Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Ritchie Cemetery
    • Union Chapel Cemetery
  • Boston Mills - Cox Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Gandy Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Lowell Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Messer Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Quaker Valley Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Pence Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (217 more) ...
    • Fairview Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Peace Church Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peace Church Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Peace Church Cemetery is located outside and to the northwest of Joplin (MO).
    • Sherwood Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)

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 Empire City had a population of 923 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Galena
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Lowell
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Lowell is located in Cherokee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowell
    • Lowell has also been known as:
    • Lowell Station
  • Smithfield
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Smithfield is located in Jasper County (MO)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smithfield
  • Baxter Springs
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Blendville ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Blendville is located in Jasper County (MO)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blendville
  • West Joplin
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • West Joplin is located in Jasper County (MO)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Joplin
  • Tuckahoe
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Tuckahoe is located in Jasper County (MO)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuckahoe
  • Thoms
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Thoms is located in Jasper County (MO)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thoms
  • Dupont ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Dupont is located in Jasper County (MO)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dupont
  • Crestline
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Crestline is located in Cherokee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crestline
  • Joplin
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Joplin is located in Jasper County (MO)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joplin
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 50,956 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Joplin <1>
  • Carl Junction
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • East Joplin
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • East Joplin is located in Jasper County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Joplin
    • Neutral
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Neutral is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neutral
      • Neutral has also been known as:
      • Neutral City
    • Hornet
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Hornet is located in Newton County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hornet

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Empire City ...

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 61 newspapers that have been published in the area around Empire City.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Empire City. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Empire City and those printed in the larger area surrounding Empire City.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<4> of Empire City.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Empire City:

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 Empire City, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Empire City) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.