RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Kansas >> Greenwood County >> Eureka >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Eureka (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 Eureka. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Eureka is located in Greenwood County and is the County Seat.

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 Greenwood County: Butler, Chase, Coffey, Elk, Lyon, Wilson & Woodson.

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

  • Greenwood County     (The home county of Eureka)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Eureka, with the one closest to Eureka listed first.
    • Climax
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Climax is located in Greenwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Climax
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 64 people
    • Reece
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Reece is located in Greenwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reece
    • Neal
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Neal is located in Greenwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neal
    • Ivanpah
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Ivanpah is located in Greenwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivanpah
    • Hamilton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Lapland
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Lapland is located in Greenwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lapland
    • Piedmont
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Severy
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Severy is located in Greenwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Severy
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 224 people
    • Virgil
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Virgil is located in Greenwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virgil
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 62 people
    • Fall River
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Madison
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Lamont
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
  • Butler County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Eureka, with the one closest to Eureka listed first.
    • Beaumont
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Rosalia
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Keighley
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Keighley is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keighley
    • Pontiac
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Pontiac is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pontiac
    • Aikman
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Aikman is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aikman
    • Cassoday
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Latham
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Chelsea ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Chelsea is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chelsea
    • Prospect
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Prospect is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prospect
    • Leon
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Leon is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 730 people
      • Leon has also been known as:
      • West Leon
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Leon <1>
  • Chase County
    • Matfield Green
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Coffey County
    • Gridley
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Gridley is located in Coffey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gridley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 323 people
  • Elk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Eureka, with the one closest to Eureka listed first.
    • Fiat
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Fiat is located in Elk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fiat
    • Cave Springs
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Cave Springs is located in Elk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cave Springs
    • Howard
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Howard is located in Elk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howard
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 600 people
      • Former name for Howard:
      • Howard City
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Howard <1>
    • Busby
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Busby is located in Elk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Busby
  • Lyon County
    • Olpe
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Wilson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Eureka, with the one closest to Eureka listed first.
    • Coyville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Coyville is located in Wilson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coyville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 41 people
    • Middletown
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Middletown is located in Wilson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middletown
    • New Albany
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • New Albany is located in Wilson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Albany
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 50 people
  • Woodson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Eureka, with the one closest to Eureka listed first.
    • Toronto
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Batesville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Batesville is located in Woodson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Batesville
    • Yates Center
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)

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

Cemeteries Near Eureka ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Eureka.

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 Eureka - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Stewart Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Ladd Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Reece Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Pleasant View Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Highland Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Homer Creek Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Star Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Rocky Ford Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Neal Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Ott Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Township Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (77 more) ...
    • South Lawn Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Twin Grove Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Prairie Chapel Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 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 Eureka had a population of 2,259 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Eureka had a population of 2,301 people.

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

  • Tonovay
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Tonovay is located in Greenwood County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tonovay
  • Utopia
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Utopia is located in Greenwood County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Utopia
  • Climax
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Climax is located in Greenwood County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Climax
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 64 people
  • Reece
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Reece is located in Greenwood County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reece
  • Neal
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Neal is located in Greenwood County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neal
  • Ivanpah
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Ivanpah is located in Greenwood County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivanpah
  • Lapland
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Lapland is located in Greenwood County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lapland
  • Hamilton
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Thrall
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Thrall is located in Greenwood County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thrall
  • Piedmont
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
  • Severy
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Severy is located in Greenwood County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Severy
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 224 people
  • Summit
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Summit is located in Butler County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Quincy
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Quincy is located in Greenwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quincy
    • Beaumont
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Toronto
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Eureka ...

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 113 newspapers that have been published in the area around Eureka.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Eureka. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Eureka and those printed in the larger area surrounding Eureka.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<3> of Eureka.

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 Eureka:

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 Eureka, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Eureka) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.