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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 Formoso (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 Formoso. 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.

Formoso is located in 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 Jewell County: Cloud, Mitchell, Osborne, Republic, Smith, Nuckolls (NE) & Webster (NE).

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

  • Jewell County     (The home county of Formoso)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Formoso, with the one closest to Formoso listed first.
    • Montrose
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Randall
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Webber
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Webber have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webber
      • Webber is located in Jewell County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 24 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Webber <2>
    • Jewell
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • 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
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Burr Oak
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • 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
    • Esbon
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • 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>
  • Cloud County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Formoso, with the one closest to Formoso listed first.
    • Oneonta ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oneonta have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oneonta
      • Oneonta is located in Cloud County
    • Jamestown
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jamestown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
      • Jamestown is located in Cloud County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 258 people
    • Yuma
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Yuma. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yuma
      • Yuma is located in Cloud County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Yuma
      • From Formoso to Yuma
    • Macyville ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Macyville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macyville
      • Macyville is located in Cloud County
    • Concordia
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Cook
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cook. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cook
      • Cook is located in Cloud County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Cook
      • From Formoso to Cook
    • Simpson
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Simpson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simpson
      • Simpson is located in Cloud County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 78 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Simpson <2>
    • Huscher
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Rice
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Glasco
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Glasco have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glasco
      • Glasco is located in Cloud County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 448 people
      • Former names for Glasco:
      • Dell Ray
      • Glasgow
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Glasco <2>
  • Mitchell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Formoso, with the one closest to Formoso listed first.
    • Scottsville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Gilbert
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Beloit
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • 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>
    • Asherville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Glen Elder
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Cawker City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • 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>
  • Republic County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Formoso, with the one closest to Formoso listed first.
    • Courtland
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • White Rock
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for White Rock. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Rock
      • White Rock is located in Republic County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to White Rock
      • From Formoso to White Rock
    • Kackley
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Scandia
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scandia have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scandia
      • Scandia is located in Republic County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 335 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Scandia <2>
    • Sherdahl
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sherdahl. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherdahl
      • Sherdahl is located in Republic County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Sherdahl
      • From Formoso to Sherdahl
    • Norway
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Norway have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norway
      • Norway is located in Republic County
    • Republic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Belleville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Belleville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belleville
      • Belleville is located in Republic County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,841 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Belleville <2>
    • Munden
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Cuba
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cuba have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba
      • Cuba is located in Republic County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 141 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cuba <2>
    • Agenda
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Agenda have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agenda
      • Agenda is located in Republic County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 64 people
  • Smith County
  • Nuckolls County (NE)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Formoso, with the one closest to Formoso listed first.
    • Hardy
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Superior
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Nora
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Ruskin
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ruskin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruskin
      • Ruskin is located in Nuckolls County (NE)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 113 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ruskin <2>
    • Nelson
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Thayer County (NE)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Formoso, with the one closest to Formoso listed first.
    • Byron
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Chester
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Deshler
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Deshler have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deshler
      • Deshler is located in Thayer County (NE)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 711 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Deshler <2>
    • Hubbell
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hubbell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hubbell
      • Hubbell is located in Thayer County (NE)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 64 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hubbell <2>
  • Webster County (NE)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Formoso, with the one closest to Formoso listed first.
    • Guide Rock
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Guide Rock have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guide Rock
      • Guide Rock is located in Webster County (NE)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 197 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Guide Rock <2>
    • Pawnee Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pawnee Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pawnee Village
      • Pawnee Village is located in Webster County (NE)

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

Cemeteries Near Formoso ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Formoso.

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

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

  • Balch Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Balch Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Balch Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pleasant View Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant View Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant View Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Delta Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Delta Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Delta Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Caldwell Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Caldwell Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Caldwell Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Switzers Gap Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Switzers Gap Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Switzers Gap Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Laurel Hill Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Courtland Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Courtland Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Courtland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • East Buffalo Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Persinger Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Persinger Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Persinger Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • White Rock Scandinavian Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • White Rock Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the White Rock Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the White Rock Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (144 more) ...
    • Fairview Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fairview Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fairview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Wallace Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wallace Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wallace Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Randall Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Randall Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Randall Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Formoso had a population of 102 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Formoso had a population of 86 people.

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

  • Courtland
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Montrose
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • White Rock
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for White Rock. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Rock
    • White Rock is located in Republic County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to White Rock
    • From Formoso to White Rock
  • Randall
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Kackley
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Webber
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Webber have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webber
    • Webber is located in Jewell County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 24 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Webber <2>
  • Oneonta ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oneonta have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oneonta
    • Oneonta is located in Cloud County
  • Jewell
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • 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
  • Scandia
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scandia have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scandia
    • Scandia is located in Republic County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 335 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Scandia <2>
  • Sherdahl
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sherdahl. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherdahl
    • Sherdahl is located in Republic County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Sherdahl
    • From Formoso to Sherdahl
  • Mankato
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Norway
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Norway have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norway
    • Norway is located in Republic County
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Republic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Jamestown
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jamestown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
      • Jamestown is located in Cloud County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 258 people
    • Warwick
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Warwick have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warwick
      • Warwick is located in Republic County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Formoso ...

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 111 newspapers that have been published in the area around Formoso.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Formoso. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Formoso and those printed in the larger area surrounding Formoso.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<5> of Formoso.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Formoso:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Formoso. 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>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<4>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 Formoso, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Formoso) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Formoso. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.7787, Longitude: -97.9931    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025