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 Four Corners (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 Four Corners. 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 Four Corners ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Four Corners: Four Cors.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Four Corners. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Four Corners.
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 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 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.
Four Corners is located in Osage 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 Osage County: Coffey, Douglas, Franklin, Lyon, Shawnee & Wabaunsee.
Below are the counties that are near Four Corners. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Four Corners:
- Osage County (The home county of Four Corners)
- The following are listed by their distance from Four Corners, with the one closest to Four Corners listed first.
- Carbondale
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Carbondale is located in Osage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbondale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,347 people
- Scranton
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Mineral Springs
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Mineral Springs is located in Osage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral Springs
- Overbrook
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Burlingame
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Burlingame is located in Osage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlingame
- Population from the 2020 Census: 884 people
- Former name for Burlingame:
- American Settlement
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Burlingame <1>
- Vassar
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Peterton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Peterton is located in Osage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peterton
- Lyndon
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Osage City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Quenemo
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Quenemo is located in Osage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quenemo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 372 people
- Quenemo has also been known as:
- Quenemo Agency
- Barclay
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Barclay is located in Osage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barclay
- Melvern
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Melvern is located in Osage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melvern
- Population from the 2020 Census: 368 people
- Melvern has also been known as:
- Melvin
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Melvern <1>
- Olivet
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Olivet is located in Osage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olivet
- Population from the 2020 Census: 66 people
- Coffey County
- The following are listed by their distance from Four Corners, with the one closest to Four Corners listed first.
- Agricola
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Agricola is located in Coffey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agricola
- Lebo
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Waverly
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Halls Summit
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Halls Summit is located in Coffey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halls Summit
- Douglas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Four Corners, with the one closest to Four Corners listed first.
- Globe
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Globe is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Globe
- Stull
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Stull is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stull
- Lone Star
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Lone Star is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Star
- Worden
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Worden is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worden
- Clinton
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Clinton is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinton
- Big Springs
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Big Springs is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Springs
- Kanwaka
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Kanwaka is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kanwaka
- Kanwaka has also been known as:
- Kanawha
- Kannaka
- Kanwaca
- Pleasant Grove
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Pleasant Grove is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Grove
- Grover
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Grover is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grover
- Lecompton
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Baldwin City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Lawrence
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Sibleyville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Sibleyville is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sibleyville
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Four Corners, with the one closest to Four Corners listed first.
- Pomona
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Centropolis
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Centropolis is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centropolis
- Richter
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Richter is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richter
- Ransomville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Ransomville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ransomville
- Williamsburg
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Norwood
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Norwood is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwood
- Homewood
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Homewood is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homewood
- Ottawa Junction
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Ottawa Junction is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ottawa Junction
- Ottawa
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- B N Junction
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- B N Junction is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for B N Junction
- Le Loup
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Le Loup is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Le Loup
- Princeton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Four Corners, with the one closest to Four Corners listed first.
- Grantville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Grantville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grantville
- Newman
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Newman is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newman
- Medina
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Medina is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medina
- Perry
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Thompsonville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Thompsonville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompsonville
- Williamstown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Williamstown is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamstown
- Meriden
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Buck Creek
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Buck Creek is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buck Creek
- Lake Ridge
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Lake Ridge is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Ridge
- Hilldale South
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Hilldale South is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilldale South
- Hilldale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Hilldale is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilldale
- West Shore
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- West Shore is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Shore
- Lakeside Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Lakeside Village is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeside Village
- Lyon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Four Corners, with the one closest to Four Corners listed first.
- Miller
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Miller is located in Lyon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miller
- Reading
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Admire
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Allen
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Allen is located in Lyon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allen
- Population from the 2020 Census: 169 people
- Lang
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Lang is located in Lyon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lang
- Lang has also been known as:
- Hortonville
- Agnes City ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Agnes City is located in Lyon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agnes City
- Shawnee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Four Corners, with the one closest to Four Corners listed first.
- Richland
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Richland is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richland
- Berryton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Berryton is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berryton
- Cullen Village
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Cullen Village is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cullen Village
- Auburn
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Auburn is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auburn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,203 people
- Pauline
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Pauline is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pauline
- Watson
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Watson is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watson
- Highland Park
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Highland Park is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Park
- Tecumseh
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Topeka
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Dover
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Oakland
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Oakland is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
- North Topeka
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- North Topeka is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Topeka
- Spencer
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Spencer is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spencer
- Wabaunsee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Four Corners, with the one closest to Four Corners listed first.
- Harveyville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Harveyville is located in Wabaunsee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harveyville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 246 people
- Wilmington
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Wilmington is located in Wabaunsee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmington
- Eskridge
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Eskridge is located in Wabaunsee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eskridge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 502 people
- Maple Hill
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Vera
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Vera is located in Wabaunsee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vera
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Four Corners, see our County-by-County Page for Four Corners.
Cemeteries Near Four Corners ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Four Corners.
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 Four Corners - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Four Corners covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Four Corners, with the one closest to Four Corners listed first.
- Carbondale Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Scranton Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Mt. Calvary Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Highland Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Ridgeway Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Vawter Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Shawnee Center Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Shawnee Center Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Valley Brook Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Overbrook Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Yocum Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Continue List (150 more) ...
- Burlingame City Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Somervell Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Vassar Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
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>
While we didn't find Four Corners in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Four Corners.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Four Corners, with the one closest to Four Corners listed first.
- Carbondale
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Carbondale is located in Osage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbondale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,347 people
- Scranton
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Overbrook
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Swissvale
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Swissvale is located in Osage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swissvale
- Wakarusa
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Burlingame
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Burlingame is located in Osage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlingame
- Population from the 2020 Census: 884 people
- Former name for Burlingame:
- American Settlement
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Burlingame <1>
- Lyndon Station
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Lyndon Station is located in Osage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyndon Station
- Vassar
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Peterton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Peterton is located in Osage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peterton
- Richland
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Richland is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richland
- Michigan Valley
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Michigan Valley is located in Osage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Michigan Valley
- Berryton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Berryton is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berryton
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Auburn
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Auburn is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auburn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,203 people
- Pauline
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Pauline is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pauline
- Osage City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Four Corners. See our List of 1890's Communities around Four Corners.
Newspapers Published in Four Corners ...
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 142 newspapers that have been published in the area around Four Corners.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Four Corners, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Four Corners.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Four Corners:
- Websites specific to Kansas
- Pages specific to Osage County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Coffey County
- Douglas County
- Franklin County
- Jefferson County
- Lyon County
- Shawnee County
- Wabaunsee 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> | 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 Four Corners, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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- Four Corners) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |