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 Gray (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 Gray. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Gray is located in Hodgeman 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 Hodgeman County: Edwards, Finney, Ford, Gray, Lane, Ness & Pawnee.
Below are the counties that are near Gray. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Gray:
- Hodgeman County (The home county of Gray)
- The following are listed by their distance from Gray, with the one closest to Gray listed first.
- Hanston
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Hanston is located in Hodgeman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 200 people
- Jetmore
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Edwards County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gray, with the one closest to Gray listed first.
- Offerle
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Offerle is located in Edwards County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Offerle
- Population from the 2020 Census: 180 people
- Ardell
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Ardell is located in Edwards County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ardell
- Kinsley
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Nettleton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Nettleton is located in Edwards County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nettleton
- Lewis
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Hodges
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Hodges is located in Edwards County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hodges
- Williams ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Williams is located in Edwards County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williams
- Ford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gray, with the one closest to Gray listed first.
- Spearville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Spearville is located in Ford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spearville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 766 people
- Windhorst
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Windhorst is located in Ford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windhorst
- Windthorst
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Windthorst is located in Ford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windthorst
- Wright
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Wright is located in Ford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wright
- Ness County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gray, with the one closest to Gray listed first.
- Bazine
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Bazine is located in Ness County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bazine
- Population from the 2020 Census: 294 people
- Ness City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Laird
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Laird is located in Ness County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laird
- Pawnee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gray, with the one closest to Gray listed first.
- Burdett
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Burdett is located in Pawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burdett
- Population from the 2020 Census: 219 people
- Rozel
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Rozel is located in Pawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rozel
- Population from the 2020 Census: 137 people
- Garfield
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Garfield is located in Pawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 168 people
- Ash Valley
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Ash Valley is located in Pawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ash Valley
- Larned
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Rush County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gray, with the one closest to Gray listed first.
- Alexander
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Alexander is located in Rush County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexander
- Population from the 2020 Census: 57 people
- Nekoma
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Nekoma is located in Rush County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nekoma
- Rush Center
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Hargrave
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Hargrave is located in Rush County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hargrave
- McCracken
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Gray, see our County-by-County Page for Gray.
Cemeteries Near Gray ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Gray.
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 Gray - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Gray covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Gray, with the one closest to Gray listed first.
- Hanston Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- St. Anthony Parish Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Anthony Parish Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Anthony Parish Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<2> to the southwest of Hanston.
- The St. Anthony Parish Cemetery has also been known as:
- St. Anthony Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #93578 <3>
- Browns Grove Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Mennonite Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mennonite Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Mennonite Cemetery is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<2> to the northwest of Hanston.
- The Mennonite Cemetery has also been known as:
- Hanston Mennonite Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2232616 <3>
- St. John the Baptist Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- St. Mary's Catholic Church Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Crandall Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Riverside Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Salem Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Rozel Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Fairmount Cemetery
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmount Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Fairmount Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the south of Jetmore.
- The Fairmount Cemetery has also been known as:
- Jetmore Cemetery
- St. Lawrence Catholic Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #92407 <3>
- Lutheran Cemetery
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (36 more) ...
- Old St. Joseph Cemetery
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- St. Joseph Cemetery
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Evergreen Cemetery
(18 miles [29 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.<4>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Gray had railroad service and no post office.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Gray, with the one closest to Gray listed first.
- Hanston
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Hanston is located in Hodgeman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 200 people
- Burdett
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Burdett is located in Pawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burdett
- Population from the 2020 Census: 219 people
- Riverside
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Riverside is located in Ness County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
- Rozel
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Rozel is located in Pawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rozel
- Population from the 2020 Census: 137 people
- Jetmore
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Bellefont
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Bellefont is located in Ford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellefont
- Offerle
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Offerle is located in Edwards County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Offerle
- Population from the 2020 Census: 180 people
- Kinsley
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Nettleton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Nettleton is located in Edwards County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nettleton
- Bazine
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Bazine is located in Ness County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bazine
- Population from the 2020 Census: 294 people
- Alexander
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Alexander is located in Rush County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexander
- Population from the 2020 Census: 57 people
- Spearville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Spearville is located in Ford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spearville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 766 people
- Continue List (11 more) ...
- Garfield
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Garfield is located in Pawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 168 people
- Nekoma
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Nekoma is located in Rush County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nekoma
- Ness City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Gray. See our List of 1890's Communities around Gray.
Newspapers Published in Gray ...
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 33 newspapers that have been published in the area around Gray.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Gray, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Gray.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Gray:
- Websites specific to Kansas
- Pages specific to Hodgeman County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Edwards County
- Ford County
- Ness County
- Pawnee County
- Rush 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Gray) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <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 Gray, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |