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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 Halstead (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 Halstead. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Halstead is located in Harvey 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 Harvey County: Butler, Marion, McPherson, Reno & Sedgwick.

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

  • Harvey County     (The home county of Halstead)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Halstead, with the one closest to Halstead listed first.
    • Van Arsdale
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Van Arsdale is located in Harvey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Van Arsdale
    • Paxton
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Paxton is located in Harvey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paxton
    • McGraw
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • McGraw is located in Harvey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGraw
    • Putnam
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Putnam is located in Harvey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Putnam
    • Sedgwick
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Patterson
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Patterson is located in Harvey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patterson
    • Burrton
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Burrton is located in Harvey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burrton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 854 people
    • Newton
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Zimmerdale
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Zimmerdale is located in Harvey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zimmerdale
    • Alta Mills ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Alta Mills is located in Harvey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alta Mills
    • Hesston
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • North Newton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • McLains
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • McLains is located in Harvey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McLains
  • Butler County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Halstead, with the one closest to Halstead listed first.
    • Whitewater
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Elbing
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Elbing is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elbing
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 230 people
    • Brainerd
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Brainerd is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brainerd
    • Benton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Potwin
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Potwin is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Potwin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 438 people
    • Sunset Acres
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Sunset Acres is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Acres
    • Andover
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Andover is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Andover
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,672 people
      • Andover has also been known as:
      • Cloud City
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Andover <1>
    • Prairie Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Prairie Village is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Village
  • Marion County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Halstead, with the one closest to Halstead listed first.
    • Goessel
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Goessel is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goessel
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 489 people
    • Peabody
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Peabody is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peabody
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,079 people
      • Former name for Peabody:
      • Coneburgh
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Peabody <1>
    • Lehigh
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Lehigh is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lehigh
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 168 people
    • Hillsboro
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Aulne ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Aulne is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aulne
  • McPherson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Halstead, with the one closest to Halstead listed first.
    • Moundridge
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Elyria
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Elyria is located in McPherson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elyria
    • Inman
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Inman is located in McPherson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inman
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,324 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Inman <1>
    • Groveland
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Groveland is located in McPherson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Groveland
    • Canton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Galva
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Galva is located in McPherson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galva
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 887 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Galva <1>
    • McPherson
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Conway
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Conway is located in McPherson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conway
  • Reno County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Halstead, with the one closest to Halstead listed first.
    • Punkin Center ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Punkin Center is located in Reno County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Punkin Center
    • Haven
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Buhler
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Buhler is located in Reno County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buhler
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,269 people
      • Buhler has also been known as:
      • Tulip Town
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Buhler <1>
    • Obeeville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Obeeville is located in Reno County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Obeeville
    • Yoder
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Medora
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Medora is located in Reno County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medora
    • Saint Joe
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Saint Joe is located in Reno County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Joe
    • Elmer
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Elmer is located in Reno County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmer
    • Hutchinson
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Cruppers Corner
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Cruppers Corner is located in Reno County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cruppers Corner
    • South Hutchinson
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Darlow
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Darlow is located in Reno County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darlow
    • Castleton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Castleton is located in Reno County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castleton
  • Sedgwick County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Halstead, with the one closest to Halstead listed first.
    • Bentley
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Coleman
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Coleman is located in Sedgwick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleman
    • Mount Hope
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Valley Center
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Colwich
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Andale
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Maize
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Maize is located in Sedgwick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maize
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,267 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Maize <1>
    • Park City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Wichita Heights
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Wichita Heights is located in Sedgwick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wichita Heights
    • Kechi
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Kechi is located in Sedgwick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kechi
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,109 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kechi <1>
    • Bel Aire
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Westlink Village
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Westlink Village is located in Sedgwick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westlink Village
    • Cow Town
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Cow Town is located in Sedgwick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cow Town

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

Cemeteries Near Halstead ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Halstead.

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

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

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

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 Halstead had a population of 1,071 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Halstead had a population of 2,028 people.

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

  • Bentley
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Sedgwick
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Putnam
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Putnam is located in Harvey County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Putnam
  • Patterson
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Patterson is located in Harvey County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patterson
  • Burrton
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Burrton is located in Harvey County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burrton
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 854 people
  • Newton
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Hesston
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Mount Hope
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • McLains
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • McLains is located in Harvey County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McLains
  • Moundridge
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Valley Center
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Sunnydale
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Sunnydale is located in Sedgwick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnydale
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Andale
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Colwich
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Walton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Halstead ...

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 82 newspapers that have been published in the area around Halstead.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Halstead. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Halstead and those printed in the larger area surrounding Halstead.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<4> of Halstead.

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 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 Halstead:

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 Halstead, 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- Halstead) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.