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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 Hillsboro (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 Hillsboro. 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 Hillsboro ...

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 have occurred.

Another variation: Hillsborough.

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 southeast 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 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.

Hillsboro is located in Marion 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 Marion County: Butler, Chase, Dickinson, Harvey, McPherson, Morris & Saline.

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

  • Marion County     (The home county of Hillsboro)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hillsboro, with the one closest to Hillsboro listed first.
    • Canada
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Lehigh
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Eastshore
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eastshore have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastshore
      • Eastshore is located in Marion County
    • Waldeck
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Waldeck have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldeck
      • Waldeck is located in Marion County
    • Aulne ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Aulne. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aulne
      • Aulne is located in Marion County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Aulne
      • From Hillsboro to Aulne
    • Durham
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Marion
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Goessel
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Goessel have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goessel
      • Goessel is located in Marion County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 489 people
    • Oursler
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Oursler. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oursler
      • Oursler is located in Marion County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Oursler
      • From Hillsboro to Oursler
    • Pilsen
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Tampa
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Tampa. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tampa
      • Tampa is located in Marion County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tampa <3>
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Tampa
      • From Hillsboro to Tampa
    • Antelope
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Antelope have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antelope
      • Antelope is located in Marion County
    • Peabody
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Butler County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hillsboro, with the one closest to Hillsboro listed first.
    • Elbing
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elbing have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elbing
      • Elbing is located in Butler County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 230 people
    • Whitewater
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Brainerd
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Brainerd. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brainerd
      • Brainerd is located in Butler County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Brainerd
      • From Hillsboro to Brainerd
    • Potwin
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Chase County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hillsboro, with the one closest to Hillsboro listed first.
    • Cedar Point
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Point have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Point
      • Cedar Point is located in Chase County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 26 people
    • Clements
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Wonsevu
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wonsevu. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wonsevu
      • Wonsevu is located in Chase County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Wonsevu
      • From Hillsboro to Wonsevu
    • Hymer
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hymer. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hymer
      • Hymer is located in Chase County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hymer
      • From Hillsboro to Hymer
    • Elmdale
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elmdale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmdale
      • Elmdale is located in Chase County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 51 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elmdale <3>
    • Rockland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rockland. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockland
      • Rockland is located in Chase County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Rockland
      • From Hillsboro to Rockland
  • Dickinson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hillsboro, with the one closest to Hillsboro listed first.
    • Jacobs
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Jacobs. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacobs
      • Jacobs is located in Dickinson County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Jacobs
      • From Hillsboro to Jacobs
    • Rishel
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rishel. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rishel
      • Rishel is located in Dickinson County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Rishel
      • From Hillsboro to Rishel
    • Elmo
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elmo have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmo
      • Elmo is located in Dickinson County
    • Carlton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carlton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlton
      • Carlton is located in Dickinson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 40 people
    • Dillon
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Dillon. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dillon
      • Dillon is located in Dickinson County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Dillon
      • From Hillsboro to Dillon
    • Hope
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Herington
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Herington have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herington
      • Herington is located in Dickinson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,240 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Herington <3>
    • Holland
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
  • Harvey County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hillsboro, with the one closest to Hillsboro listed first.
    • Walton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Hesston
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Zimmerdale
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Zimmerdale. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zimmerdale
      • Zimmerdale is located in Harvey County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Zimmerdale
      • From Hillsboro to Zimmerdale
    • North Newton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Newton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Newton
      • North Newton is located in Harvey County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,762 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for North Newton <3>
    • Newton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • McLains
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for McLains. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McLains
      • McLains is located in Harvey County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to McLains
      • From Hillsboro to McLains
    • McGraw
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for McGraw. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGraw
      • McGraw is located in Harvey County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to McGraw
      • From Hillsboro to McGraw
    • Annelly
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Annelly. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Annelly
      • Annelly is located in Harvey County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Annelly
      • From Hillsboro to Annelly
    • Alta Mills ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alta Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alta Mills
      • Alta Mills is located in Harvey County
    • Van Arsdale
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Putnam
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Halstead
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Halstead have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halstead
      • Halstead is located in Harvey County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,028 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Halstead <3>
  • McPherson County
  • Morris County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hillsboro, with the one closest to Hillsboro listed first.
    • Burdick
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Diamond Springs ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Delavan
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Saline County

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

Cemeteries Near Hillsboro ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Hillsboro.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Hillsboro, with the one closest to Hillsboro 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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Hillsboro had a population of 555 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Hillsboro had a population of 2,762 people.

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

  • Canada
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Lehigh
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Aulne ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Aulne. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aulne
    • Aulne is located in Marion County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Aulne
    • From Hillsboro to Aulne
  • Waldeck
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Waldeck have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldeck
    • Waldeck is located in Marion County
  • Durham
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Marion
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Oursler
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Oursler. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oursler
    • Oursler is located in Marion County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Oursler
    • From Hillsboro to Oursler
  • Canton
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Peabody
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Antelope
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Antelope have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antelope
    • Antelope is located in Marion County
  • Tampa
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Tampa. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tampa
    • Tampa is located in Marion County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tampa <3>
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Tampa
    • From Hillsboro to Tampa
  • Walton
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Florence
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Lincolnville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lincolnville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincolnville
      • Lincolnville is located in Marion County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 191 people
    • Ramona
      (18 miles [29 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 Hillsboro. See our List of 1890's Communities around Hillsboro.

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Hillsboro ...

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 110 newspapers that have been published in the area around Hillsboro.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

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

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 Hillsboro:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Hillsboro. 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>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.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>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.
<5>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- Hillsboro) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Hillsboro. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.3520, Longitude: -97.2061    
<6>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 Hillsboro, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025