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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 Kansas City (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 Kansas City. 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 Kansas City ...

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.

Another variation: Wyandott.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Kansas City. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Kansas City.

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 southwest 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 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 west 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.

Kansas City is located in Wyandotte County and is the County Seat.

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 Wyandotte County: Johnson, Leavenworth, Clay (MO), Jackson (MO) & Platte (MO).

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

  • Wyandotte County     (The home county of Kansas City)
  • Atchison County
  • Douglas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kansas City, with the one closest to Kansas City listed first.
    • Weaver
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Weaver is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weaver
    • Eudora
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Hesper
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Noria
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Jefferson County
  • Johnson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kansas City, with the one closest to Kansas City listed first.
    • Roeland Park
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Westwood Hills
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Westwood Hills is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood Hills
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 390 people
    • Westwood
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Westwood is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,642 people
    • Countryside
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Countryside is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Countryside
    • Fairway
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Merriam
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Mission Woods
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Mission Woods is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mission Woods
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 195 people
    • Mission
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Mission is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mission
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,873 people
      • Former name for Mission:
      • Mission Hill Acres
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mission <1>
    • Mission Hills
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Mission Hills is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mission Hills
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,533 people
    • Prairie Village
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Lake Quivira
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Lake Quivira is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Quivira
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 930 people
    • Holliday
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Leavenworth County
  • Miami County
  • Cass County (MO)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kansas City, with the one closest to Kansas City listed first.
    • Loch Lloyd
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Loch Lloyd is located in Cass County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loch Lloyd
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 835 people
      • Loch Lloyd has also been known as:
      • Loch Lloyd village
    • Lee's Summit
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Belton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Raymore
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Raymore is located in Cass County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raymore
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 22,532 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Raymore <1>
    • Harrelson
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Harrelson is located in Cass County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrelson
    • Lake Winnebago
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Lake Winnebago is located in Cass County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Winnebago
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,370 people
    • Riverview Estates
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Riverview Estates is located in Cass County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverview Estates
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 84 people
      • Riverview Estates has also been known as:
      • Riverview Estates village
    • Coleman
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Peculiar
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Cleveland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Pleasant Hill
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Clay County (MO)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kansas City, with the one closest to Kansas City listed first.
    • North Kansas City
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Avondale
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Avondale is located in Clay County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avondale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 456 people
    • Oaks
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Oaks is located in Clay County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oaks
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
    • Oakview
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Oakview is located in Clay County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakview
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 393 people
    • Oakwood Park
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Oakwood Park is located in Clay County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood Park
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 198 people
    • Oakwood
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Oakwood is located in Clay County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 197 people
    • Woodhill
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • East Kansas City
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • East Kansas City is located in Clay County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Kansas City
    • Randolph
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Gladstone
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Linden
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Acme
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Acme is located in Clay County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acme
  • Clinton County (MO)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kansas City, with the one closest to Kansas City listed first.
    • Trimble
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Trimble is located in Clinton County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trimble
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 627 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Trimble <1>
    • Lilly
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Jackson County (MO)
  • Lafayette County (MO)
    • Napoleon
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Napoleon is located in Lafayette County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Napoleon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 214 people
  • Platte County (MO)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kansas City, with the one closest to Kansas City listed first.
    • Riverside
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Houston Lake
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Houston Lake is located in Platte County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houston Lake
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 248 people
    • Parkville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Northmoor
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Northmoor is located in Platte County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northmoor
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 362 people
    • Lake Waukomis
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Lake Waukomis is located in Platte County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Waukomis
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 874 people
    • Platte Woods
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Platte Woods is located in Platte County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Platte Woods
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 406 people
    • Weatherby Lake
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Weatherby Lake is located in Platte County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weatherby Lake
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,086 people
    • Waldron
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Waldron is located in Platte County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldron
    • Ferrelview
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Ferrelview is located in Platte County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferrelview
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 800 people
    • Linkville ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Farley
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Farley is located in Platte County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 304 people
    • East Leavenworth
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Ray County (MO)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kansas City, with the one closest to Kansas City listed first.
    • Orrick
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Albany
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Albany is located in Ray County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albany
    • Crystal Lakes
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Crystal Lakes is located in Ray County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Lakes
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 352 people
    • Homestead
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Homestead is located in Ray County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homestead
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 184 people
    • Excelsior Estates
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Excelsior Estates is located in Ray County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Excelsior Estates
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 146 people
    • Wood Heights
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Wood Heights is located in Ray County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wood Heights
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 700 people
    • Woods Heights
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Kansas City ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Kansas City.

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 Kansas City - one of the links might be able to help.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Kansas City, with the one closest to Kansas City 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 Kansas City had a population of 38,316 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Kansas City had a population of 152,727 people.

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

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Kansas City ...

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 196 newspapers that have been published in the area around Kansas City.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Kansas City. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Kansas City and those printed in the larger area surrounding Kansas City.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<4> of Kansas City.

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 helpful 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 Kansas City:

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 Kansas City, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Kansas City) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.