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 Kanwaka (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 Kanwaka. 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 Kanwaka ...
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.
Kanwaka has also been known as: Kanawha, Kannaka and Kanwaca.
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 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.
Kanwaka is located in Douglas 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 Douglas County: Franklin, Jefferson, Johnson, Leavenworth, Miami, Osage & Shawnee.
Below are the counties that are near Kanwaka. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Kanwaka:
- Douglas County (The home county of Kanwaka)
- The following are listed by their distance from Kanwaka, with the one closest to Kanwaka listed first.
- Clinton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Clinton is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinton
- Stull
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Stull is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stull
- Lecompton
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Lawrence
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Big Springs
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Big Springs is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Springs
- Midland
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Midland is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midland
- Grover
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Grover is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grover
- Lone Star
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Lone Star is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Star
- Bismarck Grove ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Bismarck Grove is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bismarck Grove
- Pleasant Grove
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Pleasant Grove is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Grove
- Noria
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Noria is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noria
- Sibleyville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Sibleyville is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sibleyville
- Globe
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Globe is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Globe
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Kanwaka, with the one closest to Kanwaka listed first.
- Centropolis
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Centropolis is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centropolis
- Norwood
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Norwood is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwood
- Le Loup
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Le Loup is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Le Loup
- Wellsville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Ottawa Junction
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Ottawa Junction is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ottawa Junction
- Richter
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Richter is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richter
- Ottawa
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Pomona
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- B N Junction
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- B N Junction is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for B N Junction
- Imes
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Imes is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Imes
- Peoria
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Peoria is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peoria
- Jackson County
- Hoyt
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Kanwaka, with the one closest to Kanwaka listed first.
- Williamstown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Williamstown is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamstown
- Medina
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Medina is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medina
- Perry
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Buck Creek
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Buck Creek is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buck Creek
- Newman
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Newman is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newman
- Thompsonville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Thompsonville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompsonville
- Grantville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Grantville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grantville
- Lake Ridge
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Lake Ridge is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Ridge
- Lakeside Village
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Lakeside Village is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeside Village
- Hilldale South
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Hilldale South is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilldale South
- Hilldale
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Hilldale is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilldale
- West Shore
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- West Shore is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Shore
- Indian Ridge
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Indian Ridge is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Ridge
- Johnson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Kanwaka, with the one closest to Kanwaka listed first.
- Clearview City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Clearview City is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clearview City
- De Soto
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Edgerton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Gardner
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Wilder
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Wilder is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilder
- Clare
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Clare is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clare
- Monticello
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Monticello is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monticello
- Zarah
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Zarah is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zarah
- Holliday
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Holliday is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holliday
- Olathe
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Shawnee
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Leavenworth County
- The following are listed by their distance from Kanwaka, with the one closest to Kanwaka listed first.
- Fall Leaf
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Fall Leaf is located in Leavenworth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fall Leaf
- Tonganoxie
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Linwood
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Linwood is located in Leavenworth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 433 people
- Linwood has also been known as:
- Big Stranger
- Johnny Cake
- Journeycake
- Jarbalo
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Jarbalo is located in Leavenworth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jarbalo
- Springdale
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Springdale is located in Leavenworth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springdale
- Loring
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Loring is located in Leavenworth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loring
- Hoge
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Hoge is located in Leavenworth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoge
- Basehor
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Fairmount
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Fairmount is located in Leavenworth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmount
- Fairmount has also been known as:
- Fairmont Village
- Easton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Easton is located in Leavenworth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 256 people
- Former name for Easton:
- Eastin
- Osage County
- The following are listed by their distance from Kanwaka, with the one closest to Kanwaka listed first.
- Overbrook
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Mineral Springs
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Mineral Springs is located in Osage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral Springs
- Carbondale
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Carbondale is located in Osage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbondale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,347 people
- Scranton
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Vassar
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Quenemo
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- 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
- Burlingame
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- 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
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Shawnee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Kanwaka, with the one closest to Kanwaka listed first.
- Watson
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Watson is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watson
- Spencer
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Spencer is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spencer
- Richland
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Richland is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richland
- Tecumseh
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Berryton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Berryton is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berryton
- Oakland
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Oakland is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
- Highland Park
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Highland Park is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Park
- North Topeka
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- North Topeka is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Topeka
- Cullen Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Cullen Village is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cullen Village
- Pauline
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Pauline is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pauline
- Topeka
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Auburn
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Auburn is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auburn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,203 people
- Kiro
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Kiro is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kiro
- Wyandotte County
- The following are listed by their distance from Kanwaka, with the one closest to Kanwaka listed first.
- Bonner Springs
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Wallula
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Wallula is located in Wyandotte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallula
- Piper
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Piper is located in Wyandotte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piper
- Edwardsville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Kanwaka, see our County-by-County Page for Kanwaka.
Cemeteries Near Kanwaka ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Kanwaka.
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 Kanwaka - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Kanwaka covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Kanwaka, with the one closest to Kanwaka listed first.
- Mound Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Clinton Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Davis Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Borrowed Light Memorial Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Stull Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Jones Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Maple Grove Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Holliday Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Pioneer Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- University of Kansas - Lawrence Campus Pioneer Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- East View Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East View Cemetery
- The East View Cemetery has also been known as:
- Big Springs Cemetery
- East View - Big Springs Cemetery
- Medina Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Continue List (202 more) ...
- Maple Grove Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Underwood Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- St. Peters Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
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>
While we didn't find Kanwaka in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Kanwaka.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Kanwaka, with the one closest to Kanwaka listed first.
- Clinton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Clinton is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinton
- Lawrence
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Williamstown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Williamstown is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamstown
- Big Springs
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Big Springs is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Springs
- Medina
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Medina is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medina
- Buck Creek
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Buck Creek is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buck Creek
- Grover
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Grover is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grover
- Perry
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Newman
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Newman is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newman
- Thompsonville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Thompsonville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompsonville
- Pleasant Grove
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Pleasant Grove is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Grove
- Watson
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Watson is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watson
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Richland
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Richland is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richland
- Spencer
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Spencer is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spencer
- Grantville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Grantville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grantville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Kanwaka. See our List of 1890's Communities around Kanwaka.
Newspapers Published in Kanwaka ...
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 39 newspapers that have been published in the area around Kanwaka.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Kanwaka, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Kanwaka.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin with 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 Kanwaka:
- Websites specific to Kansas
- Pages specific to Douglas County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Franklin County
- Jackson County
- Jefferson County
- Johnson County
- Leavenworth County
- Osage County
- Shawnee County
- Wyandotte 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Kanwaka) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Kanwaka, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |