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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 Laton (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 Laton. 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.

Laton is located in Rooks 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 Rooks County: Ellis, Graham, Osborne, Phillips, Russell, Smith & Trego.

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

  • Rooks County     (The home county of Laton)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Laton, with the one closest to Laton listed first.
    • Codell
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Codell
      • Codell is located in Rooks County
      • Former name for Codell:
      • Florreyville
    • Woodston
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodston
      • Woodston is located in Rooks County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 126 people
      • Woodston has also been known as:
      • Woodston Saw
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Woodston <1>
    • Plainville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Stockton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stockton
      • Stockton is located in Rooks County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,234 people
      • Former name for Stockton:
      • Stocktown
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Stockton <1>
    • Zurich
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Zurich have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zurich
      • Zurich is located in Rooks County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 94 people
    • Webster
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Webster have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
      • Webster is located in Rooks County
    • Palco
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palco
      • Palco is located in Rooks County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 262 people
    • Damar
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
  • Ellis County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Laton, with the one closest to Laton listed first.
    • Turkville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Turkville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkville
      • Turkville is located in Ellis County
    • Emmeram
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmeram
      • Emmeram is located in Ellis County
    • Catharine
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Catharine have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catharine
      • Catharine is located in Ellis County
      • Catharine has also been known as:
      • Catherine
    • Walker
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walker have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walker
      • Walker is located in Ellis County
    • Victoria
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Victoria have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victoria
      • Victoria is located in Ellis County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,215 people
    • Hays
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hays
      • Hays is located in Ellis County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 20,829 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hays <1>
  • Graham County
    • Nicodemus
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nicodemus have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicodemus
      • Nicodemus is located in Graham County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nicodemus <1>
  • Osborne County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Laton, with the one closest to Laton listed first.
    • Natoma
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Natoma have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Natoma
      • Natoma is located in Osborne County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 296 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Natoma <1>
    • Alton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alton
      • Alton is located in Osborne County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 92 people
    • Bloomington
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomington
      • Bloomington is located in Osborne County
    • Osborne
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osborne
      • Osborne is located in Osborne County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,280 people
      • Osborne has also been known as:
      • Peru
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Osborne <1>
    • Portis
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portis
      • Portis is located in Osborne County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 92 people
  • Phillips County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Laton, with the one closest to Laton listed first.
    • Kirwin
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Glade
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glade
      • Glade is located in Phillips County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 89 people
  • Russell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Laton, with the one closest to Laton listed first.
    • Paradise
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Paradise have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise
      • Paradise is located in Russell County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 48 people
    • Waldo
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldo
      • Waldo is located in Russell County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 29 people
      • Former name for Waldo:
      • Pleasant Run
    • Luray
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luray
      • Luray is located in Russell County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 182 people
    • Gorham
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gorham have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gorham
      • Gorham is located in Russell County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 336 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gorham <1>
    • Balta ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Balta. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balta
      • Balta is located in Russell County
    • Russell
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Smith County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Laton, with the one closest to Laton listed first.
    • Cedar
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar
      • Cedar is located in Smith County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 13 people
    • Claudell
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claudell
      • Claudell is located in Smith County
    • Gaylord
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Harlan
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlan
      • Harlan is located in Smith County

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

Cemeteries Near Laton ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Laton.

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

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

  • Aurora Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Aurora Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Aurora Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Chalk Mound Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Chalk Mound Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Chalk Mound Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lutheran Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lutheran Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lutheran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Shiloh Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Shiloh Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Shiloh Cemetery is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<4> to the southwest of Codell.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #93779 <5>
  • Pleasant Plain Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Plain Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Plain Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Conger East Paradise Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Conger East Paradise Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Conger East Paradise Cemetery is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<4> to the west of Codell.
    • The Conger East Paradise Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Conger Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #92230 <5>
  • Round Mound Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Round Mound Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Round Mound Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Survey Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Survey Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Survey Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Naomi Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Naomi Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Naomi Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Johnson Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Johnson Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Johnson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Center Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Center Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Center Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Paradise Center Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Paradise Center Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Paradise Center Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<4> to the southeast of Codell.
    • The Paradise Center Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Codell Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1966834 <5>
  • Continue List   (79 more) ...
    • IXL Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the IXL Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the IXL Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Mt. Ayr Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Twin Mound Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Twin Mound Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Twin Mound Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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 in 1895, Laton had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Natoma
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Natoma have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Natoma
    • Natoma is located in Osborne County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 296 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Natoma <1>
  • Codell
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Codell
    • Codell is located in Rooks County
    • Former name for Codell:
    • Florreyville
  • Woodston
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodston
    • Woodston is located in Rooks County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 126 people
    • Woodston has also been known as:
    • Woodston Saw
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Woodston <1>
  • Plainville
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Paradise
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Paradise have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise
    • Paradise is located in Russell County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 48 people
  • Covert
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Covert have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Covert
    • Covert is located in Osborne County
  • Alton
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alton
    • Alton is located in Osborne County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 92 people
  • Stockton
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stockton
    • Stockton is located in Rooks County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,234 people
    • Former name for Stockton:
    • Stocktown
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Stockton <1>
  • Turkville
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Turkville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkville
    • Turkville is located in Ellis County
  • Fairport
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fairport have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairport
    • Fairport is located in Russell County
  • Waldo
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldo
    • Waldo is located in Russell County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 29 people
    • Former name for Waldo:
    • Pleasant Run
  • Zurich
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Zurich have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zurich
    • Zurich is located in Rooks County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 94 people
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Bloomington
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomington
      • Bloomington is located in Osborne County
    • Vincent
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vincent have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vincent
      • Vincent is located in Osborne County
    • Webster
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Webster have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
      • Webster is located in Rooks County

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

Newspapers Published in Laton ...

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 123 newspapers that have been published in the area around Laton.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Laton, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Laton.

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 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 Laton:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Laton. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Rooks County: www.rookscounty.net/

The official website for State of Kansas: https://portal.kansas.gov/

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 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.
<3>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.
<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- Laton) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Laton. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.2856, Longitude: -99.0768       In this case, the coordinates for Laton have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>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.
<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 Laton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025