RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Kansas >> Edwards County >> Lewis >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Lewis (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 Lewis. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Lewis is located in Edwards 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 Edwards County: Ford, Hodgeman, Kiowa, Pawnee, Pratt & Stafford.

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

  • Edwards County     (The home county of Lewis)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lewis, with the one closest to Lewis listed first.
    • Nettleton
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Nettleton is located in Edwards County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nettleton
    • Belpre
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Belpre is located in Edwards County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belpre
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 81 people
    • Centerview
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Centerview is located in Edwards County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerview
    • Kinsley
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Fellsburg
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Fellsburg is located in Edwards County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fellsburg
    • Williams ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Williams is located in Edwards County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williams
    • Hodges
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Hodges is located in Edwards County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hodges
    • Trousdale ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Trousdale is located in Edwards County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trousdale
    • Ardell
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Ardell is located in Edwards County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ardell
    • Offerle
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Offerle is located in Edwards County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Offerle
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 180 people
  • Barton County
    • Pawnee Rock
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Ford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lewis, with the one closest to Lewis listed first.
    • Windhorst
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Windhorst is located in Ford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windhorst
    • Windthorst
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Windthorst is located in Ford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windthorst
    • Spearville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Spearville is located in Ford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spearville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 766 people
  • Hodgeman County
    • Hanston
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Hanston is located in Hodgeman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanston
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 200 people
  • Kiowa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lewis, with the one closest to Lewis listed first.
    • Brenham ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Brenham is located in Kiowa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brenham
    • Greensburg
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Haviland
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Wellsford
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Wellsford is located in Kiowa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellsford
    • Mullinville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Pawnee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lewis, with the one closest to Lewis listed first.
    • Garfield
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Garfield is located in Pawnee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 168 people
    • Larned
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Rozel
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Rozel is located in Pawnee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rozel
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 137 people
    • Ray ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Ray is located in Pawnee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ray
    • Burdett
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Burdett is located in Pawnee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burdett
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 219 people
    • Ash Valley
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Ash Valley is located in Pawnee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ash Valley
  • Pratt County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lewis, with the one closest to Lewis listed first.
    • Byers
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Byers is located in Pratt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byers
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 33 people
    • Cullison
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Cullison is located in Pratt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cullison
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 100 people
  • Stafford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lewis, with the one closest to Lewis listed first.
    • Macksville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Radium
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Radium is located in Stafford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radium
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 23 people
    • Saint John
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Seward
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Seward is located in Stafford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seward
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 62 people

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

Cemeteries Near Lewis ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Lewis.

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

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

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

  • Wayne Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Trotter Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Belpre Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belpre Cemetery
    • The Belpre Cemetery has also been known as:
    • St. Bernards Catholic Cemetery
  • Garfield Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Old Kinsley Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • St. Nicholas Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Fellsburg Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Lutheran Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Hillside Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Pleasant Valley Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Valley Cemetery
    • The Pleasant Valley Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Pratt Cemetery
    • Zook Cemetery
  • Salem Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Prattsburg Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (41 more) ...
    • Bethel Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Hopewell Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Farmington Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)

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 Lewis had a population of 100 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Lewis had a population of 407 people.

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

  • Nettleton
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Nettleton is located in Edwards County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nettleton
  • Belpre
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Belpre is located in Edwards County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belpre
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 81 people
  • Kinsley
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Fellsburg
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Fellsburg is located in Edwards County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fellsburg
  • Garfield
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Garfield is located in Pawnee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garfield
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 168 people
  • Macksville
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
  • Offerle
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Offerle is located in Edwards County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Offerle
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 180 people
  • Larned
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
  • Rozel
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Rozel is located in Pawnee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rozel
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 137 people
  • Dillwyn
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Dillwyn is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dillwyn
  • Bellefont
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Bellefont is located in Ford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellefont
  • Brenham ‑ Historic
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Brenham is located in Kiowa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brenham
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Ray ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Ray is located in Pawnee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ray
    • Greensburg
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Haviland
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Lewis ...

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 88 newspapers that have been published in the area around Lewis.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Lewis. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Lewis and those printed in the larger area surrounding Lewis.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<4> of Lewis.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with 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 Lewis:

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 Lewis, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Lewis) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.