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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 McVays Corner (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 McVays Corner. 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 McVays Corner ...

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.

  • A typical abbreviation for McVays Corner: McVays Cor. (or less commonly used: McVays Crn.)
  • While the name of this community is McVays Corner, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So McVays Corner may originally have been McVay's Corner.

    Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case McVays Corner might be written as McVay Corner.

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 doctors and 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.

McVays Corner is located in Reno 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 Reno County: Harvey, Kingman, McPherson, Pratt, Rice, Sedgwick & Stafford.

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

  • Reno County     (The home county of McVays Corner)
    • The following are listed by their distance from McVays Corner, with the one closest to McVays Corner listed first.
    • Kilbourns Corner
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Charters Corner
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Huntsville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Nickerson
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nickerson have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nickerson
      • Nickerson is located in Reno County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 982 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nickerson <4>
    • Adams Corner
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Yaggy
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Yaggy have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yaggy
      • Yaggy is located in Reno County
    • Abbyville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Abbyville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbyville
      • Abbyville is located in Reno County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 86 people
    • Plevna
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Willowbrook
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Willowbrook have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willowbrook
      • Willowbrook is located in Reno County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 85 people
    • Partridge
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Whiteside
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Sylvia
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Barton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from McVays Corner, with the one closest to McVays Corner listed first.
    • Ellinwood
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Dartmouth
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Claflin
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Ellsworth County
    • The following are listed by their distance from McVays Corner, with the one closest to McVays Corner listed first.
    • Frantz ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Frantz have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frantz
      • Frantz is located in Ellsworth County
    • Lorraine
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lorraine have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lorraine
      • Lorraine is located in Ellsworth County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 125 people
    • Holyrood
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holyrood have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holyrood
      • Holyrood is located in Ellsworth County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 409 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Holyrood <4>
  • Kingman County
  • McPherson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from McVays Corner, with the one closest to McVays Corner listed first.
    • Windom
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Inman
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Inman have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inman
      • Inman is located in McPherson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,324 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Inman <4>
    • Groveland
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Groveland. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Groveland
      • Groveland is located in McPherson County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Groveland
      • From McVays Corner to Groveland
    • Conway
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Rice County
    • The following are listed by their distance from McVays Corner, with the one closest to McVays Corner listed first.
    • Sterling
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Alden
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alden have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alden
      • Alden is located in Rice County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 139 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alden <4>
    • Saxman
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Saxman. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saxman
      • Saxman is located in Rice County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Saxman
      • From McVays Corner to Saxman
    • Raymond
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Lyons
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lyons have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyons
      • Lyons is located in Rice County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,433 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lyons <4>
    • Chase
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chase have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chase
      • Chase is located in Rice County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 429 people
    • Mitchell
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Mitchell. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchell
      • Mitchell is located in Rice County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Mitchell
      • From McVays Corner to Mitchell
    • Silica
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Silica. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silica
      • Silica is located in Rice County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Silica
      • From McVays Corner to Silica
    • Pollard ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pollard. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pollard
      • Pollard is located in Rice County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Pollard
      • From McVays Corner to Pollard
    • Little River
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Galt
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Galt. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galt
      • Galt is located in Rice County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Galt
      • From McVays Corner to Galt
    • Frederick
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Frederick have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frederick
      • Frederick is located in Rice County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 18 people
  • Stafford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from McVays Corner, with the one closest to McVays Corner listed first.
    • Hudson
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hudson have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudson
      • Hudson is located in Stafford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 122 people
    • Stafford
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Neola
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Neola. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neola
      • Neola is located in Stafford County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Neola
      • From McVays Corner to Neola
    • Saint John
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint John have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint John
      • Saint John is located in Stafford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,139 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint John <4>
    • Seward
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seward have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seward
      • Seward is located in Stafford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 62 people

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

Cemeteries Near McVays Corner ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of McVays Corner.

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

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

  • Peace Valley Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Peace Valley Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Peace Valley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sterling Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sterling Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sterling Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pleasant View Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant View Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant View Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Salem Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Salem Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Salem Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Peace Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Peace Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Peace Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Wild Mead Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wild Mead Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wild Mead Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lutheran Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Hinshaw Family Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hinshaw Family Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hinshaw Family Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hayes Twp. Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hayes Twp. Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hayes Twp. Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • The Hayes Twp. Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Hayes Cemetery
  • Abbyville Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Abbyville Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Abbyville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hilltop Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Peace Creek Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (77 more) ...
    • Pleven Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleven Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleven Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Hazen Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hazen Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hazen Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Springdale Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Springdale Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Springdale Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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>

While we didn't find McVays Corner in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of McVays Corner.

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

  • Sterling
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Alden
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alden have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alden
    • Alden is located in Rice County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 139 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alden <4>
  • Huntsville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Nickerson
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nickerson have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nickerson
    • Nickerson is located in Reno County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 982 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nickerson <4>
  • Saxman
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Saxman. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saxman
    • Saxman is located in Rice County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Saxman
    • From McVays Corner to Saxman
  • Raymond
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Plevna
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Abbyville
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Abbyville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbyville
    • Abbyville is located in Reno County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 86 people
  • Lyons
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lyons have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyons
    • Lyons is located in Rice County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,433 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lyons <4>
  • Chase
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chase have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chase
    • Chase is located in Rice County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 429 people
  • Partridge
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Sylvia
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Mitchell
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Mitchell. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchell
      • Mitchell is located in Rice County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Mitchell
      • From McVays Corner to Mitchell
    • Arlington
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arlington have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington
      • Arlington is located in Reno County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 445 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Arlington <4>
    • South Hutchinson
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)

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

Newspapers Published in McVays Corner ...

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 141 newspapers that have been published in the area around McVays Corner.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of McVays Corner, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<7>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for McVays Corner.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we 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 McVays Corner:

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

The official website for Reno County: www.rngov.reno.ks.us/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties).
<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>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.
<4>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 McVays Corner, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<7>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- McVays Corner) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in McVays Corner. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.1590, Longitude: -98.2522       In this case, the coordinates for McVays Corner have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025