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 Michigan Valley (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 Michigan Valley. 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 Michigan Valley ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Michigan Valley: Michigan Vly. (or less commonly used: Michigan Vally. or Michigan Vlly.)
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.
Michigan Valley is located in Osage 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 Osage County: Coffey, Douglas, Franklin, Lyon, Shawnee & Wabaunsee.
Below are the counties that are near Michigan Valley. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Michigan Valley:
- Osage County (The home county of Michigan Valley)
- The following are listed by their distance from Michigan Valley, with the one closest to Michigan Valley listed first.
- Vassar
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Overbrook
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Quenemo
(7 miles [11.3 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
- Lyndon
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Carbondale
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Carbondale is located in Osage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbondale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,347 people
- Mineral Springs
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Mineral Springs is located in Osage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral Springs
- Scranton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Melvern
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Melvern is located in Osage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melvern
- Population from the 2020 Census: 368 people
- Melvern has also been known as:
- Melvin
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Melvern <1>
- Peterton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Peterton is located in Osage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peterton
- Osage City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Burlingame
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- 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>
- Olivet
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Olivet is located in Osage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olivet
- Population from the 2020 Census: 66 people
- Anderson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Michigan Valley, with the one closest to Michigan Valley listed first.
- Harris
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Harris is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris
- Glenlock
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Glenlock is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenlock
- Scipio
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Scipio is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scipio
- Central City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Central City is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central City
- Former name for Central City:
- Jerome
- Central City has also been known as:
- Central
- Greeley
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Coffey County
- The following are listed by their distance from Michigan Valley, with the one closest to Michigan Valley listed first.
- Agricola
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Agricola is located in Coffey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agricola
- Waverly
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Halls Summit
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Halls Summit is located in Coffey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halls Summit
- Lebo
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Douglas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Michigan Valley, with the one closest to Michigan Valley listed first.
- Globe
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Globe is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Globe
- Worden
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Worden is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worden
- Lone Star
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Lone Star is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Star
- Clinton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Clinton is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinton
- Pleasant Grove
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant Grove is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Grove
- Baldwin City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Stull
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Stull is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stull
- Kanwaka
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Kanwaka is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kanwaka
- Kanwaka has also been known as:
- Kanawha
- Kannaka
- Kanwaca
- Vinland
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Vinland is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vinland
- Black Jack ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Black Jack is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Jack
- Big Springs
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Big Springs is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Springs
- Sibleyville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Sibleyville is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sibleyville
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Michigan Valley, with the one closest to Michigan Valley listed first.
- Pomona
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Centropolis
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Centropolis is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centropolis
- Richter
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Richter is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richter
- Ransomville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Ransomville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ransomville
- Ottawa Junction
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Ottawa Junction is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ottawa Junction
- Ottawa
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Williamsburg
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Homewood
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Homewood is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homewood
- Norwood
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Norwood is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwood
- B N Junction
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- B N Junction is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for B N Junction
- Le Loup
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Le Loup is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Le Loup
- Princeton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Michigan Valley, with the one closest to Michigan Valley listed first.
- Grantville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Grantville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grantville
- Medina
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Medina is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medina
- Newman
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Newman is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newman
- Perry
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Williamstown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Williamstown is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamstown
- Buck Creek
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Buck Creek is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buck Creek
- Thompsonville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Thompsonville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompsonville
- Johnson County
- Edgerton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Leavenworth County
- Fall Leaf
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Fall Leaf is located in Leavenworth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fall Leaf
- Lyon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Michigan Valley, with the one closest to Michigan Valley listed first.
- Reading
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Miller
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Miller is located in Lyon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miller
- Miami County
- Stanton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Stanton is located in Miami County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanton
- Shawnee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Michigan Valley, with the one closest to Michigan Valley listed first.
- Richland
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Richland is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richland
- Berryton
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Berryton is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berryton
- Cullen Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Cullen Village is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cullen Village
- Watson
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Watson is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watson
- Auburn
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Auburn is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auburn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,203 people
- Pauline
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Pauline is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pauline
- Highland Park
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Highland Park is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Park
- Spencer
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Spencer is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spencer
- Tecumseh
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Topeka
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Oakland
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Oakland is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
- North Topeka
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- North Topeka is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Topeka
- Wabaunsee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Michigan Valley, with the one closest to Michigan Valley listed first.
- Wilmington
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Wilmington is located in Wabaunsee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmington
- Harveyville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Harveyville is located in Wabaunsee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harveyville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 246 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Michigan Valley, see our County-by-County Page for Michigan Valley.
Cemeteries Near Michigan Valley ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Michigan Valley.
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 Michigan Valley - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Michigan Valley covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Michigan Valley, with the one closest to Michigan Valley listed first.
- Pleasant Ridge Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Dean Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Valley Brook Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Vassar Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Curry Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Woodlawn Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Appanoose Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Overbrook Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Oak Hill Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Hill Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Oak Hill Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located less than 2 miles<2> to the northwest of Quenemo.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #93214 <3>
- Kaub Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Pleasant Hill Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (165 more) ...
- Dodder Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Danish Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Centropolis Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 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.<4>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Michigan Valley had a population of 53 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Michigan Valley, with the one closest to Michigan Valley listed first.
- Vassar
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Overbrook
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Pomona
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Quenemo
(7 miles [11.3 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
- Lyndon Station
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Lyndon Station is located in Osage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyndon Station
- Richter
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Richter is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richter
- Centropolis
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Centropolis is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centropolis
- Globe
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Globe is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Globe
- Swissvale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Swissvale is located in Osage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swissvale
- Worden
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Worden is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worden
- Melvern
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Melvern is located in Osage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melvern
- Population from the 2020 Census: 368 people
- Melvern has also been known as:
- Melvin
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Melvern <1>
- Ransomville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Ransomville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ransomville
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Richland
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Richland is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richland
- Carbondale
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Carbondale is located in Osage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbondale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,347 people
- Scranton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Michigan Valley. See our List of 1890's Communities around Michigan Valley.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Michigan Valley ...
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 321 newspapers that have been published in the area around Michigan Valley.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Michigan Valley. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Michigan Valley and those printed in the larger area surrounding Michigan Valley.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<2> of Michigan Valley.
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 websites either 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 Michigan Valley:
- Websites specific to Kansas
- Pages specific to Osage County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Anderson County
- Coffey County
- Douglas County
- Franklin County
- Jefferson County
- Johnson County
- Leavenworth County
- Lyon County
- Miami County
- Shawnee County
- Wabaunsee 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> | 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- Michigan Valley) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <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 Michigan Valley, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |