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 Moonlight (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 Moonlight. 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 hospitals and doctors 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.
Moonlight is located in Dickinson 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 Dickinson County: Clay, Geary, Marion, McPherson, Morris, Ottawa & Saline.
Below are the counties that are near Moonlight. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Moonlight:
- Dickinson County (The home county of Moonlight)
- The following are listed by their distance from Moonlight, with the one closest to Moonlight listed first.
- Buckeye
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckeye
- Buckeye is located in Dickinson County
- Detroit
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Detroit
- Detroit is located in Dickinson County
- Chapman
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Enterprise
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Upland
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Upland. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upland
- Upland is located in Dickinson County
- Abilene
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Talmage
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talmage
- Talmage is located in Dickinson County
- Manchester
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manchester
- Manchester is located in Dickinson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 95 people
- Lyona
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lyona. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyona
- Lyona is located in Dickinson County
- Acme
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Acme. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acme
- Acme is located in Dickinson County
- Navarre
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Navarre have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Navarre
- Navarre is located in Dickinson County
- Solomon
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Woodbine
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodbine have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbine
- Woodbine is located in Dickinson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 163 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Woodbine <1>
- Clay County
- The following are listed by their distance from Moonlight, with the one closest to Moonlight listed first.
- Industry
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Industry
- Industry is located in Clay County
- Wakefield
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Longford
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longford
- Longford is located in Clay County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 73 people
- Longford has also been known as:
- Longford Station
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Longford <1>
- Ladysmith
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ladysmith. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ladysmith
- Ladysmith is located in Clay County
- Oak Hill
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Hill
- Oak Hill is located in Clay County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 24 people
- Broughton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Broughton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broughton
- Broughton is located in Clay County
- Clay Center
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Idana
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Idana. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Idana
- Idana is located in Clay County
- Browndale
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Browndale. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browndale
- Browndale is located in Clay County
- Green
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Cloud County
- Miltonvale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Geary County
- The following are listed by their distance from Moonlight, with the one closest to Moonlight listed first.
- Kansas Falls
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Kansas Falls. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kansas Falls
- Kansas Falls is located in Geary County
- Alida
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Alida. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alida
- Alida is located in Geary County
- Wreford
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wreford have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wreford
- Wreford is located in Geary County
- Junction City
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Milford
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Grandview Plaza
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grandview Plaza have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview Plaza
- Grandview Plaza is located in Geary County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,553 people
- Marion County
- Ramona
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ramona
- Ramona is located in Marion County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 173 people
- Ramona has also been known as:
- Ramona Station
- Morris County
- The following are listed by their distance from Moonlight, with the one closest to Moonlight listed first.
- Skiddy ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Skiddy have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skiddy
- Skiddy is located in Morris County
- Latimer
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Latimer. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Latimer
- Latimer is located in Morris County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 19 people
- White City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Delavan
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delavan
- Delavan is located in Morris County
- Parkerville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Parkerville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkerville
- Parkerville is located in Morris County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 59 people
- Dwight
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dwight
- Dwight is located in Morris County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 255 people
- Ottawa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Moonlight, with the one closest to Moonlight listed first.
- Vine Creek
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Vine Creek. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vine Creek
- Vine Creek is located in Ottawa County
- Former name for Vine Creek:
- Vine
- Niles
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Niles
- Niles is located in Ottawa County
- Ackley
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ackley
- Ackley is located in Ottawa County
- Verdi
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verdi
- Verdi is located in Ottawa County
- Wells
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wells
- Wells is located in Ottawa County
- Bennington
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Lamar
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lamar. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamar
- Lamar is located in Ottawa County
- Riley County
- The following are listed by their distance from Moonlight, with the one closest to Moonlight listed first.
- Ogden
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Bala
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bala
- Bala is located in Riley County
- Riley
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riley
- Riley is located in Riley County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 955 people
- Former names for Riley:
- Riley Center
- Union
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Riley <1>
- Eureka Lake
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eureka Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka Lake
- Eureka Lake is located in Riley County
- Keats
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keats
- Keats is located in Riley County
- Ashland ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ashland came from an uncertain source and they still need to be verified:<4>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
- Ashland is located in Riley County
- Ashland has also been known as:
- Ashland Bottoms
- Leonardville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leonardville
- Leonardville is located in Riley County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 432 people
- Leonardville has also been known as:
- Leonard
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Leonardville <1>
- Lasita ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lasita have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lasita
- Lasita is located in Riley County
- Manhattan
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Saline County
- The following are listed by their distance from Moonlight, with the one closest to Moonlight listed first.
- New Cambria
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for New Cambria. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Cambria
- New Cambria is located in Saline County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 125 people
- Kipp
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kipp
- Kipp is located in Saline County
- Gypsum
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Salina
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Moonlight, see our County-by-County Page for Moonlight.
Cemeteries Near Moonlight ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Moonlight.
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 Moonlight covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Moonlight, with the one closest to Moonlight listed first.
- Bethel Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bethel Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bethel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Detroit Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Indian Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Indian Hill Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Indian Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jones Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Jones Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Jones Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Union Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Union Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Union Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- St. Patricks Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Patricks Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Patricks Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Good Hope Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Good Hope Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Good Hope Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- St. Joseph Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Joseph Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Joseph Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Lutheran Cemetery #17
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lutheran Cemetery #17
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lutheran Cemetery #17 have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Liberty Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Henry Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Henry Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Henry Cemetery is located 5 miles [8 km]<6> to the southwest of Talmage.
- The Henry Cemetery has also been known as:
- Henry Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #92673 <5>
- Abilene Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (131 more) ...
- Greenridge Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Mt. Hope Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Hope Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Hope Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Pleasant Hill Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Hill Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Hill 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.<7>
While we didn't find Moonlight in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Moonlight.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Moonlight, with the one closest to Moonlight listed first.
- Detroit
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Detroit
- Detroit is located in Dickinson County
- Chapman
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Sutphen ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sutphen have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sutphen
- Sutphen is located in Dickinson County
- Enterprise
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Abilene
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Talmage
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talmage
- Talmage is located in Dickinson County
- Industry
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Industry
- Industry is located in Clay County
- Pearl
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pearl have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearl
- Pearl is located in Dickinson County
- Kansas Falls
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Kansas Falls. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kansas Falls
- Kansas Falls is located in Geary County
- Alida
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Alida. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alida
- Alida is located in Geary County
- Acme
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Acme. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acme
- Acme is located in Dickinson County
- Wreford
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wreford have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wreford
- Wreford is located in Geary County
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Manchester
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manchester
- Manchester is located in Dickinson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 95 people
- Navarre
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Navarre have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Navarre
- Navarre is located in Dickinson County
- Junction City
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Moonlight. See our List of 1890's Communities around Moonlight.
Newspapers Published in Moonlight ...
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 54 newspapers that have been published in the area around Moonlight.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Moonlight, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Moonlight.
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 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 Moonlight:
- Websites specific to Kansas
- Pages specific to Dickinson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Clay County
- Cloud County
- Geary County
- Marion County
- Morris County
- Ottawa County
- Riley County
- Saline County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Kansas
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Moonlight. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Dickinson County: www.dkcoks.com/
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> | 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> | If we found a location and have questions about the accuracy of our information, we will simply say that the marker is 'in the vicinity'. We are not confident about the location and the position of our marker is only a rough guide. If we have too many doubts about the location, we will not include it in our database. |
<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> | 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 from Point A (ie- Moonlight) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Moonlight. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.0028, Longitude: -97.1025 In this case, the coordinates for Moonlight have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
<7> | 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 Moonlight, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |