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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 Onaga (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 Onaga. 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 southwest 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 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.

Onaga is located in Pottawatomie 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 Pottawatomie County: Jackson, Marshall, Nemaha, Riley, Shawnee & Wabaunsee.

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

  • Pottawatomie County     (The home county of Onaga)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Onaga, with the one closest to Onaga listed first.
    • Duluth
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Havensville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Wheaton
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Wheaton is located in Pottawatomie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheaton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 116 people
    • Aikins
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Saint Clere
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Blaine
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Emmett
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Emmett is located in Pottawatomie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmett
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 187 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Emmett <1>
    • Westmoreland
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Belvue
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Belvue is located in Pottawatomie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belvue
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 204 people
    • Louisville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Louisville is located in Pottawatomie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Louisville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 228 people
      • Louisville has also been known as:
      • Louisville Springs
      • Rock City
      • Rock Creek Falls
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Louisville <1>
    • Fostoria
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Saint Marys
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Wamego
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Wamego is located in Pottawatomie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wamego
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,718 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wamego <1>
  • Jackson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Onaga, with the one closest to Onaga listed first.
    • Avoca ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Soldier
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Circleville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Delia
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Holton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Netawaka
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Birmingham
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Mayetta
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Denison
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Hoyt
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Hoyt is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoyt
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 629 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hoyt <1>
    • Whiting
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Whiting is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiting
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 183 people
  • Marshall County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Onaga, with the one closest to Onaga listed first.
    • Vermillion
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Frankfort
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Irving ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Winifred
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Axtell
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Beattie
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Blue Rapids
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Home
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Nemaha County
  • Riley County
  • Shawnee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Onaga, with the one closest to Onaga listed first.
    • Rossville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Willard
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Willard is located in Shawnee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willard
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 88 people
  • Wabaunsee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Onaga, with the one closest to Onaga listed first.
    • Maple Hill
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Paxico
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Vera
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • McFarland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • McFarland is located in Wabaunsee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McFarland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 250 people

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

Cemeteries Near Onaga ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Onaga.

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

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

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

  • Onega Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Regard Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Home Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Vienna Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Duluth Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Fairview Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Hawesville Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • St. Lukes Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Neuchatel Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • St. Patricks Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Pleasant Hill Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • St. Luke Lutheran North Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (142 more) ...
    • St. Michaels Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Wheaton Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Bucks Grove Church Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 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 Onaga had a population of 423 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Onaga had a population of 679 people.

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

  • Neuchatel
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Neuchatel is located in Nemaha County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neuchatel
  • Havensville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Wheaton
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Wheaton is located in Pottawatomie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheaton
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 116 people
  • Avoca ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • America City
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • America City is located in Nemaha County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for America City
  • Laclede
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Laclede is located in Pottawatomie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laclede
  • Saint Clere
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Soldier
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Blaine
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Corning
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Westmoreland
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Vermillion
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Circleville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Ontario
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Ontario is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ontario
    • Bancroft
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Bancroft is located in Nemaha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bancroft

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Onaga ...

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 52 newspapers that have been published in the area around Onaga.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Onaga. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Onaga and those printed in the larger area surrounding Onaga.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<2> of Onaga.

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 professional and volunteer 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 Onaga:

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 'straight-line' (or 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- Onaga) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Onaga, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.