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 Otis (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 Otis. 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.
Otis is located in Rush 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 Rush County: Barton, Ellis, Ness, Pawnee, Russell & Trego.
Below are the counties that are near Otis. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Otis:
- Rush County (The home county of Otis)
- The following are listed by their distance from Otis, with the one closest to Otis listed first.
- Timken
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Timken is located in Rush County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timken
- Population from the 2020 Census: 62 people
- Bison
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Bison is located in Rush County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bison
- Population from the 2020 Census: 224 people
- Loretta
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Loretta is located in Rush County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loretta
- Former names for Loretta:
- Illinois
- Marienfeld
- La Crosse
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Rush Center
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Liebenthal
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Liebenthal is located in Rush County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liebenthal
- Population from the 2020 Census: 91 people
- Hargrave
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Hargrave is located in Rush County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hargrave
- Nekoma
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Nekoma is located in Rush County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nekoma
- Alexander
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Alexander is located in Rush County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexander
- Population from the 2020 Census: 57 people
- McCracken
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Barton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otis, with the one closest to Otis listed first.
- Olmitz
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Albert
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Galatia
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Galatia is located in Barton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galatia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 36 people
- Boyd ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Boyd is located in Barton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyd
- Millard
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Millard is located in Barton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millard
- Heizer
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Heizer is located in Barton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heizer
- Stickney
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Stickney is located in Barton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stickney
- Hoisington
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Kanbrick
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Kanbrick is located in Barton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kanbrick
- South Hoisington
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- South Hoisington is located in Barton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Hoisington
- Susank
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Susank is located in Barton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Susank
- Population from the 2020 Census: 31 people
- Dundee
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Dundee is located in Barton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dundee
- Ellis County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otis, with the one closest to Otis listed first.
- Pfeifer
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Pfeifer is located in Ellis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pfeifer
- Schoenchen
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Schoenchen is located in Ellis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schoenchen
- Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
- Victoria
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Victoria is located in Ellis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victoria
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,215 people
- Walker
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Walker is located in Ellis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walker
- Munjor
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Munjor is located in Ellis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Munjor
- Toulon
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Toulon is located in Ellis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toulon
- Antonino
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Antonino is located in Ellis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antonino
- Hays
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Catharine
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Catharine is located in Ellis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catharine
- Catharine has also been known as:
- Catherine
- Emmeram
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Emmeram is located in Ellis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmeram
- Pawnee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otis, with the one closest to Otis listed first.
- Ash Valley
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Ash Valley is located in Pawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ash Valley
- Larned
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Ray ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Ray is located in Pawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ray
- Rozel
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Rozel is located in Pawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rozel
- Population from the 2020 Census: 137 people
- Russell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otis, with the one closest to Otis listed first.
- Milberger
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Milberger is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milberger
- Gorham
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Balta ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Balta is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balta
- Russell
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Bunker Hill
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Stafford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otis, with the one closest to Otis listed first.
- Radium
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Radium is located in Stafford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radium
- Population from the 2020 Census: 23 people
- Seward
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- 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 Otis, see our County-by-County Page for Otis.
Cemeteries Near Otis ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Otis.
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 Otis - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Otis covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Otis, with the one closest to Otis listed first.
- Lutheran Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Svatopluk Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- St. Anthony Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Baptist Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- St. Anns Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Albert Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Holy Cross Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Boyle Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Pleasantdale Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Lone Star Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Bohemian Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (74 more) ...
- Patterson Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Fairview Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Walnut Valley Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 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.<2>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Otis had a population of 34 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Otis had a population of 251 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Otis, with the one closest to Otis listed first.
- Albert
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Olmitz
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Timken
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Timken is located in Rush County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timken
- Population from the 2020 Census: 62 people
- Bison
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Bison is located in Rush County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bison
- Population from the 2020 Census: 224 people
- Galatia
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Galatia is located in Barton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galatia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 36 people
- Heizer
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Heizer is located in Barton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heizer
- Boyd ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Boyd is located in Barton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyd
- Millard
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Millard is located in Barton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millard
- Pfeifer
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Pfeifer is located in Ellis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pfeifer
- La Crosse
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Rush Center
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Hoisington
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Liebenthal
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Liebenthal is located in Rush County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liebenthal
- Population from the 2020 Census: 91 people
- Dundee
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Dundee is located in Barton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dundee
- Ash Valley
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Ash Valley is located in Pawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ash Valley
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Otis. See our List of 1890's Communities around Otis.
Newspapers Published in Otis ...
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 82 newspapers that have been published in the area around Otis.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Otis, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Otis.
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 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 Otis:
- Websites specific to Kansas
- Pages specific to Rush County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Barton County
- Ellis County
- Pawnee County
- Russell County
- Stafford 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> | 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 Otis, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Otis) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |