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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 Ottumwa (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 Ottumwa. 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.

Ottumwa is located in Coffey 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 Coffey County: Allen, Anderson, Franklin, Greenwood, Lyon, Osage & Woodson.

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

  • Coffey County     (The home county of Ottumwa)
  • Allen County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ottumwa, with the one closest to Ottumwa listed first.
    • Geneva
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Carlyle
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Anderson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ottumwa, with the one closest to Ottumwa listed first.
    • Westphalia
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Westphalia have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westphalia
      • Westphalia is located in Anderson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 164 people
    • Harris
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Central City
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Central City. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central City
      • Central City is located in Anderson County
      • Former name for Central City:
      • Jerome
      • Central City has also been known as:
      • Central
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Central City
      • From Ottumwa to Central City
    • Mont Ida
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Glenlock
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Glenlock. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenlock
      • Glenlock is located in Anderson County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Glenlock
      • From Ottumwa to Glenlock
    • Colony
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Colony have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colony
      • Colony is located in Anderson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 424 people
    • Welda
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Garnett
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Franklin County
  • Greenwood County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ottumwa, with the one closest to Ottumwa listed first.
    • Lamont
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Madison
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Virgil
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Virgil have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virgil
      • Virgil is located in Greenwood County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 62 people
    • Hamilton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Lyon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ottumwa, with the one closest to Ottumwa listed first.
    • Hartford
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hartford have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartford
      • Hartford is located in Lyon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 368 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hartford <1>
    • Neosho Rapids
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Reading
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reading have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reading
      • Reading is located in Lyon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 225 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Reading <1>
    • Lang
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lang. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lang
      • Lang is located in Lyon County
      • Lang has also been known as:
      • Hortonville
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Lang
      • From Ottumwa to Lang
    • Olpe
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Olpe have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olpe
      • Olpe is located in Lyon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 530 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Olpe <1>
    • Emporia Junction
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Emporia Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emporia Junction
      • Emporia Junction is located in Lyon County
    • Emporia
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Berkeley Hills
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Berkeley Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berkeley Hills
      • Berkeley Hills is located in Lyon County
    • Merrick
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Merrick. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrick
      • Merrick is located in Lyon County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Merrick
      • From Ottumwa to Merrick
    • Miller
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Admire
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Admire have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Admire
      • Admire is located in Lyon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 153 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Admire <1>
    • Americus
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Plymouth
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plymouth have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plymouth
      • Plymouth is located in Lyon County
  • Osage County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ottumwa, with the one closest to Ottumwa listed first.
    • Olivet
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Melvern
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Melvern have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melvern
      • Melvern is located in Osage County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 368 people
      • Melvern has also been known as:
      • Melvin
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Melvern <1>
    • Barclay
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Lyndon
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lyndon have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyndon
      • Lyndon is located in Osage County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,013 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lyndon <1>
    • Osage City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Osage City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osage City
      • Osage City is located in Osage County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,765 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Osage City <1>
    • Quenemo
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Peterton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Peterton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peterton
      • Peterton is located in Osage County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Peterton
      • From Ottumwa to Peterton
    • Vassar
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
  • Woodson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ottumwa, with the one closest to Ottumwa listed first.
    • Vernon
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Neosho Falls
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Neosho Falls have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neosho Falls
      • Neosho Falls is located in Woodson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 133 people
    • Hasty
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hasty. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hasty
      • Hasty is located in Woodson County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hasty
      • From Ottumwa to Hasty
    • Athens
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Athens. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athens
      • Athens is located in Woodson County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Athens
      • From Ottumwa to Athens
    • Durand
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Yates Center
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Yates Center have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yates Center
      • Yates Center is located in Woodson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,267 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Yates Center <1>
    • Piqua
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Batesville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Batesville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Batesville
      • Batesville is located in Woodson County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Batesville
      • From Ottumwa to Batesville

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

Cemeteries Near Ottumwa ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ottumwa.

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

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

  • Bowman & Adgate Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bowman & Adgate Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bowman & Adgate Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bailey Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Strawn Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Strawn Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Strawn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Baker Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Stringtown Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Stringtown Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Stringtown Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Calvary Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Calvary Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Graceland Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Graceland Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Graceland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. Hope Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • 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.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Glendale Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Glendale Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Glendale Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sherwood Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sherwood Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sherwood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Halls Summit Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • St. Mary's Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Mary's Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Mary's Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (133 more) ...
    • Hartford Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hartford Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hartford Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Prairie View Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Prairie View Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Prairie View Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Key West Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Key West Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Key West Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Ottumwa had a population of 139 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • New Strawn
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Sharpe
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sharpe have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharpe
    • Sharpe is located in Coffey County
  • Burlington
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Halls Summit
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Hartford
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hartford have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartford
    • Hartford is located in Lyon County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 368 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hartford <1>
  • Lebo
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Neosho Rapids
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Gridley
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gridley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gridley
    • Gridley is located in Coffey County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 323 people
  • Waverly
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Waverly have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waverly
    • Waverly is located in Coffey County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 537 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Waverly <1>
  • Arvonia
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arvonia have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arvonia
    • Arvonia is located in Osage County
  • Olivet
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Aliceville
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Lamont
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Le Roy
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Westphalia
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Westphalia have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westphalia
      • Westphalia is located in Anderson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 164 people

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

Newspapers Published in Ottumwa ...

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 206 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ottumwa.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ottumwa, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Ottumwa.

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 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 Ottumwa:

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

The official website for Coffey County: www.coffeycountyks.org/

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>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.
<3>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.
<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 Ottumwa, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Ottumwa) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ottumwa. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.2777, Longitude: -95.7991    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025