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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 Patterson (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 Patterson. 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 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.

Patterson is located in Harvey 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 Harvey County: Butler, Marion, McPherson, Reno & Sedgwick.

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

  • Harvey County     (The home county of Patterson)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Patterson, with the one closest to Patterson listed first.
    • Burrton
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Paxton
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Paxton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paxton
      • Paxton is located in Harvey County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Paxton
      • From Patterson to Paxton
    • Halstead
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Halstead have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halstead
      • Halstead is located in Harvey County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,028 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Halstead <3>
    • Sedgwick
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sedgwick have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedgwick
      • Sedgwick is located in Harvey County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,657 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sedgwick <3>
    • Van Arsdale
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Alta Mills ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alta Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alta Mills
      • Alta Mills is located in Harvey County
    • Putnam
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • McGraw
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for McGraw. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGraw
      • McGraw is located in Harvey County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to McGraw
      • From Patterson to McGraw
    • Hesston
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Newton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Zimmerdale
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Zimmerdale. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zimmerdale
      • Zimmerdale is located in Harvey County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Zimmerdale
      • From Patterson to Zimmerdale
    • North Newton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Newton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Newton
      • North Newton is located in Harvey County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,762 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for North Newton <3>
  • Butler County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Patterson, with the one closest to Patterson listed first.
    • Whitewater
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Elbing
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elbing have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elbing
      • Elbing is located in Butler County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 230 people
    • Brainerd
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Brainerd. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brainerd
      • Brainerd is located in Butler County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Brainerd
      • From Patterson to Brainerd
  • Kingman County
    • Murdock
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Murdock have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murdock
      • Murdock is located in Kingman County
  • Marion County
    • Goessel
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Goessel have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goessel
      • Goessel is located in Marion County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 489 people
  • McPherson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Patterson, with the one closest to Patterson listed first.
    • Moundridge
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Inman
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Inman have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inman
      • Inman is located in McPherson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,324 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Inman <3>
    • Elyria
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Elyria. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elyria
      • Elyria is located in McPherson County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Elyria
      • From Patterson to Elyria
    • Groveland
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Groveland. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Groveland
      • Groveland is located in McPherson County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Groveland
      • From Patterson to Groveland
    • McPherson
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Conway
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • Galva
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Galva have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galva
      • Galva is located in McPherson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 887 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Galva <3>
  • Reno County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Patterson, with the one closest to Patterson listed first.
    • Haven
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Haven have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haven
      • Haven is located in Reno County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,184 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Haven <3>
    • Punkin Center ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Punkin Center have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Punkin Center
      • Punkin Center is located in Reno County
    • Yoder
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Yoder have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yoder
      • Yoder is located in Reno County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Yoder <3>
    • Obeeville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Obeeville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Obeeville
      • Obeeville is located in Reno County
    • Buhler
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Saint Joe
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Joe have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Joe
      • Saint Joe is located in Reno County
    • Cruppers Corner
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Elmer
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elmer have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmer
      • Elmer is located in Reno County
    • Hutchinson
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Darlow
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • South Hutchinson
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Castleton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Castleton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castleton
      • Castleton is located in Reno County
  • Sedgwick County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Patterson, with the one closest to Patterson listed first.
    • Mount Hope
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Bentley
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bentley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bentley
      • Bentley is located in Sedgwick County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 515 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bentley <3>
    • Andale
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Coleman
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Colwich
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Colwich have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colwich
      • Colwich is located in Sedgwick County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,492 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Colwich <3>
    • Maize
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maize have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maize
      • Maize is located in Sedgwick County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,267 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Maize <3>
    • Valley Center
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Valley Center have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Center
      • Valley Center is located in Sedgwick County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,385 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Valley Center <3>
    • Garden Plain
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garden Plain have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Plain
      • Garden Plain is located in Sedgwick County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 912 people
    • Goddard
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Park City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Park City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park City
      • Park City is located in Sedgwick County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,943 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Park City <3>
    • Westlink Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Westlink Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westlink Village
      • Westlink Village is located in Sedgwick County
    • Wichita Heights
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Patterson ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Patterson.

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

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

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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Patterson had a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Mount Hope
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Burrton
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Haven
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Haven have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haven
    • Haven is located in Reno County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,184 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Haven <3>
  • Bentley
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bentley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bentley
    • Bentley is located in Sedgwick County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 515 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bentley <3>
  • Halstead
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Halstead have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halstead
    • Halstead is located in Harvey County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,028 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Halstead <3>
  • Andale
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Yoder
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Yoder have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yoder
    • Yoder is located in Reno County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Yoder <3>
  • Colwich
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Colwich have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colwich
    • Colwich is located in Sedgwick County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,492 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Colwich <3>
  • Sedgwick
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sedgwick have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedgwick
    • Sedgwick is located in Harvey County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,657 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sedgwick <3>
  • Buhler
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Putnam
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Elmer
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elmer have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmer
    • Elmer is located in Reno County
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in Patterson ...

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 51 newspapers that have been published in the area around Patterson.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Patterson, 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 Patterson.

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 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 Patterson:

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

The official website for Harvey County: www.harveycounty.com/

The official website for State of Kansas: https://portal.kansas.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<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>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>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.
<5>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 Patterson, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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 from Point A (ie- Patterson) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Patterson. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.9451, Longitude: -97.6542       In this case, the coordinates for Patterson have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025