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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 Riley (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 Riley. 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.

Name Variations for Riley ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

Over the years, Riley had several name changes:

  • Prior to its current name of Riley, it was known as Riley Center.
  • Before changing to Riley Center, it was named Union.
  • The community of Riley was originally named Union

Another variation: Riley Centre.

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

A Few Details for Riley ...

While it's still very early in our research, we found that:

  • The naming (or the toponymy) of Riley: Named for Bennet C. Riley (1787-1853), a General during the Mexican-American War.

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 doctors and 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.

Riley is located in Riley 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 Riley County: Clay, Geary, Marshall, Nemaha, Pottawatomie, Wabaunsee & Washington.

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

  • Riley County     (The home county of Riley)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riley, with the one closest to Riley listed first.
    • Leonardville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Walsburg
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Walsburg. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walsburg
      • Walsburg is located in Riley County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Walsburg
      • From Riley to Walsburg
    • Bala
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Keats
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Randolph
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Lasita ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • 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
    • Winkler
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Winkler. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winkler
      • Winkler is located in Riley County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Winkler
      • From Riley to Winkler
    • May Day
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Eureka Lake
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • 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
    • Manhattan
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Ogden
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Ashland ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • 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
    • Fairmont
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Clay County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riley, with the one closest to Riley listed first.
    • Wakefield
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Green
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Broughton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • 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
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Broughton
      • From Riley to Broughton
    • Clay Center
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Ladysmith
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • 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
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Ladysmith
      • From Riley to Ladysmith
    • Industry
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Garfield Center
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Oscar ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oscar have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oscar
      • Oscar is located in Clay County
    • Morganville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Idana
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • 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
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Idana
      • From Riley to Idana
    • Oak Hill
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Browndale
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • 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
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Browndale
      • From Riley to Browndale
    • Longford
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
  • Dickinson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riley, with the one closest to Riley listed first.
    • Upland
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • 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
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Upland
      • From Riley to Upland
    • Chapman
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Buckeye
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Detroit
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Manchester
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Talmage
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Lyona
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • 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
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Lyona
      • From Riley to Lyona
  • Geary County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riley, with the one closest to Riley listed first.
    • Milford
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Alida
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • 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
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Alida
      • From Riley to Alida
    • Grandview Plaza
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • 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
    • Junction City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Kansas Falls
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Wreford
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • 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
  • Marshall County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riley, with the one closest to Riley listed first.
    • Irving ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Irving. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irving
      • Irving is located in Marshall County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Irving
      • From Riley to Irving
    • Blue Rapids
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blue Rapids have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Rapids
      • Blue Rapids is located in Marshall County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 960 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Blue Rapids <1>
    • Waterville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
  • Morris County
    • Skiddy ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • 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
  • Pottawatomie County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riley, with the one closest to Riley listed first.
    • Olsburg
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Olsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olsburg
      • Olsburg is located in Pottawatomie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 223 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Olsburg <1>
    • Fostoria
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Fostoria. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fostoria
      • Fostoria is located in Pottawatomie County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Fostoria
      • From Riley to Fostoria
    • Saint George
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint George have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint George
      • Saint George is located in Pottawatomie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,017 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint George <1>
    • Westmoreland
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Blaine
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Louisville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Louisville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Louisville
      • Louisville is located in Pottawatomie County
      • 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>
    • Wamego
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wamego have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wamego
      • Wamego is located in Pottawatomie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,718 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wamego <1>
    • Wheaton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wheaton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheaton
      • Wheaton is located in Pottawatomie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 116 people
  • Washington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riley, with the one closest to Riley listed first.
    • Chepstow
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Chepstow. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chepstow
      • Chepstow is located in Washington County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Chepstow
      • From Riley to Chepstow
    • Kimeo
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Kimeo. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimeo
      • Kimeo is located in Washington County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Kimeo
      • From Riley to Kimeo
    • Barnes
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Palmer
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Linn
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Greenleaf
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenleaf have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenleaf
      • Greenleaf is located in Washington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 303 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Greenleaf <1>
    • Clifton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Riley ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Riley.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Riley, with the one closest to Riley 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.<7>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Riley had a population of 250 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Riley had a population of 955 people.

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

  • Leonardville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Walsburg
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Walsburg. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walsburg
    • Walsburg is located in Riley County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Walsburg
    • From Riley to Walsburg
  • Bala
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Keats
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Milford
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Randolph
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Wakefield
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Winkler
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Winkler. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winkler
    • Winkler is located in Riley County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Winkler
    • From Riley to Winkler
  • Green
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Broughton
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • 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
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Broughton
    • From Riley to Broughton
  • Ogden
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Eureka Lake
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • 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
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Manhattan
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Olsburg
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Olsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olsburg
      • Olsburg is located in Pottawatomie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 223 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Olsburg <1>
    • Alida
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • 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
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Alida
      • From Riley to Alida

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Riley ...

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 130 newspapers that have been published in the area around Riley.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Riley. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Riley and those printed in the larger area surrounding Riley.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<6> of Riley.

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 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 Riley:

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

The official website for Riley County: www.rileycountyks.gov

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 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Riley) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Riley. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.2988, Longitude: -96.8276    
<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 Riley, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025