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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 Ritchal (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 Ritchal. 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 hospitals and doctors 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.

Ritchal is located in Finney 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 Finney County: Grant, Gray, Haskell, Hodgeman, Kearny, Lane & Scott.

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

  • Finney County     (The home county of Ritchal)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ritchal, with the one closest to Ritchal listed first.
    • Rodkey ‑ Historic
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rodkey. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodkey
      • Rodkey is located in Finney County
    • Holcomb
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holcomb have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holcomb
      • Holcomb is located in Finney County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,042 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Holcomb <3>
    • Garden City
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Friend
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Friend. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friend
      • Friend is located in Finney County
    • Pierceville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pierceville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pierceville
      • Pierceville is located in Finney County
  • Gray County
    • Charleston
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charleston
      • Charleston is located in Gray County
  • Hamilton County
    • Kendall
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kendall have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kendall
      • Kendall is located in Hamilton County
  • Kearny County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ritchal, with the one closest to Ritchal listed first.
    • Deerfield
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Deerfield have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deerfield
      • Deerfield is located in Kearny County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 674 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Deerfield <3>
    • Lakin
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Ritchal ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ritchal.

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

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

  • Toper Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Toper Cemetery
    • The Toper Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Jewish Cemetery
    • Topper Cemetery
  • Deerfield Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Deerfield Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Deerfield Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the northeast of Deerfield.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #92283 <4>
  • Deer Field Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Deer Field Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Deer Field Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Valley View Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Valley View Cemetery
    • The Valley View Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Garden City Cemetery
  • Hulpieu Homestead Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Lakin Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lakin Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Lakin Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the northeast of Lakin.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #92848 <4>
  • Sunset Memorial Gardens Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Kaye Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Prairie View Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • 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.
  • Goldamer Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
  • Lydia Methodist Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lydia Methodist Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lydia Methodist Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hartland Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hartland Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Hartland Cemetery is located 6 miles [9.7 km]<5> to the northeast of Lakin.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #92652 <4>
  • Continue List   (10 more) ...
    • Emanuel Mennonite Cemetery
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Pierceville Cemetery
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pierceville Cemetery
      • The Pierceville Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Pierceville Twp. Cemetery
    • Lydia Lutheran Cemetery
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lydia Lutheran Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lydia Lutheran 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.<6>

While we didn't find Ritchal in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Ritchal.

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

  • Deerfield
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Deerfield have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deerfield
    • Deerfield is located in Kearny County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 674 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Deerfield <3>
  • Garden City
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Lakin
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Mansfield
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mansfield have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mansfield
    • Mansfield is located in Finney County
  • Plymell
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plymell have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plymell
    • Plymell is located in Finney County
  • Hartland
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hartland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
    • Hartland is located in Kearny County
  • Pierceville
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pierceville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pierceville
    • Pierceville is located in Finney County
  • Charleston
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charleston
    • Charleston is located in Gray County
  • Kendall
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kendall have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kendall
    • Kendall is located in Hamilton County

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

Newspapers Published in Ritchal ...

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 54 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ritchal.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ritchal, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Ritchal.

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 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 Ritchal:

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

The official website for Finney County: www.finneycounty.org/

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>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- Ritchal) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ritchal. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.0325, Longitude: -101.0282       In this case, the coordinates for Ritchal have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>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 Ritchal, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025