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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 Ruella (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 Ruella. 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 northwest 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 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 west 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.

Ruella is located in Harper 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 Harper County: Barber, Kingman, Sumner, Alfalfa (OK) & Grant (OK).

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

  • Harper County     (The home county of Ruella)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ruella, with the one closest to Ruella listed first.
    • Waldron
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Waldron have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldron
      • Waldron is located in Harper County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10 people
    • Crisfield
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Crisfield. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crisfield
      • Crisfield is located in Harper County
    • Anthony
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Attica
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Attica have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Attica
      • Attica is located in Harper County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 547 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Attica <3>
    • Harper
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Bluff City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bluff City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
      • Bluff City is located in Harper County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 58 people
    • Freeport
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeport
      • Freeport is located in Harper County
      • Estimated population in 2019: 4 people
    • Duquoin
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duquoin
      • Duquoin is located in Harper County
    • Danville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danville
      • Danville is located in Harper County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 33 people
      • Danville has also been known as:
      • Coalville
    • Runnymede
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Runnymede. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Runnymede
      • Runnymede is located in Harper County
  • Barber County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ruella, with the one closest to Ruella listed first.
    • Hazelton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazelton
      • Hazelton is located in Barber County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 84 people
    • Sharon
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sharon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharon
      • Sharon is located in Barber County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 142 people
      • Former name for Sharon:
      • Bible Valley
    • Kiowa
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kiowa
      • Kiowa is located in Barber County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 917 people
      • Kiowa has also been known as:
      • Kiowa
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kiowa <3>
    • Pixley
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pixley. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pixley
      • Pixley is located in Barber County
    • Gerlane
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Gerlane. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gerlane
      • Gerlane is located in Barber County
    • Stubbs
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stubbs
      • Stubbs is located in Barber County
    • Medicine Lodge
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Hardtner
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
  • Kingman County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ruella, with the one closest to Ruella listed first.
    • Spivey
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spivey
      • Spivey is located in Kingman County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 76 people
    • Zenda
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Zenda have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zenda
      • Zenda is located in Kingman County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 76 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Zenda <3>
    • Rago
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rago have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rago
      • Rago is located in Kingman County
    • Nashville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nashville
      • Nashville is located in Kingman County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 55 people
    • Adams
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Adams. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adams
      • Adams is located in Kingman County
    • Willowdale
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willowdale
      • Willowdale is located in Kingman County
  • Sumner County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ruella, with the one closest to Ruella listed first.
    • Doster
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Doster. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doster
      • Doster is located in Sumner County
    • Argonia
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Milan
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milan
      • Milan is located in Sumner County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 77 people
  • Alfalfa County (OK)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ruella, with the one closest to Ruella listed first.
    • Amorita
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Amorita have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amorita
      • Amorita is located in Alfalfa County (OK)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 38 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Amorita <3>
    • Byron
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Byron have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byron
      • Byron is located in Alfalfa County (OK)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 35 people
    • Burlington
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Burlington have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlington
      • Burlington is located in Alfalfa County (OK)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 160 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Burlington <3>
    • Vining
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vining
      • Vining is located in Alfalfa County (OK)
    • Ingersoll
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingersoll
      • Ingersoll is located in Alfalfa County (OK)
    • Cherokee
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherokee
      • Cherokee is located in Alfalfa County (OK)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,492 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cherokee <3>
    • Jet
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jet
      • Jet is located in Alfalfa County (OK)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 218 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jet <3>
    • Lambert
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lambert
      • Lambert is located in Alfalfa County (OK)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6 people
    • Yewed
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yewed
      • Yewed is located in Alfalfa County (OK)
  • Grant County (OK)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ruella, with the one closest to Ruella listed first.
    • Manchester
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Sand Creek
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sand Creek. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Creek
      • Sand Creek is located in Grant County (OK)
    • Wakita
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wakita
      • Wakita is located in Grant County (OK)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 327 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wakita <3>
    • Nash
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nash have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nash
      • Nash is located in Grant County (OK)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 196 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nash <3>
  • Woods County (OK)
    • Capron
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capron
      • Capron is located in Woods County (OK)
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 23 people

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

Cemeteries Near Ruella ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ruella.

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

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

  • Goss Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Goss Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Goss Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Ferguson Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ferguson Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ferguson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bonham Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bonham Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bonham Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Waldron Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Waldron Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Waldron Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Rosedale Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Spring Grove Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Mennonite Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Crisfield Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Crisfield Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Crisfield Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bethel Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Manchester Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Manchester Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Manchester Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Forest Park Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Attica Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (68 more) ...
    • Rosehill Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rosehill Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rosehill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Byron - Amorita Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • St.s Peter & Paul Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Ruella had a population of 29 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Corwin
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Corwin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corwin
    • Corwin is located in Harper County
  • Crisfield
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Crisfield. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crisfield
    • Crisfield is located in Harper County
  • Anthony
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Attica
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Attica have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Attica
    • Attica is located in Harper County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 547 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Attica <3>
  • Hazelton
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazelton
    • Hazelton is located in Barber County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 84 people
  • Crystal Springs
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crystal Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Springs
    • Crystal Springs is located in Harper County
  • Driftwood
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Driftwood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Driftwood
    • Driftwood is located in Alfalfa County (OK)
  • Harper
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Kiowa
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kiowa
    • Kiowa is located in Barber County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 917 people
    • Kiowa has also been known as:
    • Kiowa
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kiowa <3>
  • Bluff City
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bluff City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
    • Bluff City is located in Harper County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 58 people
  • Sharon
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sharon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharon
    • Sharon is located in Barber County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 142 people
    • Former name for Sharon:
    • Bible Valley
  • Wakita
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wakita
    • Wakita is located in Grant County (OK)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 327 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wakita <3>
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Freeport
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeport
      • Freeport is located in Harper County
      • Estimated population in 2019: 4 people
    • Pixley
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pixley. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pixley
      • Pixley is located in Barber County
    • Danville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danville
      • Danville is located in Harper County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 33 people
      • Danville has also been known as:
      • Coalville

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

Newspapers Published in Ruella ...

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 89 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ruella.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ruella, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Ruella.

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 helpful 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 Ruella:

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

The official website for Harper County: www.harpercounty.org/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<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>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>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- Ruella) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ruella. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.0806, Longitude: -98.1837       In this case, the coordinates for Ruella have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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>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 Ruella, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025