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 Silver Lake (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 Silver Lake. 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 Silver Lake ...
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 occur.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Silver Lake: Silver Lk.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Silver Lake. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Silver Lake.
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.
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.
Silver Lake is located in Shawnee County.
To see how the shape of Kansas' counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Shawnee County: Douglas, Jackson, Jefferson, Osage, Pottawatomie & Wabaunsee.
Below are the counties that are near Silver Lake. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Silver Lake:
- Shawnee County (The home county of Silver Lake)
- The following are listed by their distance from Silver Lake, with the one closest to Silver Lake listed first.
- Kiro
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Kiro is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kiro
- Willard
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Willard is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willard
- Population from the 2020 Census: 88 people
- Rossville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- North Topeka
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- North Topeka is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Topeka
- Topeka
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Dover
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Oakland
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Oakland is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
- Highland Park
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Highland Park is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Park
- Pauline
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Pauline is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pauline
- Auburn
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Auburn is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auburn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,203 people
- Cullen Village
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Cullen Village is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cullen Village
- Tecumseh
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Atchison County
- Arrington
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Arrington is located in Atchison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arrington
- Arrington has also been known as:
- Arrington Mineral Springs
- Arrington Springs
- Douglas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Silver Lake, with the one closest to Silver Lake listed first.
- Big Springs
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Big Springs is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Springs
- Grover
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Grover is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grover
- Stull
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Stull is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stull
- Lecompton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Kanwaka
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Kanwaka is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kanwaka
- Kanwaka has also been known as:
- Kanawha
- Kannaka
- Kanwaca
- Clinton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Clinton is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinton
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Silver Lake, with the one closest to Silver Lake listed first.
- Delia
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Delia is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 176 people
- Hoyt
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Mayetta
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Birmingham
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Birmingham is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birmingham
- Denison
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Avoca ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Avoca is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avoca
- Holton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Circleville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Larkinburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Larkinburg is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larkinburg
- Soldier
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Silver Lake, with the one closest to Silver Lake listed first.
- Grantville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Grantville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grantville
- Meriden
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Rock Creek
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Rock Creek is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Creek
- Hilldale South
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Hilldale South is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilldale South
- Hilldale
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Hilldale is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilldale
- Lake Ridge
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Lake Ridge is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Ridge
- Newman
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Newman is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newman
- West Shore
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- West Shore is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Shore
- Indian Ridge
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Indian Ridge is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Ridge
- Thompsonville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Thompsonville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompsonville
- Ozawkie
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Lakeside Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Lakeside Village is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeside Village
- Osage County
- The following are listed by their distance from Silver Lake, with the one closest to Silver Lake listed first.
- Mineral Springs
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Mineral Springs is located in Osage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral Springs
- Carbondale
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Carbondale is located in Osage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbondale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,347 people
- Burlingame
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Burlingame is located in Osage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlingame
- Population from the 2020 Census: 884 people
- Former name for Burlingame:
- American Settlement
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Burlingame <1>
- Scranton
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Overbrook
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Peterton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Peterton is located in Osage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peterton
- Pottawatomie County
- The following are listed by their distance from Silver Lake, with the one closest to Silver Lake listed first.
- Saint Marys
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Emmett
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Belvue
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Belvue is located in Pottawatomie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belvue
- Population from the 2020 Census: 204 people
- Saint Clere
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Clere is located in Pottawatomie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clere
- Aikins
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Aikins is located in Pottawatomie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aikins
- Wamego
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Louisville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Louisville is located in Pottawatomie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Louisville
- 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>
- Havensville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Saint George
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Riley County
- Zeandale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Zeandale is located in Riley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zeandale
- Wabaunsee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Silver Lake, with the one closest to Silver Lake listed first.
- Maple Hill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Vera
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Vera is located in Wabaunsee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vera
- Paxico
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- McFarland
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- McFarland is located in Wabaunsee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McFarland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 250 people
- Eskridge
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Eskridge is located in Wabaunsee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eskridge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 502 people
- Harveyville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Harveyville is located in Wabaunsee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harveyville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 246 people
- Alma
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Wilmington
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Wilmington is located in Wabaunsee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmington
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Silver Lake, see our County-by-County Page for Silver Lake.
Cemeteries Near Silver Lake ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Silver Lake.
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.
Although we don't have the information ourselves, if you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our list of websites on our Genealogy Helper Page for Silver Lake - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Silver Lake covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Silver Lake, with the one closest to Silver Lake listed first.
- Silver Lake Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Valencia Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- West Lawn Memorial Gardens
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Uniontown Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Security Benefit Association Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Prairie Home Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Rossville Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Walnut Hill Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Mission Center Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Mt. Hope Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mt. Hope Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Mt. Hope Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Topeka.
- The Mt. Hope Cemetery has also been known as:
- Fairlawn Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #93131 <2>
- Mt. Calvary Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Penwell - Gabel Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penwell - Gabel Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Penwell - Gabel Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Topeka.
- The Penwell - Gabel Cemetery has also been known as:
- Memorial Park Cemetery
- Pen Well - Gabel Cemetery
- Penwell Gabel Memorial Park
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #93016 <2>
- Continue List (136 more) ...
- Topeka State Hospital Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- HalfDay Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Elevation Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 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.<3>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Silver Lake had a population of 256 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Silver Lake had a population of 1,395 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Silver Lake, with the one closest to Silver Lake listed first.
- Valencia
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Valencia is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valencia
- Willard
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Willard is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willard
- Population from the 2020 Census: 88 people
- Menoken
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Menoken is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Menoken
- Rossville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Elmont
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Elmont is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmont
- Maple Hill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Dover
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Topeka
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- North Topeka
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- North Topeka is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Topeka
- Oakland
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Oakland is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
- Pauline
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Pauline is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pauline
- Saint Marys
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Keene
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Keene is located in Wabaunsee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keene
- Auburn
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Auburn is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auburn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,203 people
- Hoyt
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Silver Lake. See our List of 1890's Communities around Silver Lake.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Silver Lake ...
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 505 newspapers that have been published in the area around Silver Lake.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Silver Lake. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Silver Lake and those printed in the larger area surrounding Silver Lake.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4> of Silver Lake.
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 Silver Lake:
- Websites specific to Kansas
- Pages specific to Shawnee County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Atchison County
- Douglas County
- Jackson County
- Jefferson County
- Osage County
- Pottawatomie County
- Riley County
- Wabaunsee County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Kansas
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 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. |
| <3> | 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 Silver Lake, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Silver Lake) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |