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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 Sylvia (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 Sylvia. 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 Sylvia ...

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.

Sylvia has also been known as: Anderson's Farm.

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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most 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.

Sylvia is located in Reno 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 Reno County: Harvey, Kingman, McPherson, Pratt, Rice, Sedgwick & Stafford.

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

  • Reno County     (The home county of Sylvia)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sylvia, with the one closest to Sylvia listed first.
    • Plevna
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Huntsville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Huntsville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntsville
      • Huntsville is located in Reno County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Huntsville
      • From Sylvia to Huntsville
    • Langdon
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Jordan Springs
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Turon
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Turon have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turon
      • Turon is located in Reno County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 370 people
      • Former name for Turon:
      • Pioneer City
    • Abbyville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Abbyville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbyville
      • Abbyville is located in Reno County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 86 people
    • Arlington
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arlington have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington
      • Arlington is located in Reno County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 445 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Arlington <3>
    • Kilbourns Corner
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Charters Corner
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Lerado
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lerado. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lerado
      • Lerado is located in Reno County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Lerado
      • From Sylvia to Lerado
    • McVays Corner
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Partridge
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
  • Barton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sylvia, with the one closest to Sylvia listed first.
    • Ellinwood
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Dartmouth
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Dartmouth. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dartmouth
      • Dartmouth is located in Barton County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Dartmouth
      • From Sylvia to Dartmouth
  • Kingman County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sylvia, with the one closest to Sylvia listed first.
    • Penalosa
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Cunningham
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cunningham have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cunningham
      • Cunningham is located in Kingman County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 428 people
    • Kingman
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Pratt County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sylvia, with the one closest to Sylvia listed first.
    • Preston
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Cairo
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Natrona
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Natrona. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Natrona
      • Natrona is located in Pratt County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Natrona
      • From Sylvia to Natrona
    • Iuka
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Iuka have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iuka
      • Iuka is located in Pratt County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 156 people
    • Byers
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Byers have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byers
      • Byers is located in Pratt County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 33 people
    • Pratt
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Rice County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sylvia, with the one closest to Sylvia listed first.
    • Alden
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alden have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alden
      • Alden is located in Rice County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 139 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alden <3>
    • Sterling
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Raymond
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Silica
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Silica. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silica
      • Silica is located in Rice County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Silica
      • From Sylvia to Silica
    • Saxman
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Saxman. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saxman
      • Saxman is located in Rice County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Saxman
      • From Sylvia to Saxman
    • Chase
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chase have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chase
      • Chase is located in Rice County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 429 people
    • Lyons
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lyons have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyons
      • Lyons is located in Rice County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,433 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lyons <3>
  • Stafford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sylvia, with the one closest to Sylvia listed first.
    • Neola
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Neola. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neola
      • Neola is located in Stafford County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Neola
      • From Sylvia to Neola
    • Stafford
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Hudson
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hudson have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudson
      • Hudson is located in Stafford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 122 people
    • Saint John
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint John have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint John
      • Saint John is located in Stafford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,139 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint John <3>
    • Seward
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seward have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seward
      • Seward is located in Stafford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 62 people
    • Radium
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Macksville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)

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

Cemeteries Near Sylvia ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sylvia.

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

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

  • Sylvia Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sylvia Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sylvia Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hazen Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hazen Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hazen Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Glendale Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Glendale Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Glendale Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hayes Twp. Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hayes Twp. Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hayes Twp. Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • The Hayes Twp. Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Hayes Cemetery
  • Pleven Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleven Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleven Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lutheran Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Hinshaw Family Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hinshaw Family Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hinshaw Family Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pleasant Valley Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Valley Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Valley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Peace Creek Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Neola Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Neola Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Neola Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Langdon Maple Hill Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Langdon Maple Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Langdon Maple Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bainum Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (68 more) ...
    • Old Langdon Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Langdon Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Langdon Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Pleasant View Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant View Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant View Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Turin Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Turin Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Turin 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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Sylvia had a population of 205 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Sylvia had a population of 204 people.

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

  • Plevna
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Neola
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Neola. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neola
    • Neola is located in Stafford County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Neola
    • From Sylvia to Neola
  • Langdon
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Huntsville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Huntsville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntsville
    • Huntsville is located in Reno County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Huntsville
    • From Sylvia to Huntsville
  • Turon
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Turon have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turon
    • Turon is located in Reno County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 370 people
    • Former name for Turon:
    • Pioneer City
  • Stafford
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Abbyville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Abbyville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbyville
    • Abbyville is located in Reno County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 86 people
  • Arlington
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arlington have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington
    • Arlington is located in Reno County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 445 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Arlington <3>
  • Lerado
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lerado. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lerado
    • Lerado is located in Reno County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Lerado
    • From Sylvia to Lerado
  • Preston
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Penalosa
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
  • Partridge
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Hudson
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hudson have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudson
      • Hudson is located in Stafford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 122 people
    • Saint John
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint John have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint John
      • Saint John is located in Stafford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,139 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint John <3>
    • Sterling
      (20 miles [32.2 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 Sylvia. See our List of 1890's Communities around Sylvia.

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Sylvia ...

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 114 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sylvia.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

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

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 professional and volunteer 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 Sylvia:

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

The official website for Reno County: www.rngov.reno.ks.us/

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 Sylvia, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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- Sylvia) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Sylvia. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.9590, Longitude: -98.4086    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025