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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 Syracuse (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 Syracuse. 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 Syracuse ...

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.

Syracuse was originally named Hollidaysburg

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 Syracuse ...

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

  • The naming (or the toponymy) of Syracuse: Named after Syracuse, New York (NY).
  • The city of Syracuse was founded in 1873.

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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Syracuse is located in Hamilton County and is the County Seat.

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 Hamilton County: Prowers (CO), Grant, Greeley, Kearny, Stanton & Wichita.

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

  • Hamilton County     (The home county of Syracuse)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Syracuse, with the one closest to Syracuse listed first.
    • Kendall
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kendall have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kendall
      • Kendall is located in Hamilton County
    • Coolidge
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • Kearny County
    • Lakin
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
  • Stanton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Syracuse, with the one closest to Syracuse listed first.
    • Johnson
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Big Bow
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Bow
      • Big Bow is located in Stanton County
  • Prowers County (CO)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Syracuse, with the one closest to Syracuse listed first.
    • Holly
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly
      • Holly is located in Prowers County (CO)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 775 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Holly <2>
    • Hartman
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hartman have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartman
      • Hartman is located in Prowers County (CO)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 76 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hartman <2>
    • Granada
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granada
      • Granada is located in Prowers County (CO)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 509 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Granada <2>

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Syracuse ...

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 Syracuse.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Syracuse. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Syracuse and those printed in the larger area surrounding Syracuse.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3> of Syracuse.

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 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 Syracuse:

Cemeteries Near Syracuse ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Syracuse.

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

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

  • Syracuse Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Syracuse Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Syracuse Cemetery
  • Ebenfleur Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ebenfleur Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ebenfleur Cemetery
  • Kendall Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Kendall Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Kendall Cemetery
  • Sunnyvale Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sunnyvale Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sunnyvale Cemetery
  • Coolidge Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • Menno Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Menno Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Menno Cemetery
  • Bear Creek Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Bear Creek Cemetery is located 18 miles [29 km]<3> to the northeast of Syracuse.
    • The Bear Creek Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Hatton Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bear Creek Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #91996 <4>
  • Mitchell Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mitchell Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mitchell Cemetery
  • Holly Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Holly Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Holly Cemetery
  • Hartland Cemetery
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hartland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hartland Cemetery
  • Garder Cemetery
    (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Garder Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Garder Cemetery
  • Fairview Cemetery
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fairview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fairview Cemetery
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Amity Cemetery
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Amity Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Amity Cemetery
    • Shockey Cemetery
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Shockey Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Shockey Cemetery
    • Hartman Cemetery
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hartman Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hartman Cemetery

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 Syracuse had a population of 324 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Syracuse had a population of 1,631 people.

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

  • Mayline
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mayline have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayline
    • Mayline is located in Hamilton County
  • Medway
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Medway have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medway
    • Medway is located in Hamilton County
  • Kendall
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kendall have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kendall
    • Kendall is located in Hamilton County
  • Coolidge
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • Hatton
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hatton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<6>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatton
    • Hatton is located in Hamilton County
  • Holly
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly
    • Holly is located in Prowers County (CO)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 775 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Holly <2>
  • Hartland
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hartland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
    • Hartland is located in Kearny County
  • Lakin
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
  • Johnson
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)

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

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

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>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Syracuse) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Syracuse. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.9844, Longitude: -101.7510    
<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 Syracuse, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024