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 Toronto (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 Toronto. 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 doctors and hospitals 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.
Toronto is located in Woodson 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 Woodson County: Allen, Anderson, Coffey, Greenwood, Neosho & Wilson.
Below are the counties that are near Toronto. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Toronto:
- Woodson County (The home county of Toronto)
- The following are listed by their distance from Toronto, with the one closest to Toronto listed first.
- Yates Center
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Yates Center have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yates Center
- Yates Center is located in Woodson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,267 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Yates Center <2>
- Rose
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east) - Durand
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durand
- Durand is located in Woodson County
- Cookville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east) - North Ridge ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Ridge
- North Ridge is located in Woodson County
- Athens
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast) - Vernon
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vernon
- Vernon is located in Woodson County
- Piqua
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piqua
- Piqua is located in Woodson County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Piqua <2>
- Neosho Falls
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Neosho Falls have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neosho Falls
- Neosho Falls is located in Woodson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 133 people
- Allen County
- The following are listed by their distance from Toronto, with the one closest to Toronto listed first.
- Petrolia
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east) - Humboldt
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Humboldt
- Humboldt is located in Allen County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,778 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Humboldt <2>
- Octagon City ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Octagon City. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Octagon City
- Octagon City is located in Allen County
- Geneva
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geneva
- Geneva is located in Allen County
- Bassett
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Coffey County
- The following are listed by their distance from Toronto, with the one closest to Toronto listed first.
- Gridley
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north) - Le Roy
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Le Roy
- Le Roy is located in Coffey County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 539 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Le Roy <2>
- Burlington
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)- 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 Coffey County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,545 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Burlington <2>
- Elk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Toronto, with the one closest to Toronto listed first.
- Cave Springs
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cave Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cave Springs
- Cave Springs is located in Elk County
- Fiat
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest) - Busby
(23 miles [37 km] to the south) - Upola
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south) - Howard
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howard
- Howard is located in Elk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 600 people
- Former name for Howard:
- Howard City
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Howard <2>
- Longton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longton
- Longton is located in Elk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 306 people
- Former name for Longton:
- Elk Rapids
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Longton <2>
- Greenwood County
- The following are listed by their distance from Toronto, with the one closest to Toronto listed first.
- Neal
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neal
- Neal is located in Greenwood County
- Virgil
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north) - Fall River
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fall River have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fall River
- Fall River is located in Greenwood County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 142 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fall River <2>
- Climax
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west) - Hamilton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hamilton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamilton
- Hamilton is located in Greenwood County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 238 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hamilton <2>
- Eureka
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eureka have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka
- Eureka is located in Greenwood County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,301 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eureka <2>
- Severy
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Severy
- Severy is located in Greenwood County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 224 people
- Lamont
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamont
- Lamont is located in Greenwood County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lamont <2>
- Madison
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Madison have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madison
- Madison is located in Greenwood County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 606 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Madison <2>
- Piedmont
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Piedmont have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piedmont
- Piedmont is located in Greenwood County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Piedmont <2>
- Lapland
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest) - Reece
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reece
- Reece is located in Greenwood County
- Neosho County
- The following are listed by their distance from Toronto, with the one closest to Toronto listed first.
- Chanute
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chanute
- Chanute is located in Neosho County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,991 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chanute <2>
- Earlton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Wilson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Toronto, with the one closest to Toronto listed first.
- Coyville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coyville
- Coyville is located in Wilson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 41 people
- Middletown
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Middletown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middletown
- Middletown is located in Wilson County
- New Albany
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Albany have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Albany
- New Albany is located in Wilson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 50 people
- Buffalo
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast) - Roper
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roper
- Roper is located in Wilson County
- Benedict
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benedict
- Benedict is located in Wilson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 65 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Benedict <2>
- Rest
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast) - Fredonia
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fredonia have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredonia
- Fredonia is located in Wilson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,182 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fredonia <2>
- South Ridge ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Ridge
- South Ridge is located in Wilson County
- Vilas
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast) - Buxton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buxton
- Buxton is located in Wilson County
- Altoona
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altoona
- Altoona is located in Wilson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 371 people
- Hilford
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Toronto, see our County-by-County Page for Toronto.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Toronto ...
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 70 newspapers that have been published in the area around Toronto.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Toronto. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Toronto and those printed in the larger area surrounding Toronto.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<4> of Toronto.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Toronto:
- Websites specific to Kansas
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Website for the Kansas Historical Society
- Pages specific to Woodson County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Allen County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Coffey County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Elk County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Greenwood County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Neosho County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Wilson County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Allen County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Kansas
- Cemetery Junction: Cemeteries of Kansas
- Cyndi's List
- Cemeteries of Kansas
- Cemeteries of Woodson County
- FamilySearch.org: Cemeteries of Kansas
- Find-A-Grave: Home Page
- Interment.net
- Cemeteries of Kansas
- Cemeteries of Woodson County
Cemeteries Near Toronto ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Toronto.
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 Toronto covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Toronto, with the one closest to Toronto listed first.
- Toronto Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Toronto Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Toronto Cemetery
- Cedar Bluff Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cedar Bluff Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cedar Bluff Cemetery
- Carlisle Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Carlisle Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Carlisle Cemetery
- Big Sandy Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Big Sandy Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Big Sandy Cemetery
- Rocky Ford Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rocky Ford Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rocky Ford Cemetery
- Quincy Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Quincy Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Quincy Cemetery
- Caley Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Caley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Caley Cemetery
- Neal Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Neal Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Neal Cemetery
- Coyville Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Coyville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Coyville Cemetery
- Trimmell Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Trimmell Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Trimmell Cemetery
- Little Sandy Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Little Sandy Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Little Sandy Cemetery
- Pleasant Valley Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Valley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Valley Cemetery
- Continue List (114 more) ...
- Belmont Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Belmont Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Belmont Cemetery
- Township Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Township Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Township Cemetery
- Pike Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pike Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pike Cemetery
- Belmont 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 Toronto had a population of 552 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Toronto had a population of 252 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Toronto, with the one closest to Toronto listed first.
- Batesville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Batesville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Batesville
- Batesville is located in Woodson County
- Quincy
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest) - Neal
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neal
- Neal is located in Greenwood County
- Coyville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coyville
- Coyville is located in Wilson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 41 people
- Middletown
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Middletown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middletown
- Middletown is located in Wilson County
- Yates Center
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Yates Center have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yates Center
- Yates Center is located in Woodson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,267 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Yates Center <2>
- Virgil
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north) - Fall River
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fall River have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fall River
- Fall River is located in Greenwood County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 142 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fall River <2>
- Tonovay
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west) - Rose
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east) - Climax
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west) - New Albany
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Albany have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Albany
- New Albany is located in Wilson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 50 people
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Roper
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roper
- Roper is located in Wilson County
- Buffalo
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast) - Benedict Junction
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Benedict Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benedict Junction
- Benedict Junction is located in Wilson County
- Roper
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Toronto. See our List of 1890's Communities around Toronto.
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Toronto. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Woodson County: www.woodsoncounty.net/
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> | 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. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Toronto) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Toronto. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.7985, Longitude: -95.9496 In this case, the coordinates for Toronto have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Toronto, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |