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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 Viola (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 Viola. 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 southwest 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 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 west 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.

Viola is located in Sedgwick 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 Sedgwick County: Butler, Cowley, Harvey, Kingman, Reno & Sumner.

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

  • Sedgwick County     (The home county of Viola)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Viola, with the one closest to Viola listed first.
    • Anness
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Anness. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anness
      • Anness is located in Sedgwick County
    • Clonmel
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clonmel
      • Clonmel is located in Sedgwick County
    • Clearwater
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Garden Plain
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garden Plain have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Plain
      • Garden Plain is located in Sedgwick County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 912 people
    • Bayneville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayneville
      • Bayneville is located in Sedgwick County
    • Cheney
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Goddard
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Peck
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Murray Gill
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murray Gill
      • Murray Gill is located in Sedgwick County
    • Haysville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Haysville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haysville
      • Haysville is located in Sedgwick County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,389 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Haysville <2>
    • Oatville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oatville
      • Oatville is located in Sedgwick County
    • Wego-Waco
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wego-Waco
      • Wego-Waco is located in Sedgwick County
    • Waco
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Waco have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waco
      • Waco is located in Sedgwick County
  • Butler County
    • Rose Hill
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rose Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Hill
      • Rose Hill is located in Butler County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,979 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rose Hill <2>
  • Cowley County
    • Udall
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Udall have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Udall
      • Udall is located in Cowley County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 701 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Udall <2>
  • Harper County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Viola, with the one closest to Viola listed first.
    • Runnymede
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • 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.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Runnymede
      • Runnymede is located in Harper County
    • Danville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • 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
    • Freeport
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeport
      • Freeport is located in Harper County
      • Estimated population in 2019: 4 people
    • Harper
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Duquoin
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duquoin
      • Duquoin is located in Harper County
    • Anthony
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Bluff City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bluff City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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
  • Kingman County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Viola, with the one closest to Viola listed first.
    • Norwich
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Norwich have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwich
      • Norwich is located in Kingman County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 427 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Norwich <2>
    • Murdock
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Murdock have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murdock
      • Murdock is located in Kingman County
    • Adams
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • 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.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adams
      • Adams is located in Kingman County
    • Belmont
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
      • Belmont is located in Kingman County
    • Alameda
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Alameda. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alameda
      • Alameda is located in Kingman County
    • Rago
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rago have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rago
      • Rago is located in Kingman County
    • Kingman
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Spivey
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spivey
      • Spivey is located in Kingman County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 76 people
  • Reno County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Viola, with the one closest to Viola listed first.
    • Saint Joe
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Joe have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Joe
      • Saint Joe is located in Reno County
    • Haven
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Haven have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haven
      • Haven is located in Reno County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,184 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Haven <2>
    • Pretty Prairie
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pretty Prairie have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pretty Prairie
      • Pretty Prairie is located in Reno County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 645 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pretty Prairie <2>
  • Sumner County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Viola, with the one closest to Viola listed first.
    • Millerton
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Millerton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerton
      • Millerton is located in Sumner County
    • Conway Springs
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Milton
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Milton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milton
      • Milton is located in Sumner County
    • Ewell
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ewell. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ewell
      • Ewell is located in Sumner County
    • Anson
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Anson. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anson
      • Anson is located in Sumner County
    • Milan
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milan
      • Milan is located in Sumner County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 77 people
    • Mayfield
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mayfield have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayfield
      • Mayfield is located in Sumner County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 104 people
    • Argonia
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Roland
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roland
      • Roland is located in Sumner County
    • Cicero
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cicero. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cicero
      • Cicero is located in Sumner County
    • Belle Plaine
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Belle Plaine have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Plaine
      • Belle Plaine is located in Sumner County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,535 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Belle Plaine <2>
    • Wellington
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Perth
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Perth. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perth
      • Perth is located in Sumner County

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

Cemeteries Near Viola ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Viola.

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

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

  • Viola Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Peotone Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Peotone Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Peotone Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Harrington Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Harrington Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Harrington Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Eden Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Eden Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Eden Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Conway Springs Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Conway Springs Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Conway Springs Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Amish Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Amish Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Amish Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Spring Hill Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Spring Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Spring Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Josephs Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Josephs Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Josephs Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Clearwater Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Clearwater Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Clearwater Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Johns Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Johns Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Old St. Johns Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old St. Johns Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old St. Johns Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Ruby Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ruby Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ruby Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (118 more) ...
    • Stitch Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Stitch Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Stitch Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Greencastle Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Greencastle Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Greencastle Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Worden Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Viola had a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Viola had a population of 126 people.

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

  • Anness
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Anness. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anness
    • Anness is located in Sedgwick County
  • Millerton
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Millerton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerton
    • Millerton is located in Sumner County
  • Conway Springs
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Milton
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Milton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milton
    • Milton is located in Sumner County
  • Clearwater
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Ewell
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ewell. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ewell
    • Ewell is located in Sumner County
  • Anson
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Anson. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anson
    • Anson is located in Sumner County
  • Norwich
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Norwich have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwich
    • Norwich is located in Kingman County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 427 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Norwich <2>
  • Bayneville
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayneville
    • Bayneville is located in Sedgwick County
  • Cheney
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Garden Plain
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garden Plain have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Plain
    • Garden Plain is located in Sedgwick County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 912 people
  • Goddard
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Zyba
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Zyba have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zyba
      • Zyba is located in Sumner County
      • Zyba has also been known as:
      • Zuba
      • Zyber
    • Peck
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Milan
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milan
      • Milan is located in Sumner County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 77 people

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

Newspapers Published in Viola ...

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 257 newspapers that have been published in the area around Viola.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Viola, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Viola.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Viola:

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

The official website for Sedgwick County: www.sedgwickcounty.org/

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>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<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 Viola, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Viola) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Viola. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.4829, Longitude: -97.6444       In this case, the coordinates for Viola have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 13 Jul 2025