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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 Waldo (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 Waldo. 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 Waldo ...

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.

Prior to its current name of Waldo, it was known as Pleasant Run.

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 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.

Waldo is located in Russell 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 Russell County: Barton, Ellis, Ellsworth, Lincoln, Osborne, Rooks & Rush.

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

  • Russell County     (The home county of Waldo)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Waldo, with the one closest to Waldo listed first.
    • Luray
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Paradise
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Paradise have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise
      • Paradise is located in Russell County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 48 people
    • Lucas
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Russell
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Balta ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Balta. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balta
      • Balta is located in Russell County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Balta
      • From Waldo to Balta
    • Bunker Hill
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bunker Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunker Hill
      • Bunker Hill is located in Russell County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 93 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bunker Hill <2>
    • Gorham
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gorham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gorham
      • Gorham is located in Russell County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 336 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gorham <2>
    • Dorrance
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dorrance have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorrance
      • Dorrance is located in Russell County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 180 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dorrance <2>
    • Milberger
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
  • Barton County
  • Ellis County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Waldo, with the one closest to Waldo listed first.
    • Emmeram
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Walker
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walker have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walker
      • Walker is located in Ellis County
    • Turkville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Turkville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkville
      • Turkville is located in Ellis County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Turkville
      • From Waldo to Turkville
    • Catharine
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Catharine have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catharine
      • Catharine is located in Ellis County
      • Catharine has also been known as:
      • Catherine
    • Victoria
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Victoria have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victoria
      • Victoria is located in Ellis County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,215 people
    • Toulon
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Toulon. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toulon
      • Toulon is located in Ellis County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Toulon
      • From Waldo to Toulon
  • Ellsworth County
    • Wilson
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Lincoln County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Waldo, with the one closest to Waldo listed first.
    • Sylvan Grove
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sylvan Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvan Grove
      • Sylvan Grove is located in Lincoln County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 269 people
      • Sylvan Grove has also been known as:
      • Sylvan Grove Station
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sylvan Grove <2>
    • Denmark
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
  • Mitchell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Waldo, with the one closest to Waldo listed first.
    • Hunter
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hunter have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunter
      • Hunter is located in Mitchell County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 53 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hunter <2>
    • Tipton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Blue Hill
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blue Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Hill
      • Blue Hill is located in Mitchell County
  • Osborne County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Waldo, with the one closest to Waldo listed first.
    • Natoma
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Natoma have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Natoma
      • Natoma is located in Osborne County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 296 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Natoma <2>
    • Bloomington
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Osborne
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Alton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alton
      • Alton is located in Osborne County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 92 people
    • Downs
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Rooks County

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

Cemeteries Near Waldo ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Waldo.

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

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

  • Grand Center Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Amherst Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Luray Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Vincent Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Vincent Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Vincent Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Cole Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cole Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cole Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. Herman Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Victor Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Victor Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Victor Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Cedar Bluff Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cedar Bluff Cemetery
    • 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.
  • Cheyenne Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cheyenne Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cheyenne Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Potterville Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Potterville Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Potterville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • IXL Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the IXL Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the IXL Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Covert Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Covert Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Covert Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (88 more) ...
    • Naomi Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Naomi Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Naomi Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Fairport Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fairport Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fairport Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Round Mound Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Round Mound Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Round Mound Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 in 1895, Waldo had a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Waldo had a population of 29 people.

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

  • Luray
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Vincent
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vincent have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vincent
    • Vincent is located in Osborne County
  • Paradise
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Paradise have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise
    • Paradise is located in Russell County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 48 people
  • Cheyenne
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cheyenne have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheyenne
    • Cheyenne is located in Osborne County
    • Cheyenne has also been known as:
    • Cheyenne City
  • Covert
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Covert have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Covert
    • Covert is located in Osborne County
  • Natoma
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Natoma have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Natoma
    • Natoma is located in Osborne County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 296 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Natoma <2>
  • Fairport
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fairport have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairport
    • Fairport is located in Russell County
  • Lucas
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Russell
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
  • Homer
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Homer have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homer
    • Homer is located in Russell County
  • Bunker Hill
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bunker Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunker Hill
    • Bunker Hill is located in Russell County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 93 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bunker Hill <2>
  • Laton
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Laton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laton
    • Laton is located in Rooks County
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Gorham
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gorham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gorham
      • Gorham is located in Russell County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 336 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gorham <2>
    • Codell
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Dorrance
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dorrance have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorrance
      • Dorrance is located in Russell County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 180 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dorrance <2>

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Waldo ...

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 98 newspapers that have been published in the area around Waldo.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Waldo. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Waldo and those printed in the larger area surrounding Waldo.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<6> of Waldo.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Waldo:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Waldo. 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>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>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 Waldo, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Waldo) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Waldo. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.1205, Longitude: -98.7983    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025