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 Wamego (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 Wamego. 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.
Wamego is located in Pottawatomie County.
To see how the shape of Kansas' counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Pottawatomie County: Jackson, Marshall, Nemaha, Riley, Shawnee & Wabaunsee.
Below are the counties that are near Wamego. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Wamego:
- Pottawatomie County (The home county of Wamego)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wamego, with the one closest to Wamego listed first.
- Louisville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Louisville is located in Pottawatomie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Louisville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 228 people
- Louisville has also been known as:
- Louisville Springs
- Rock City
- Rock Creek Falls
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Louisville <1>
- Saint George
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Belvue
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Belvue is located in Pottawatomie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belvue
- Population from the 2020 Census: 204 people
- Saint Marys
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Westmoreland
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Aikins
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Aikins is located in Pottawatomie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aikins
- Emmett
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Saint Clere
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Saint Clere is located in Pottawatomie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clere
- Fostoria
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Fostoria is located in Pottawatomie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fostoria
- Blaine
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Blaine is located in Pottawatomie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blaine
- Wheaton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Wheaton is located in Pottawatomie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheaton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 116 people
- Onaga
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Geary County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wamego, with the one closest to Wamego listed first.
- Grandview Plaza
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Grandview Plaza is located in Geary County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview Plaza
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,553 people
- Junction City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wamego, with the one closest to Wamego listed first.
- Delia
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Delia is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 176 people
- Avoca ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Avoca is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avoca
- Soldier
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Morris County
- Dwight
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Dwight is located in Morris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dwight
- Population from the 2020 Census: 255 people
- Nemaha County
- America City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- America City is located in Nemaha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for America City
- Riley County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wamego, with the one closest to Wamego listed first.
- Zeandale
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Zeandale is located in Riley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zeandale
- Pillsbury Crossing ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Pillsbury Crossing is located in Riley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pillsbury Crossing
- Fairmont
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Fairmont is located in Riley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmont
- Manhattan
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Ashland ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Ashland is located in Riley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
- Ashland has also been known as:
- Ashland Bottoms
- Eureka Lake
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Eureka Lake is located in Riley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka Lake
- Keats
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Keats is located in Riley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keats
- Ogden
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Randolph
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Randolph is located in Riley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randolph
- Population from the 2020 Census: 156 people
- Riley
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Riley is located in Riley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 955 people
- Former names for Riley:
- Riley Center
- Union
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Riley <1>
- Walsburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Walsburg is located in Riley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walsburg
- Shawnee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wamego, with the one closest to Wamego listed first.
- Rossville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Willard
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Willard is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willard
- Population from the 2020 Census: 88 people
- Silver Lake
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Dover
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Kiro
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Kiro is located in Shawnee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kiro
- Wabaunsee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wamego, with the one closest to Wamego listed first.
- McFarland
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- McFarland is located in Wabaunsee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McFarland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 250 people
- Paxico
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Alma
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Vera
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Vera is located in Wabaunsee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vera
- Maple Hill
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Alta Vista
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Eskridge
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Eskridge is located in Wabaunsee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eskridge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 502 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Wamego, see our County-by-County Page for Wamego.
Cemeteries Near Wamego ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wamego.
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.
Although we don't have the information ourselves, if you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our list of websites on our Genealogy Helper Page for Wamego - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Wamego covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Wamego, with the one closest to Wamego listed first.
- St. Bernard Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Wabaunsee Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Louisville Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Vieux Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- St. George Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Old County Farm Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Belvue Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Polly Creek Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Line Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant Hill Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Greenwood Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Continue List (131 more) ...
- Pleasant Valley Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Valley Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Pleasant Valley Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<2> to the southwest of Zeandale.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #93374 <3>
- Meacham - Van Antwarp Family Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Smith Family Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
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.<4>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Wamego had a population of 1,473 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Wamego had a population of 4,718 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Wamego, with the one closest to Wamego listed first.
- Louisville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Louisville is located in Pottawatomie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Louisville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 228 people
- Louisville has also been known as:
- Louisville Springs
- Rock City
- Rock Creek Falls
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Louisville <1>
- Wabaunsee
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Wabaunsee is located in Wabaunsee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wabaunsee
- Saint George
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Belvue
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Belvue is located in Pottawatomie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belvue
- Population from the 2020 Census: 204 people
- Laclede
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Laclede is located in Pottawatomie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laclede
- McFarland
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- McFarland is located in Wabaunsee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McFarland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 250 people
- Paxico
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Alma
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Saint Marys
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Westmoreland
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Vera
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Vera is located in Wabaunsee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vera
- Manhattan
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Eureka Lake
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Eureka Lake is located in Riley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka Lake
- Maple Hill
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Saint Clere
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Saint Clere is located in Pottawatomie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clere
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Wamego. See our List of 1890's Communities around Wamego.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Wamego ...
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 43 newspapers that have been published in the area around Wamego.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Wamego. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Wamego and those printed in the larger area surrounding Wamego.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<2> of Wamego.
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 Wamego:
- Websites specific to Kansas
- Pages specific to Pottawatomie County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Geary County
- Jackson County
- Morris County
- Nemaha County
- Riley County
- Shawnee County
- Wabaunsee County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Kansas
Footnotes ...
| <1> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <2> | 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- Wamego) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 Wamego, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |