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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 Waterville (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 Waterville. 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 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.

Waterville is located in Marshall 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 Marshall County: Nemaha, Pottawatomie, Riley, Washington, Gage (NE) & Pawnee (NE).

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

  • Marshall County     (The home county of Waterville)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Waterville, with the one closest to Waterville listed first.
    • Blue Rapids
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blue Rapids have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Rapids
      • Blue Rapids is located in Marshall County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 960 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Blue Rapids <2>
    • Alcove Spring ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Irving ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Irving. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irving
      • Irving is located in Marshall County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Irving
      • From Waterville to Irving
    • Marysville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Carden
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Carden. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carden
      • Carden is located in Marshall County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Carden
      • From Waterville to Carden
    • Bremen
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Winifred
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Home
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Frankfort
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Marietta
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Marietta. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marietta
      • Marietta is located in Marshall County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Marietta
      • From Waterville to Marietta
    • Oketo
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Beattie
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Clay County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Waterville, with the one closest to Waterville listed first.
    • Green
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Garfield Center
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Oscar ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oscar have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oscar
      • Oscar is located in Clay County
    • Morganville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Clay Center
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Broughton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Broughton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broughton
      • Broughton is located in Clay County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Broughton
      • From Waterville to Broughton
    • Vining
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vining have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vining
      • Vining is located in Clay County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 42 people
  • Pottawatomie County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Waterville, with the one closest to Waterville listed first.
    • Olsburg
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Olsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olsburg
      • Olsburg is located in Pottawatomie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 223 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Olsburg <2>
    • Fostoria
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Fostoria. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fostoria
      • Fostoria is located in Pottawatomie County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Fostoria
      • From Waterville to Fostoria
    • Blaine
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Wheaton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wheaton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheaton
      • Wheaton is located in Pottawatomie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 116 people
    • Westmoreland
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Duluth
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Riley County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Waterville, with the one closest to Waterville listed first.
    • Winkler
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Winkler. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winkler
      • Winkler is located in Riley County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Winkler
      • From Waterville to Winkler
    • May Day
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Randolph
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Walsburg
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Walsburg. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walsburg
      • Walsburg is located in Riley County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Walsburg
      • From Waterville to Walsburg
    • Lasita ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lasita have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lasita
      • Lasita is located in Riley County
    • Leonardville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Riley
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Bala
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
  • Washington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Waterville, with the one closest to Waterville listed first.
    • Barnes
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Chepstow
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Chepstow. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chepstow
      • Chepstow is located in Washington County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Chepstow
      • From Waterville to Chepstow
    • Greenleaf
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenleaf have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenleaf
      • Greenleaf is located in Washington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 303 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Greenleaf <2>
    • Kimeo
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Kimeo. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimeo
      • Kimeo is located in Washington County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Kimeo
      • From Waterville to Kimeo
    • Hanover
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hanover have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanover
      • Hanover is located in Washington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 650 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hanover <2>
    • Linn
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Washington
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Palmer
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Lanham
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Hollenberg
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hollenberg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollenberg
      • Hollenberg is located in Washington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 20 people
    • Morrowville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Blocker ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Blocker. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blocker
      • Blocker is located in Washington County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Blocker
      • From Waterville to Blocker
  • Gage County (NE)
  • Jefferson County (NE)

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

Cemeteries Near Waterville ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Waterville.

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

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

  • Riverside Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Riverside Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Riverside Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Kenyon Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Kenyon Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Kenyon Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Harbaugh Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Harbaugh Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Harbaugh Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Keefover Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Keefover Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Keefover Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Prospect Hill Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Prospect Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Prospect Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pleasant Hill Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Greenwood Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Greenwood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Fairmont Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fairmont Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fairmont Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mound Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Cottage Hill Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cottage Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cottage Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Saville Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Saville Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Saville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Boniface Catholic Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (174 more) ...

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 Waterville had a population of 577 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Waterville had a population of 633 people.

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

  • Blue Rapids
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blue Rapids have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Rapids
    • Blue Rapids is located in Marshall County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 960 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Blue Rapids <2>
  • Schroyer
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Schroyer have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schroyer
    • Schroyer is located in Marshall County
  • Barnes
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Irving ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Irving. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irving
    • Irving is located in Marshall County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Irving
    • From Waterville to Irving
  • Chepstow
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Chepstow. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chepstow
    • Chepstow is located in Washington County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Chepstow
    • From Waterville to Chepstow
  • Marysville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Reedsville
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reedsville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reedsville
    • Reedsville is located in Marshall County
    • Reedsville has also been known as:
    • Hazelville
  • Greenleaf
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenleaf have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenleaf
    • Greenleaf is located in Washington County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 303 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Greenleaf <2>
  • Herkimer
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Herkimer have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herkimer
    • Herkimer is located in Marshall County
  • Kimeo
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Kimeo. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimeo
    • Kimeo is located in Washington County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Kimeo
    • From Waterville to Kimeo
  • Bremen
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Winkler
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Winkler. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winkler
    • Winkler is located in Riley County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Winkler
    • From Waterville to Winkler
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Hanover
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hanover have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanover
      • Hanover is located in Washington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 650 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hanover <2>
    • Home
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Frankfort
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)

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

Newspapers Published in Waterville ...

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 55 newspapers that have been published in the area around Waterville.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Waterville, 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 Waterville.

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 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 Waterville:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Waterville. 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 Waterville, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Waterville) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Waterville. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.6914, Longitude: -96.7493    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025