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 Wesley Center (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 Wesley Center. 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 Wesley Center ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Wesley Center: Wesley Ctr. (or less commonly used: Wesley Cen., Wesley Cent. or Wesley Cntr.)
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 southwest 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 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.
Wesley Center is located in Jewell 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 Jewell County: Cloud, Mitchell, Osborne, Republic, Smith, Nuckolls (NE) & Webster (NE).
Below are the counties that are near Wesley Center. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Wesley Center:
- Jewell County (The home county of Wesley Center)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wesley Center, with the one closest to Wesley Center listed first.
- Burr Oak
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Burr Oak is located in Jewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burr Oak
- Population from the 2020 Census: 160 people
- Esbon
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Mankato
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Webber
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Montrose
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Montrose is located in Jewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montrose
- Former name for Montrose:
- Delta
- Formoso
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Formoso is located in Jewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Formoso
- Population from the 2020 Census: 86 people
- Jewell
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Jewell is located in Jewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jewell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 396 people
- Randall
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Randall is located in Jewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randall
- Population from the 2020 Census: 61 people
- Republic County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wesley Center, with the one closest to Wesley Center listed first.
- White Rock
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- White Rock is located in Republic County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Rock
- Courtland
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Republic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Republic is located in Republic County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Republic
- Population from the 2020 Census: 106 people
- Sherdahl
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Sherdahl is located in Republic County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherdahl
- Scandia
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Kackley
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Kackley is located in Republic County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kackley
- Smith County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wesley Center, with the one closest to Wesley Center listed first.
- Lebanon
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Womer
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Womer is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Womer
- Bellaire
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Bellaire is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellaire
- Dispatch
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Dispatch is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dispatch
- Smith Center
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Clay County (NE)
- Deweese
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Franklin County (NE)
- Riverton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Nuckolls County (NE)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wesley Center, with the one closest to Wesley Center listed first.
- Superior
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Hardy
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Nelson
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Lawrence
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Nora
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Nora is located in Nuckolls County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nora
- Population from the 2020 Census: 19 people
- Ruskin
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Angus
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Angus is located in Nuckolls County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angus
- Oak
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Oak is located in Nuckolls County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak
- Population from the 2020 Census: 61 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oak <1>
- Thayer County (NE)
- Byron
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Webster County (NE)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wesley Center, with the one closest to Wesley Center listed first.
- Guide Rock
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Pawnee Village
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Pawnee Village is located in Webster County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pawnee Village
- Amboy
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Amboy is located in Webster County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amboy
- Red Cloud
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Cowles
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Cowles is located in Webster County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowles
- Population from the 2020 Census: 27 people
- Inavale
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Rosemont
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Rosemont is located in Webster County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosemont
- Blue Hill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Bladen
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Wesley Center, see our County-by-County Page for Wesley Center.
Cemeteries Near Wesley Center ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wesley Center.
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 Wesley Center - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Wesley Center covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Wesley Center, with the one closest to Wesley Center listed first.
- North Branch Friends Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Maple Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Oak Creek Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Highland Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Providence Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Burr Oak Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Shaffer Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Columbia Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Baker Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Cleveland Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Amity Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Olive Hill Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Continue List (123 more) ...
- Guide Rock Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Wagoner Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Martin Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
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.<3>
While we didn't find Wesley Center in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Wesley Center.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Wesley Center, with the one closest to Wesley Center listed first.
- Northbranch
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Northbranch is located in Jewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northbranch
- Burr Oak
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Burr Oak is located in Jewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burr Oak
- Population from the 2020 Census: 160 people
- Guide Rock
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Otego
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Otego is located in Jewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otego
- Bostwick
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Bostwick is located in Nuckolls County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bostwick
- Amboy
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Amboy is located in Webster County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amboy
- Esbon
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Mankato
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Red Cloud
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Superior
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Lebanon
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Webber
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Cowles
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Cowles is located in Webster County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowles
- Population from the 2020 Census: 27 people
- Mount Clare
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Mount Clare is located in Nuckolls County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Clare
- Montrose
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Montrose is located in Jewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montrose
- Former name for Montrose:
- Delta
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Wesley Center. See our List of 1890's Communities around Wesley Center.
Newspapers Published in Wesley Center ...
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 114 newspapers that have been published in the area around Wesley Center.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Wesley Center, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Wesley Center.
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 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 Wesley Center:
- Websites specific to Kansas
- Pages specific to Jewell County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Republic County
- Smith County
- Clay County
- Franklin County
- Nuckolls County
- Thayer County
- Webster 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> | 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. |
| <3> | 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 Wesley Center, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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- Wesley Center) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |