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 Westwood (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 Westwood. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Westwood is located in Johnson 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 Johnson County: Douglas, Franklin, Leavenworth, Miami, Wyandotte, Cass (MO) & Jackson (MO).
Below are the counties that are near Westwood. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Westwood:
- Johnson County (The home county of Westwood)
- The following are listed by their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- Westwood Hills
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Westwood Hills is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood Hills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 390 people
- Mission Woods
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Mission Woods is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mission Woods
- Population from the 2020 Census: 195 people
- Mission Hills
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Mission Hills is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mission Hills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,533 people
- Fairway
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Roeland Park
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Countryside
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Countryside is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Countryside
- Mission
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Mission is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mission
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,873 people
- Former name for Mission:
- Mission Hill Acres
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mission <1>
- Prairie Village
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Leawood
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Merriam
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Lenexa
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Lake Quivira
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Lake Quivira is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Quivira
- Population from the 2020 Census: 930 people
- Overland Park
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Douglas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- Weaver
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Weaver is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weaver
- Eudora
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Hesper
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Hesper is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hesper
- Clearfield
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Clearfield is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clearfield
- Noria
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Noria is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noria
- Leavenworth County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- Loring
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Loring is located in Leavenworth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loring
- Highland
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Highland is located in Leavenworth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland
- Basehor
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Fairmount
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Fairmount is located in Leavenworth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmount
- Fairmount has also been known as:
- Fairmont Village
- Lansing
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Bain City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Bain City is located in Leavenworth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bain City
- Hoge
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Hoge is located in Leavenworth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoge
- Linwood
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Linwood is located in Leavenworth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 433 people
- Linwood has also been known as:
- Big Stranger
- Johnny Cake
- Journeycake
- Leavenworth
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Tonganoxie
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Jarbalo
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Jarbalo is located in Leavenworth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jarbalo
- Fall Leaf
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Fall Leaf is located in Leavenworth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fall Leaf
- Miami County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- Bucyrus
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Bucyrus is located in Miami County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bucyrus
- Wea
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Wea is located in Miami County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wea
- Chiles
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Chiles is located in Miami County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chiles
- Louisburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Louisburg is located in Miami County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Louisburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,590 people
- Former name for Louisburg:
- New Saint Lewis
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Louisburg <1>
- Hillsdale
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Hillsdale is located in Miami County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
- Wyandotte County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- Argentine
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Argentine is located in Wyandotte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argentine
- Kansas City
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Turner
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Turner is located in Wyandotte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turner
- Morris
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Morris is located in Wyandotte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morris
- Quindaro ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Quindaro is located in Wyandotte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quindaro
- Grinter Heights
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Grinter Heights is located in Wyandotte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grinter Heights
- Edwardsville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Bonner Springs
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Piper
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Piper is located in Wyandotte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piper
- Wallula
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Wallula is located in Wyandotte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallula
- Cass County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- Loch Lloyd
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Loch Lloyd is located in Cass County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loch Lloyd
- Population from the 2020 Census: 835 people
- Loch Lloyd has also been known as:
- Loch Lloyd village
- Lee's Summit
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Belton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Raymore
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Harrelson
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Harrelson is located in Cass County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrelson
- Riverview Estates
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Riverview Estates is located in Cass County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverview Estates
- Population from the 2020 Census: 84 people
- Riverview Estates has also been known as:
- Riverview Estates village
- Lake Winnebago
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Lake Winnebago is located in Cass County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Winnebago
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,370 people
- Peculiar
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Coleman
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Coleman is located in Cass County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleman
- Cleveland
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Cleveland is located in Cass County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleveland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 668 people
- Pleasant Hill
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Baldwin Park
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Baldwin Park is located in Cass County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baldwin Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 96 people
- Lake Annette
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Lake Annette is located in Cass County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Annette
- Population from the 2020 Census: 102 people
- Clay County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- North Kansas City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Avondale
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Avondale is located in Clay County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avondale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 456 people
- East Kansas City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- East Kansas City is located in Clay County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Kansas City
- Randolph
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Randolph is located in Clay County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randolph
- Population from the 2020 Census: 56 people
- Sugar Creek
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Woodhill
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Woodhill is located in Clay County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodhill
- Oaks
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Oaks is located in Clay County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oaks
- Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
- Oakview
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Oakview is located in Clay County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakview
- Population from the 2020 Census: 393 people
- Oakwood Park
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Oakwood Park is located in Clay County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 198 people
- Oakwood
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Oakwood is located in Clay County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 197 people
- Minaville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Minaville is located in Clay County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minaville
- Gladstone
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Birmingham
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Birmingham is located in Clay County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birmingham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 209 people
- Clinton County (MO)
- Trimble
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Jackson County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- Kansas City
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Indian Village
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Indian Village is located in Jackson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
- Leeds
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Leeds is located in Jackson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leeds
- Holmes Park
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Holmes Park is located in Jackson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holmes Park
- Holmes Park has also been known as:
- Holmes
- Raytown
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Maywood
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Maywood is located in Jackson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maywood
- New Santa Fe
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- New Santa Fe is located in Jackson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Santa Fe
- Martin City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Martin City is located in Jackson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martin City
- Independence
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Little Blue
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Little Blue is located in Jackson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Blue
- Cement City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Cement City is located in Jackson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cement City
- Grandview
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Belvidere
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Belvidere is located in Jackson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belvidere
- Lafayette County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- Bates City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Napoleon
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Napoleon is located in Lafayette County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Napoleon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 214 people
- Platte County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- Northmoor
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Northmoor is located in Platte County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northmoor
- Population from the 2020 Census: 362 people
- Riverside
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Houston Lake
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Houston Lake is located in Platte County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houston Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 248 people
- Parkville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Lake Waukomis
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Lake Waukomis is located in Platte County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Waukomis
- Population from the 2020 Census: 874 people
- Platte Woods
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Platte Woods is located in Platte County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Platte Woods
- Population from the 2020 Census: 406 people
- Weatherby Lake
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Weatherby Lake is located in Platte County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weatherby Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,086 people
- Waldron
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Waldron is located in Platte County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldron
- Linkville ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Linkville is located in Platte County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linkville
- Ferrelview
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Ferrelview is located in Platte County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferrelview
- Population from the 2020 Census: 800 people
- Farley
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Farley is located in Platte County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 304 people
- East Leavenworth
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- East Leavenworth is located in Platte County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Leavenworth
- Platte City
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Ray County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- Orrick
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Albany
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Albany is located in Ray County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albany
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Westwood, see our County-by-County Page for Westwood.
Cemeteries Near Westwood ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Westwood.
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 Westwood - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Westwood covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- Shawnee Methodist Mission Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Loose Memorial Park
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Highland Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Maple Hill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Rose Hill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Forest Hill & Calvary Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Calvary Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Union Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Tensquatawa Burial Ground
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Antioch Pioneer Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Woolford Farm Horse Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Corinth Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Continue List (326 more) ...
- Shawnee Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Pleasant View Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Shawnee Indian Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
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 Westwood in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Westwood.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- Westport
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Westport is located in Jackson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westport
- Argentine
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Argentine is located in Wyandotte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argentine
- Merriam
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Kansas City
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Kansas City
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Dodson
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Dodson is located in Jackson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodson
- Harlem
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Harlem is located in Clay County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlem
- Turner
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Turner is located in Wyandotte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turner
- Dallas
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Dallas is located in Jackson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dallas
- Leeds
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Leeds is located in Jackson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leeds
- Holmes Park
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Holmes Park is located in Jackson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holmes Park
- Holmes Park has also been known as:
- Holmes
- Centropolis
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Centropolis is located in Jackson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centropolis
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- North Kansas City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Munsee
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Munsee is located in Wyandotte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Munsee
- Morris
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Morris is located in Wyandotte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morris
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Westwood. See our List of 1890's Communities around Westwood.
Newspapers Published in Westwood ...
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 36 newspapers that have been published in the area around Westwood.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Westwood, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Westwood.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to 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 Westwood:
- Websites specific to Kansas
- Pages specific to Johnson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Douglas County
- Leavenworth County
- Miami County
- Wyandotte County
- Cass County
- Clay County
- Clinton County
- Jackson County
- Lafayette County
- Platte County
- Ray 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 Westwood, 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- Westwood) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |