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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 Wilroads Gardens (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 Wilroads Gardens. 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 Wilroads Gardens ...

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.

  • A typical abbreviation for Wilroads Gardens: Wilroads Gdns. (or less commonly used: Wilroads Gardns., Wilroads Grdens. or Wilroads Grdns.)
  • While the name of this community is Wilroads Gardens, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Wilroads Gardens may originally have been Wilroad's Gardens.

    Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Wilroads Gardens might be written as Wilroad Gardens.

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 and 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.

Wilroads Gardens is located in Ford 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 Ford County: Clark, Edwards, Gray, Hodgeman, Kiowa & Meade.

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

  • Ford County     (The home county of Wilroads Gardens)
  • Clark County
  • Edwards County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wilroads Gardens, with the one closest to Wilroads Gardens listed first.
    • Offerle
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Ardell
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ardell. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ardell
      • Ardell is located in Edwards County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Ardell
      • From Wilroads Gardens to Ardell
    • Hodges
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hodges. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hodges
      • Hodges is located in Edwards County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hodges
      • From Wilroads Gardens to Hodges
  • Finney County
    • Kalvesta
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Gray County
  • Hodgeman County
  • Kiowa County
  • Meade County
    • Fowler
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fowler have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fowler
      • Fowler is located in Meade County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 516 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fowler <3>

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

Cemeteries Near Wilroads Gardens ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wilroads Gardens.

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

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

  • Kansas Veterans' Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Kansas Veterans' Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Kansas Veterans' Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pleasant Vale Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Vale Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Vale Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Christ the King Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Christ the King Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Christ the King Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Greencrest Memorial Garden
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Greencrest Memorial Garden
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Greencrest Memorial Garden have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Maple Grove Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Ford Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ford Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ford Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Johns Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Johns Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Concord Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Concord Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Concord Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Silent Land Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Silent Land Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Silent Land Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Ridenour Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ridenour Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ridenour Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Johnson Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Johnson Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Johnson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bloom Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bloom Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bloom Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (27 more) ...
    • Sodville Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sodville Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sodville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Pleasant Valley Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Valley Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Valley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Holy Cross Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Holy Cross Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Holy Cross Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> 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.<6>

While we didn't find Wilroads Gardens in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Wilroads Gardens.

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

  • Wilroads
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Wright
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • South Dodge
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Dodge have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Dodge
    • South Dodge is located in Ford County
  • Dodge City
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Ford
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ford have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ford
    • Ford is located in Ford County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 212 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ford <3>
  • Spearville
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Howell
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Howell. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howell
    • Howell is located in Ford County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Howell
    • From Wilroads Gardens to Howell
  • Bloom
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
  • Kingsdown
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kingsdown have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsdown
    • Kingsdown is located in Ford County
  • Ensign
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
  • Bellefont
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bellefont have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellefont
    • Bellefont is located in Ford County
  • Minneola
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (8 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in Wilroads Gardens ...

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 107 newspapers that have been published in the area around Wilroads Gardens.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Wilroads Gardens, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<7>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Wilroads Gardens.

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 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 Wilroads Gardens:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Wilroads Gardens. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Ford County: www.fordcounty.net/

The official website for State of Kansas: https://portal.kansas.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties).
<2>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.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>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.
<5>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.
<6>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 Wilroads Gardens, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<7>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- Wilroads Gardens) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Wilroads Gardens. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.7232, Longitude: -99.9336    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025