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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 Woodston (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 Woodston. 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 Woodston ...

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.

Woodston has also been known as: Woodston Saw.

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 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.

Woodston is located in Rooks 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 Rooks County: Ellis, Graham, Osborne, Phillips, Russell, Smith & Trego.

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

  • Rooks County     (The home county of Woodston)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Woodston, with the one closest to Woodston listed first.
    • Stockton
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Codell
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Plainville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Webster
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Webster have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
      • Webster is located in Rooks County
    • Zurich
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Zurich have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zurich
      • Zurich is located in Rooks County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 94 people
    • Damar
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Palco
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Ellis County
    • Turkville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Turkville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkville
      • Turkville is located in Ellis County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Turkville
      • From Woodston to Turkville
  • Graham County
    • Nicodemus
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nicodemus have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicodemus
      • Nicodemus is located in Graham County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nicodemus <1>
  • Osborne County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Woodston, with the one closest to Woodston listed first.
    • Alton
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alton
      • Alton is located in Osborne County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 92 people
    • Bloomington
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Natoma
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Natoma have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Natoma
      • Natoma is located in Osborne County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 296 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Natoma <1>
    • Osborne
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Portis
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Downs
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Phillips County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Woodston, with the one closest to Woodston listed first.
    • Kirwin
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Glade
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Agra
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Phillipsburg
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Phillipsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phillipsburg
      • Phillipsburg is located in Phillips County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,420 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Phillipsburg <1>
    • Speed
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Speed have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speed
      • Speed is located in Phillips County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 34 people
    • Logan
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Stuttgart
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Russell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Woodston, with the one closest to Woodston listed first.
    • Paradise
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Paradise have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise
      • Paradise is located in Russell County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 48 people
    • Waldo
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldo
      • Waldo is located in Russell County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 29 people
      • Former name for Waldo:
      • Pleasant Run
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Waldo
      • From Woodston to Waldo
  • Smith County

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

Cemeteries Near Woodston ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Woodston.

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

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

  • Woodston Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Pleasant Valley Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 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.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Spring Branch Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Spring Branch Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Spring Branch Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Ash Rock Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ash Rock Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ash Rock Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Survey Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Survey Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Survey Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pioneer Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pioneer Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pioneer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • West Hope Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the West Hope Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the West Hope Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Johnson Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • 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.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pleasant Plain Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Plain Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Plain Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. Ayr Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Sumner Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sumner Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sumner Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Grant Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Grant Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Grant Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (94 more) ...
    • Chalk Mound Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Chalk Mound Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Chalk Mound Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • St. Thomas Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Leasburg Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Leasburg Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Leasburg Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Woodston had a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Woodston had a population of 126 people.

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

  • Alton
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alton
    • Alton is located in Osborne County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 92 people
  • Stockton
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Laton
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Laton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laton
    • Laton is located in Rooks County
  • Kirwin
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
  • Bloomington
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
  • Cedar
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar
    • Cedar is located in Smith County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 13 people
  • Webster
    (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Webster have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
    • Webster is located in Rooks County
  • Plainville
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
  • Codell
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
  • Natoma
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Natoma have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Natoma
    • Natoma is located in Osborne County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 296 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Natoma <1>
  • Gaylord
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
  • Covert
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Covert have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Covert
    • Covert is located in Osborne County
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Woodston ...

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 164 newspapers that have been published in the area around Woodston.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Woodston. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Woodston and those printed in the larger area surrounding Woodston.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<4> of Woodston.

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 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 Woodston:

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

The official website for Rooks County: www.rookscounty.net/

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

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 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.
<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>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 from Point A (ie- Woodston) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Woodston. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.4541, Longitude: -99.0979    
<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 Woodston, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025