RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Nebraska >> Hamilton County >> Aurora >> Genealogy HelperIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
Nebraska

The Commemorative Quarter for Nebraska





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 Aurora (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 Aurora. 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 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.

Aurora is located in Hamilton County and is the County Seat.

To see how the shape of Nebraska's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Hamilton County: Adams, Clay, Fillmore, Hall, Merrick, Polk & York.

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

  • Hamilton County     (The home county of Aurora)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Aurora, with the one closest to Aurora listed first.
    • Hampton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Kronborg
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kronborg
      • Kronborg is located in Hamilton County
    • Marquette
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Stockham
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stockham have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stockham
      • Stockham is located in Hamilton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 44 people
    • Giltner
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Giltner have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Giltner
      • Giltner is located in Hamilton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 363 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Giltner <1>
    • Phillips
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Overland
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Overland
      • Overland is located in Hamilton County
    • Hordville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
  • Adams County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Aurora, with the one closest to Aurora listed first.
    • Hansen
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hansen
      • Hansen is located in Adams County
    • Blaine
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blaine
      • Blaine is located in Adams County
    • Good Samaritan Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Good Samaritan Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Good Samaritan Village
      • Good Samaritan Village is located in Adams County
    • Hastings
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Clay County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Aurora, with the one closest to Aurora listed first.
    • Harvard
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Saronville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saronville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saronville
      • Saronville is located in Clay County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 45 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saronville <1>
    • Sutton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Trumbull
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Verona
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Verona. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verona
      • Verona is located in Clay County
    • Inland
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Clay Center
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Glenvil
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Fairfield
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Fillmore County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Aurora, with the one closest to Aurora listed first.
    • Bixby
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bixby
      • Bixby is located in Fillmore County
    • Grafton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Fairmont
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Hall County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Aurora, with the one closest to Aurora listed first.
    • Grand Island
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Doniphan
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Doniphan have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doniphan
      • Doniphan is located in Hall County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 832 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Doniphan <1>
    • Alda
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alda have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alda
      • Alda is located in Hall County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 660 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alda <1>
  • Howard County
  • Merrick County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Aurora, with the one closest to Aurora listed first.
    • Chapman
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Central City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Hord
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hord. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hord
      • Hord is located in Merrick County
    • Archer
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Worms
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worms
      • Worms is located in Merrick County
    • Clarks
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clarks have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarks
      • Clarks is located in Merrick County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 345 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clarks <1>
    • Palmer
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Polk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Aurora, with the one closest to Aurora listed first.
    • Polk
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Stromsburg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Swedehome
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swedehome
      • Swedehome is located in Polk County
  • York County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Aurora, with the one closest to Aurora listed first.
    • Henderson
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Bradshaw
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Arborville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arborville
      • Arborville is located in York County
    • Lushton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lushton
      • Lushton is located in York County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 29 people
    • York
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • McCool Junction
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Benedict
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Thayer
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thayer
      • Thayer is located in York County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 49 people
    • Waco
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)

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

Cemeteries Near Aurora ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Aurora.

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

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

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 Aurora had a population of 1,862 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Aurora had a population of 4,490 people.

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

  • Hampton
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Marquette
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Stockham
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stockham have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stockham
    • Stockham is located in Hamilton County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 44 people
  • Henderson
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Bradshaw
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Chapman
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Lockwood
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lockwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lockwood
    • Lockwood is located in Merrick County
  • Paddock
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Paddock have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paddock
    • Paddock is located in Merrick County
  • Arborville
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arborville
    • Arborville is located in York County
  • Harvard
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
  • Lushton
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lushton
    • Lushton is located in York County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 29 people
  • Central City
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Saronville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saronville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saronville
      • Saronville is located in Clay County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 45 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saronville <1>
    • Grand Island
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Trumbull
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Aurora ...

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 81 newspapers that have been published in the area around Aurora.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Aurora. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Aurora and those printed in the larger area surrounding Aurora.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<5> of Aurora.

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 Aurora:

The official website for Aurora: www.cityofaurora.org/

The official website for Hamilton County: www.co.hamilton.ne.us/

The official website for State of Nebraska: https://www.nebraska.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>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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Aurora) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Aurora. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.8668, Longitude: -98.0036       In this case, the coordinates for Aurora have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Aurora, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

Copyright 2025
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025