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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 Ayr (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 Ayr. 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.

Ayr is located in Adams County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Adams County: Buffalo, Clay, Franklin, Hall, Hamilton, Kearney, Nuckolls & Webster.

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

  • Adams County     (The home county of Ayr)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ayr, with the one closest to Ayr listed first.
    • Brickton ‑ Historic
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Brickton is located in Adams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brickton
    • Roseland
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Assumption
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Assumption is located in Adams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Assumption
    • Good Samaritan Village
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Hastings
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Juniata
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Holstein
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Blaine
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Blaine is located in Adams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blaine
    • Kenesaw
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Hayland
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Hayland is located in Adams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayland
    • Hansen
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Hansen is located in Adams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hansen
    • Prosser
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Prosser is located in Adams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prosser
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 71 people
  • Buffalo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ayr, with the one closest to Ayr listed first.
    • Denman
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Denman is located in Buffalo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denman
    • Shelton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Gibbon
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Clay County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ayr, with the one closest to Ayr listed first.
    • Glenvil
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Inland
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Deweese
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Fairfield
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Trumbull
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Clay Center
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Harvard
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Edgar
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Verona
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Verona is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verona
    • Saronville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Franklin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ayr, with the one closest to Ayr listed first.
    • Campbell
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Upland
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Riverton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Hall County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ayr, with the one closest to Ayr listed first.
    • Doniphan
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Wood River
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Alda
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Hamilton County
    • Giltner
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Kearney County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ayr, with the one closest to Ayr listed first.
    • Norman
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Heartwell
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Valley City ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Valley City is located in Kearney County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley City
    • Minden
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Newark
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Newark is located in Kearney County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newark
  • Nuckolls County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ayr, with the one closest to Ayr listed first.
    • Lawrence
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Nelson
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Angus
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Angus is located in Nuckolls County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angus
    • Sedan
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Sedan is located in Nuckolls County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedan
  • Webster County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ayr, with the one closest to Ayr listed first.
    • Blue Hill
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Rosemont
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Rosemont is located in Webster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosemont
    • Bladen
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Cowles
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Cowles is located in Webster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowles
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 27 people
    • Amboy
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Amboy is located in Webster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amboy
    • Red Cloud
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Guide Rock
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Pawnee Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Pawnee Village is located in Webster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pawnee Village
    • Inavale
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Ayr ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ayr.

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 Ayr - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Ayr covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Ayr, with the one closest to Ayr 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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Ayr had a population of 173 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Ayr had a population of 120 people.

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

  • Brickton ‑ Historic
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Brickton is located in Adams County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brickton
  • Pauline
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Pauline is located in Adams County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pauline
  • Roseland
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Blue Hill
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Glenvil
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Hastings
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Bladen
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Juniata
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Rosemont
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Rosemont is located in Webster County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosemont
  • Spring Ranch ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Spring Ranch is located in Clay County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Ranch
  • Holstein
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Lawrence
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Inland
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Deweese
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Kenesaw
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Ayr ...

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 88 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ayr.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Ayr. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Ayr and those printed in the larger area surrounding Ayr.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3> of Ayr.

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 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 Ayr:

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Ayr) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<4>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 Ayr, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.