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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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Ayr is located in Adams County.

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 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.
    • Roseland
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Assumption
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Assumption
      • Assumption is located in Adams County
    • Good Samaritan Village
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • 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
      (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)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blaine
      • Blaine is located in Adams County
    • Kenesaw
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kenesaw have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenesaw
      • Kenesaw is located in Adams County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 950 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kenesaw <1>
    • Hayland
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayland
      • Hayland is located in Adams County
    • Hansen
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hansen
      • Hansen is located in Adams County
    • Prosser
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prosser have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prosser
      • Prosser is located in Adams County
      • 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)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denman
      • Denman is located in Buffalo County
    • Shelton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shelton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shelton
      • Shelton is located in Buffalo County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,055 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Shelton <1>
    • Gibbon
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gibbon have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibbon
      • Gibbon is located in Buffalo County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,875 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gibbon <1>
  • 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)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Trumbull have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trumbull
      • Trumbull is located in Clay County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 196 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Trumbull <1>
    • 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)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Verona have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verona
      • Verona is located in Clay County
    • Saronville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • 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>
  • 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)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Campbell have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell
      • Campbell is located in Franklin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 296 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Campbell <1>
    • Upland
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Riverton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Riverton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverton
      • Riverton is located in Franklin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 83 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Riverton <1>
  • 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)
      • 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>
    • Wood River
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Alda
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • 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>
  • Hamilton County
    • Giltner
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • 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>
  • 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)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Heartwell have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heartwell
      • Heartwell is located in Kearney County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 72 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Heartwell <1>
    • Valley City ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Valley City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley City
      • Valley City is located in Kearney County
    • Minden
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
  • 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)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lawrence have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawrence
      • Lawrence is located in Nuckolls County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 278 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lawrence <1>
    • Nelson
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Angus
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angus
      • Angus is located in Nuckolls County
    • Sedan
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedan
      • Sedan is located in Nuckolls County
  • 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)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blue Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Hill
      • Blue Hill is located in Webster County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 850 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Blue Hill <1>
    • Rosemont
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosemont
      • Rosemont is located in Webster County
    • Bladen
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Cowles
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cowles have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowles
      • Cowles is located in Webster County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 27 people
    • Amboy
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amboy
      • Amboy is located in Webster County
    • Red Cloud
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Guide Rock
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Guide Rock have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guide Rock
      • Guide Rock is located in Webster County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 197 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Guide Rock <1>
    • Pawnee Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pawnee Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pawnee Village
      • Pawnee Village is located in Webster County
    • 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.

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 helpful 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:

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.

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 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.<6>

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)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brickton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brickton
    • Brickton is located in Adams County
  • Pauline
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pauline have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pauline
    • Pauline is located in Adams County
  • Roseland
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Blue Hill
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blue Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Hill
    • Blue Hill is located in Webster County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 850 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Blue Hill <1>
  • 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)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosemont
    • Rosemont is located in Webster County
  • Spring Ranch ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Ranch have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Ranch
    • Spring Ranch is located in Clay County
  • Holstein
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Lawrence
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lawrence have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawrence
    • Lawrence is located in Nuckolls County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 278 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lawrence <1>
  • 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)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kenesaw have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenesaw
      • Kenesaw is located in Adams County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 950 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kenesaw <1>

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.

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

The official website for Adams County: www.adamscounty.org/

The official website for State of Nebraska: 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>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 from Point A (ie- Ayr) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ayr. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.4383, Longitude: -98.4408       In this case, the coordinates for Ayr have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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>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.
<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 Ayr, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024