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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 Belden (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 Belden. 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 hospitals 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.

Belden is located in Cedar 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 Cedar County: Dixon, Knox, Pierce, Wayne, Clay (SD) & Yankton (SD).

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

  • Cedar County     (The home county of Belden)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Belden, with the one closest to Belden listed first.
    • Laurel
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Coleridge
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coleridge have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleridge
      • Coleridge is located in Cedar County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 452 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Coleridge <1>
    • Randolph
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Magnet
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Magnet have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnet
      • Magnet is located in Cedar County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 54 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Magnet <1>
    • Hartington
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hartington have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartington
      • Hartington is located in Cedar County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,469 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hartington <1>
    • Bow Valley
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Fordyce
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fordyce have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fordyce
      • Fordyce is located in Cedar County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 131 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fordyce <1>
    • Obert
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Wynot
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Constance
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Saint Helena
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Helena have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Helena
      • Saint Helena is located in Cedar County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 91 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint Helena <1>
  • Dakota County
  • Dixon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Belden, with the one closest to Belden listed first.
    • Dixon
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Concord
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Concord have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
      • Concord is located in Dixon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 151 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Concord <1>
    • Allen
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Wakefield
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Martinsburg
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Maskell
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maskell have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maskell
      • Maskell is located in Dixon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 68 people
    • Newcastle
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Waterbury
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Emerson
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Emerson have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerson
      • Emerson is located in Dixon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 789 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Emerson <1>
    • Ponca
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Knox County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Belden, with the one closest to Belden listed first.
    • Wausa
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wausa have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wausa
      • Wausa is located in Knox County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 557 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wausa <1>
    • Bloomfield
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Crofton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crofton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crofton
      • Crofton is located in Knox County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 661 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Crofton <1>
  • Madison County
  • Pierce County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Belden, with the one closest to Belden listed first.
    • McLean
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Wee Town
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wee Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wee Town
      • Wee Town is located in Pierce County
    • Osmond
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Pierce
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pierce have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pierce
      • Pierce is located in Pierce County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,734 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pierce <1>
    • Hadar
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Foster
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Breslau
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Plainview
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plainview have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainview
      • Plainview is located in Pierce County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,197 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Plainview <1>
  • Stanton County
  • Thurston County
    • Thurston
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thurston have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thurston
      • Thurston is located in Thurston County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Thurston <1>
  • Wayne County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Belden, with the one closest to Belden listed first.
    • Sholes
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Carroll
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carroll have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carroll
      • Carroll is located in Wayne County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 212 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Carroll <1>
    • Wayne
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wayne. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayne
      • Wayne is located in Wayne County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,758 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wayne <1>
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Wayne
      • From Belden to Wayne
    • Winside
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Hoskins
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
  • Clay County (SD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Belden, with the one closest to Belden listed first.
    • Burbank
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Vermillion
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vermillion have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vermillion
      • Vermillion is located in Clay County (SD)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,038 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vermillion <1>
    • Meckling
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)

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

Cemeteries Near Belden ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Belden.

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

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

  • Laurel Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Laurel Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Laurel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Michael Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Michael Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Michael Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Randolph Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Norris Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Norris Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Norris Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Frances Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Frances Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Frances Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Immanuel Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Immanuel Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Immanuel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Elmwood Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Elmwood Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Elmwood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Concord Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • 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.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Annes Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Annes Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Annes Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Rose Hill Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rose Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rose Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Oliver Grove Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oliver Grove Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oliver Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Magnet Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Magnet Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Magnet Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (72 more) ...

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, Belden had a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Belden had a population of 109 people.

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

  • Coleridge
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coleridge have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleridge
    • Coleridge is located in Cedar County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 452 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Coleridge <1>
  • Randolph
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Carroll
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carroll have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carroll
    • Carroll is located in Wayne County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 212 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Carroll <1>
  • Dixon
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Concord
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Concord have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
    • Concord is located in Dixon County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 151 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Concord <1>
  • Magnet
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Magnet have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnet
    • Magnet is located in Cedar County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 54 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Magnet <1>
  • Hartington
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hartington have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartington
    • Hartington is located in Cedar County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,469 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hartington <1>
  • Wayne
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wayne. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayne
    • Wayne is located in Wayne County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,758 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wayne <1>
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Wayne
    • From Belden to Wayne
  • Winside
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
  • Wausa
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wausa have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wausa
    • Wausa is located in Knox County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 557 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wausa <1>
  • Allen
    (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
  • Wakefield
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Martinsburg
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Lime Grove
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lime Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lime Grove
      • Lime Grove is located in Dixon County
    • Bow Valley
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Belden ...

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 122 newspapers that have been published in the area around Belden.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Belden. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Belden and those printed in the larger area surrounding Belden.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<5> of Belden.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Belden:

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

The official website for Cedar County: www.co.cedar.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 'straight-line' (or 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- Belden) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Belden. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.4121, Longitude: -97.2072    
<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 Belden, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025