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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 Blair (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 Blair. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals 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.

Blair is located in Washington 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 Washington County: Harrison (IA), Pottawattamie (IA), Burt, Dodge & Douglas.

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

  • Washington County     (The home county of Blair)
  • Burt County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blair, with the one closest to Blair listed first.
    • Tekamah
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Craig
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Craig have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craig
      • Craig is located in Burt County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 188 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Craig <1>
    • Bertha
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Oakland
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Dodge County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blair, with the one closest to Blair listed first.
    • Telbasta
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Fontanelle
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Nickerson
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Fremont
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Winslow
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Winslow have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winslow
      • Winslow is located in Dodge County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 99 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Winslow <1>
    • Inglewood
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Inglewood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inglewood
      • Inglewood is located in Dodge County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 314 people
    • Hooper
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hooper have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooper
      • Hooper is located in Dodge County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 828 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hooper <1>
    • Uehling
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Uehling have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uehling
      • Uehling is located in Dodge County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 216 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Uehling <1>
    • Ames
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ames have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ames
      • Ames is located in Dodge County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ames <1>
    • Scribner
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
  • Douglas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blair, with the one closest to Blair listed first.
    • Bennington
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bennington have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bennington
      • Bennington is located in Douglas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,518 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bennington <1>
    • Elk City
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Irvington
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Irvington. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irvington
      • Irvington is located in Douglas County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Irvington
      • From Blair to Irvington
    • King Lake
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Home Park
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Boys Town
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Valley
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley
      • Valley is located in Douglas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,928 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Valley <1>
    • Waterloo
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Waterloo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterloo
      • Waterloo is located in Douglas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 914 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Waterloo <1>
    • Elkhorn
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elkhorn have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhorn
      • Elkhorn is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elkhorn <1>
    • Omaha
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Millard
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Venice
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
  • Sarpy County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blair, with the one closest to Blair listed first.
    • Chalco
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chalco have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalco
      • Chalco is located in Sarpy County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chalco <1>
    • La Vista
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for La Vista have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Vista
      • La Vista is located in Sarpy County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,020 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for La Vista <1>
    • Papillion
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Papillion have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Papillion
      • Papillion is located in Sarpy County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 20,293 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Papillion <1>
    • Gretna
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Bellevue
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Richfield
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Saunders County
  • Harrison County (IA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blair, with the one closest to Blair listed first.
    • California Junction
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Modale
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Modale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Modale
      • Modale is located in Harrison County (IA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 264 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Modale <1>
    • Missouri Valley
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Missouri Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Missouri Valley
      • Missouri Valley is located in Harrison County (IA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,576 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Missouri Valley <1>
    • Mondamin
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Magnolia
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Magnolia have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia
      • Magnolia is located in Harrison County (IA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 170 people
    • Orson
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Orson. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orson
      • Orson is located in Harrison County (IA)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Orson
      • From Blair to Orson
    • Logan
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Little Sioux
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Little Sioux have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Sioux
      • Little Sioux is located in Harrison County (IA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 159 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Little Sioux <1>
    • Pisgah
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pisgah have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pisgah
      • Pisgah is located in Harrison County (IA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 237 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pisgah <1>
    • Woodbine
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodbine have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbine
      • Woodbine is located in Harrison County (IA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,363 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Woodbine <1>
    • Yorkshire
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Yorkshire. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorkshire
      • Yorkshire is located in Harrison County (IA)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Yorkshire
      • From Blair to Yorkshire
    • Persia
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Persia have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Persia
      • Persia is located in Harrison County (IA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 281 people
  • Monona County (IA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blair, with the one closest to Blair listed first.
    • Blencoe
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Moorhead
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moorhead have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moorhead
      • Moorhead is located in Monona County (IA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 202 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moorhead <1>
  • Pottawattamie County (IA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blair, with the one closest to Blair listed first.
    • Loveland
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Loveland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loveland
      • Loveland is located in Pottawattamie County (IA)
    • Honey Creek
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Honey Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honey Creek
      • Honey Creek is located in Pottawattamie County (IA)
    • Crescent
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crescent have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crescent
      • Crescent is located in Pottawattamie County (IA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 618 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Crescent <1>
    • Pigeon
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pigeon. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pigeon
      • Pigeon is located in Pottawattamie County (IA)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Pigeon
      • From Blair to Pigeon
    • Carter Lake
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Council Bluffs
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Chautauqua
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Weston
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Weston. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weston
      • Weston is located in Pottawattamie County (IA)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Weston
      • From Blair to Weston
    • Underwood
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Neola
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • McClelland
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McClelland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McClelland
      • McClelland is located in Pottawattamie County (IA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 155 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for McClelland <1>

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

Cemeteries Near Blair ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Blair.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Blair, with the one closest to Blair 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 Blair had a population of 2,069 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Blair had a population of 7,948 people.

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

  • De Soto ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Kennard
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Orum
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Orum have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orum
    • Orum is located in Washington County
  • California Junction
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Fort Calhoun
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Modale
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Modale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Modale
    • Modale is located in Harrison County (IA)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 264 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Modale <1>
  • Herman
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Washington
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Washington have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washington
    • Washington is located in Washington County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 161 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Washington <1>
  • Arlington
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Bennington
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bennington have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bennington
    • Bennington is located in Douglas County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,518 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bennington <1>
  • Missouri Valley
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Missouri Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Missouri Valley
    • Missouri Valley is located in Harrison County (IA)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,576 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Missouri Valley <1>
  • Mondamin
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Elk City
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Loveland
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Loveland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loveland
      • Loveland is located in Pottawattamie County (IA)
    • Telbasta
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Blair ...

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 143 newspapers that have been published in the area around Blair.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

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

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start 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 Blair:

The official website for Blair: www.ci.blair.ne.us/

The official website for Washington County: www.co.washington.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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Blair) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Blair. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.5446, Longitude: -96.1361    
<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 Blair, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025