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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 Bloomington (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 Bloomington. 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 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.

Bloomington is located in Franklin 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 Franklin County: Phillips (KS), Smith (KS), Harlan, Kearney, Phelps & Webster.

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

  • Franklin County     (The home county of Bloomington)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bloomington, with the one closest to Bloomington listed first.
    • Franklin
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Franklin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
      • Franklin is located in Franklin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 899 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Franklin <2>
    • Naponee
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Macon
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macon
      • Macon is located in Franklin County
    • Riverton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Riverton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <2>
    • Hildreth
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Upland
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Campbell
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Campbell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <2>
  • Harlan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bloomington, with the one closest to Bloomington listed first.
    • Republican City
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Huntley
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Huntley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntley
      • Huntley is located in Harlan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 42 people
    • Alma
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alma have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alma
      • Alma is located in Harlan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,116 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alma <2>
    • Ragan
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ragan have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ragan
      • Ragan is located in Harlan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 38 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ragan <2>
    • Orleans
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Orleans have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orleans
      • Orleans is located in Harlan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 363 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Orleans <2>
    • Flynn Junction
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flynn Junction
      • Flynn Junction is located in Harlan County
    • Mascot
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mascot
      • Mascot is located in Harlan County
    • Stamford
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Kearney County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bloomington, with the one closest to Bloomington listed first.
    • Wilcox
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wilcox have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilcox
      • Wilcox is located in Kearney County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 349 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wilcox <2>
    • Keene
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keene
      • Keene is located in Kearney County
    • Axtell
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Minden
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Norman
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Phelps County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bloomington, with the one closest to Bloomington listed first.
    • Sacramento
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sacramento have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sacramento
      • Sacramento is located in Phelps County
    • Funk
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Funk have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Funk
      • Funk is located in Phelps County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 182 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Funk <2>
    • Atlanta
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Atlanta have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atlanta
      • Atlanta is located in Phelps County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 131 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Atlanta <2>
    • Holdrege
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Webster County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bloomington, with the one closest to Bloomington listed first.
    • Inavale
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Red Cloud
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Bladen
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Phillips County (KS)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bloomington, with the one closest to Bloomington listed first.
    • Agra
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agra
      • Agra is located in Phillips County (KS)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 238 people
    • Phillipsburg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Phillipsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phillipsburg
      • Phillipsburg is located in Phillips County (KS)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,420 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Phillipsburg <2>
    • Long Island
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Island
      • Long Island is located in Phillips County (KS)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 120 people
    • Kirwin
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirwin
      • Kirwin is located in Phillips County (KS)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 154 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kirwin <2>
    • Stuttgart
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stuttgart
      • Stuttgart is located in Phillips County (KS)
  • Smith County (KS)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bloomington, with the one closest to Bloomington listed first.
    • Womer
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Womer
      • Womer is located in Smith County (KS)
    • Kensington
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kensington
      • Kensington is located in Smith County (KS)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 433 people
    • Athol
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athol
      • Athol is located in Smith County (KS)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 40 people
    • Smith Center
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Bellaire
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellaire
      • Bellaire is located in Smith County (KS)
    • Claudell
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claudell
      • Claudell is located in Smith County (KS)
    • Cedar
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar
      • Cedar is located in Smith County (KS)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 13 people

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Bloomington ...

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 125 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bloomington.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Bloomington. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Bloomington and those printed in the larger area surrounding Bloomington.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<3> of Bloomington.

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 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 Bloomington:

Cemeteries Near Bloomington ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bloomington.

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

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

  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Mt. Olive Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Bailey Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bailey Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bailey Cemetery
  • Chapman Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Chapman Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Chapman Cemetery
  • Blauvelt Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Blauvelt Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Blauvelt Cemetery
  • Stone Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Stone Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Stone Cemetery
  • Pleasant Hill Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Hill Cemetery
  • Stevens Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Republican City Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Fuller Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fuller Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fuller Cemetery
  • Pleasant Ridge Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Pleasant Hill Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Hill Cemetery
  • Continue List   (85 more) ...
    • Zion Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Zion Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Zion Cemetery
    • Matteson Cemetery
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • St. Peters Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Peters Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Peters Cemetery

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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Bloomington had a population of 464 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Bloomington had a population of 96 people.

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

  • Franklin
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Franklin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
    • Franklin is located in Franklin County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 899 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Franklin <2>
  • Naponee
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Macon
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macon
    • Macon is located in Franklin County
  • Republican City
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Reamsville
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reamsville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reamsville
    • Reamsville is located in Smith County (KS)
  • Riverton
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Riverton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <2>
  • Huntley
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Huntley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntley
    • Huntley is located in Harlan County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 42 people
  • Hildreth
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
  • Upland
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Alma
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alma have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alma
    • Alma is located in Harlan County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,116 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alma <2>
  • Wilcox
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wilcox have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilcox
    • Wilcox is located in Kearney County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 349 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wilcox <2>
  • Womer
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Womer
    • Womer is located in Smith County (KS)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Inavale
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Ragan
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ragan have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ragan
      • Ragan is located in Harlan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 38 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ragan <2>
    • Woodruff
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodruff have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodruff
      • Woodruff is located in Phillips County (KS)

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

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

The official website for State of Nebraska: www.nebraska.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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- Bloomington) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Bloomington. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.0942, Longitude: -99.0374    
<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>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 Bloomington, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024