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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 Columbus (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 Columbus. 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.

Columbus is located in Platte 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 Platte County: Boone, Butler, Colfax, Madison, Merrick, Nance & Polk.

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

  • Platte County     (The home county of Columbus)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Columbus, with the one closest to Columbus listed first.
    • Carriage House Estates
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Sheldonville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheldonville
      • Sheldonville is located in Platte County
    • Duncan
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Duncan have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duncan
      • Duncan is located in Platte County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 370 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Duncan <2>
    • Oconee
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oconee
      • Oconee is located in Platte County
    • Platte Center
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Platte Center have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Platte Center
      • Platte Center is located in Platte County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 329 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Platte Center <2>
    • Monroe
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Monroe have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
      • Monroe is located in Platte County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 273 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Monroe <2>
    • Tarnov
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tarnov
      • Tarnov is located in Platte County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 45 people
    • Creston
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Creston have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creston
      • Creston is located in Platte County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 197 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Creston <2>
    • Humphrey
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Humphrey have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Humphrey
      • Humphrey is located in Platte County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 800 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Humphrey <2>
    • Cornlea
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cornlea have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornlea
      • Cornlea is located in Platte County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 35 people
    • Rosenburg
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosenburg
      • Rosenburg is located in Platte County
    • Saint Bernard
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Bernard
      • Saint Bernard is located in Platte County
    • Lindsay
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Boone County
    • Saint Edward
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
  • Butler County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Columbus, with the one closest to Columbus listed first.
    • Bellwood
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bellwood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellwood
      • Bellwood is located in Butler County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 416 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bellwood <2>
    • Octavia
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Octavia
      • Octavia is located in Butler County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 117 people
    • Rising City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • David City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Millerton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerton
      • Millerton is located in Butler County
    • Garrison
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garrison
      • Garrison is located in Butler County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 51 people
    • Nimburg
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nimburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nimburg
      • Nimburg is located in Butler County
    • Abie
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Linwood
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Surprise
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Surprise
      • Surprise is located in Butler County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 40 people
    • Bruno
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Brainard
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Ulysses
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
  • Colfax County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Columbus, with the one closest to Columbus listed first.
    • Richland
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Richland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richland
      • Richland is located in Colfax County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 71 people
    • Schuyler
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Leigh
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Rogers
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers
      • Rogers is located in Colfax County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 93 people
    • Clarkson
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clarkson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarkson
      • Clarkson is located in Colfax County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 630 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clarkson <2>
    • Howells
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Howells have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howells
      • Howells is located in Colfax County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 557 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Howells <2>
  • Dodge County
    • North Bend
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Madison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Columbus, with the one closest to Columbus listed first.
    • Madison
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Madison have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madison
      • Madison is located in Madison County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,343 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Madison <2>
    • Newman Grove
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Merrick County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Columbus, with the one closest to Columbus listed first.
    • Silver Creek
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Clarks
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clarks have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarks
      • Clarks is located in Merrick County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 345 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clarks <2>
  • Nance County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Columbus, with the one closest to Columbus listed first.
    • Genoa
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Krakow
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Krakow
      • Krakow is located in Nance County
  • Polk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Columbus, with the one closest to Columbus listed first.
    • Shelby
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Osceola
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Stromsburg
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Swedehome
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swedehome
      • Swedehome is located in Polk County
  • Saunders County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Columbus, with the one closest to Columbus listed first.
    • Rescue ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rescue have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rescue
      • Rescue is located in Saunders County
    • Prague
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Morse Bluff
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Morse Bluff have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morse Bluff
      • Morse Bluff is located in Saunders County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 144 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Morse Bluff <2>
  • York County
    • Gresham
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Columbus ...

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 179 newspapers that have been published in the area around Columbus.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

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

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 Columbus:

Cemeteries Near Columbus ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Columbus.

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

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

  • Catholic Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Catholic Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Catholic Cemetery
  • Columbus Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • All Saints Catholic Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Roselawn Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Roselawn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Roselawn Cemetery
  • St. Joseph Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • St. Joseph Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Joseph Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Joseph Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #101312 <4>
  • Jackson Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Jackson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Jackson Cemetery
  • St. Joseph / St. Patrick Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Bellwood Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Richland Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Richland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Richland Cemetery
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Pleasant View Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (114 more) ...
    • Christ Lutheran Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Christ Lutheran Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 9 miles [14.5 km]<3> to the southwest of Columbus.
      • The Christ Lutheran Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Christ Lutheran Church Cemetery
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Christ Lutheran Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1990993 <4>
    • St. Mary Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • St. John's Lutheran Church Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)

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 Columbus had a population of 3,134 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Columbus had a population of 23,597 people.

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

  • Duncan
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Duncan have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duncan
    • Duncan is located in Platte County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 370 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Duncan <2>
  • Richland
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Richland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richland
    • Richland is located in Colfax County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 71 people
  • Bellwood
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bellwood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellwood
    • Bellwood is located in Butler County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 416 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bellwood <2>
  • Oconee
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oconee
    • Oconee is located in Platte County
  • Platte Center
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Platte Center have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Platte Center
    • Platte Center is located in Platte County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 329 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Platte Center <2>
  • Gardiner
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gardiner have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gardiner
    • Gardiner is located in Platte County
  • Monroe
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Monroe have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
    • Monroe is located in Platte County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 273 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Monroe <2>
  • Tarnov
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tarnov
    • Tarnov is located in Platte County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 45 people
  • Schuyler
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
  • Shelby
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
  • Rising City
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
  • Octavia
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Octavia
    • Octavia is located in Butler County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 117 people
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Edholm
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edholm have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edholm
      • Edholm is located in Butler County
    • Silver Creek
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • David City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)

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

The official website for Columbus: www.ci.columbus.ne.us/

The official website for Platte County: www.plattecounty.net/

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 '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- Columbus) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Columbus. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.4303, Longitude: -97.3594    
<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 Columbus, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024