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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 Cook (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 Cook. 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.

Cook is located in Johnson County.

To see how the shape of Nebraska's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Johnson County: Gage, Lancaster, Nemaha, Otoe & Pawnee.

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

  • Johnson County     (The home county of Cook)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cook, with the one closest to Cook listed first.
    • Graf ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Graf is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graf
    • Tecumseh
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Saint Mary
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Saint Mary is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Mary
    • Sterling
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Vesta
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Vesta is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vesta
    • Elk Creek
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Crab Orchard
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
  • Cass County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cook, with the one closest to Cook listed first.
    • Avoca
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Elmwood
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Nehawka
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Weeping Water
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Union
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Eagle
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Wabash
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Wabash is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wabash
    • Alvo
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Manley
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Murdock
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Murray
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Gage County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cook, with the one closest to Cook listed first.
    • Adams
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Filley
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Virginia
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Cortland
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Rockford
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Rockford is located in Gage County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockford
  • Lancaster County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cook, with the one closest to Cook listed first.
    • Panama
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Bennet
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Firth
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Firth is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Firth
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 619 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Firth <1>
    • Holland
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Holland is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holland
    • Hickman
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Cheney
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Cheney is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheney
    • Pine Lake
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Pine Lake is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Lake
    • Walton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Hanlon
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Hanlon is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanlon
    • Princeton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Princeton is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princeton
    • Roca
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Roca is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roca
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 358 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Roca <1>
    • Prairie Home
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Prairie Home is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Home
  • Nemaha County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cook, with the one closest to Cook listed first.
    • Brock
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Johnson
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Rohrs
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Rohrs is located in Nemaha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rohrs
    • Julian
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Julian is located in Nemaha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Julian
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 56 people
    • Auburn
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Peru
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Howe
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Howe is located in Nemaha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howe
    • Brownville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Nemaha
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Nemaha is located in Nemaha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nemaha
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 143 people
      • Nemaha has also been known as:
      • Nemaha City
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nemaha <1>
  • Otoe County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cook, with the one closest to Cook listed first.
    • Talmage
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Burr
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Lorton
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Syracuse
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Dunbar
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Douglas
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Unadilla
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Otoe
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Palmyra
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Nebraska City
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Wyoming
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Wyoming is located in Otoe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyoming
  • Pawnee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cook, with the one closest to Cook listed first.
    • Steinauer
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Lewiston
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Table Rock
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Burchard
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Pawnee City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
  • Richardson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cook, with the one closest to Cook listed first.
    • Humboldt
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Stella
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Fremont County (IA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cook, with the one closest to Cook listed first.
    • Payne
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Payne is located in Fremont County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Payne
    • Percival
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Hamburg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Hamburg is located in Fremont County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,041 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hamburg <1>
    • McPaul
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • McPaul is located in Fremont County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McPaul
    • Thurman
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Thurman is located in Fremont County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thurman
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 210 people
  • Atchison County (MO)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cook, with the one closest to Cook listed first.
    • Watson
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Watson is located in Atchison County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 89 people
    • Phelps City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Phelps City is located in Atchison County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phelps City

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

Cemeteries Near Cook ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Cook.

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.

Although we don't have the information ourselves, if you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our list of websites on our Genealogy Helper Page for Cook - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Cook covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Cook, with the one closest to Cook 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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Cook had a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Cook had a population of 300 people.

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

  • Talmage
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Burr
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Graf ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Graf is located in Johnson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graf
  • Tecumseh
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Lorton
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Johnson
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Brock
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Syracuse
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Sterling
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Dunbar
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Unadilla
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Douglas
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Vesta
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Vesta is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vesta
    • Glenrock
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Glenrock is located in Nemaha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenrock
    • Elk Creek
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Cook ...

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 217 newspapers that have been published in the area around Cook.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

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

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Cook:

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 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.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Cook) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<4>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 Cook, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.