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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 Cortland (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 Cortland. 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 doctors 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.

Cortland is located in Gage 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 Gage County: Marshall (KS), Washington (KS), Jefferson, Johnson, Lancaster, Otoe, Pawnee & Saline.

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

  • Gage County     (The home county of Cortland)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cortland, with the one closest to Cortland listed first.
    • Pickrell
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Clatonia
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Adams
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Adams have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adams
      • Adams is located in Gage County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 622 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Adams <1>
    • Beatrice
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Filley
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Rockford
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockford
      • Rockford is located in Gage County
    • Holmesville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Virginia
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Virginia have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virginia
      • Virginia is located in Gage County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 57 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Virginia <1>
    • Ellis
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellis
      • Ellis is located in Gage County
    • Blue Springs
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Wymore
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
  • Cass County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cortland, with the one closest to Cortland listed first.
    • Eagle
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eagle have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle
      • Eagle is located in Cass County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,105 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eagle <1>
    • Alvo
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alvo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alvo
      • Alvo is located in Cass County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 138 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alvo <1>
  • Jefferson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cortland, with the one closest to Cortland listed first.
    • Plymouth
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plymouth have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plymouth
      • Plymouth is located in Jefferson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 379 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Plymouth <1>
    • Harbine
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harbine
      • Harbine is located in Jefferson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 44 people
    • Diller
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jansen
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jansen have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jansen
      • Jansen is located in Jefferson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 114 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jansen <1>
  • Johnson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cortland, with the one closest to Cortland listed first.
    • Sterling
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Crab Orchard
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crab Orchard have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crab Orchard
      • Crab Orchard is located in Johnson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 36 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Crab Orchard <1>
    • Vesta
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vesta
      • Vesta is located in Johnson County
    • Saint Mary
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Mary
      • Saint Mary is located in Johnson County
    • Cook
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cook have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cook
      • Cook is located in Johnson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 300 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cook <1>
    • Tecumseh
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
  • Lancaster County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cortland, with the one closest to Cortland listed first.
    • Princeton
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Princeton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princeton
      • Princeton is located in Lancaster County
    • Hallam
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Firth
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Firth
      • Firth is located in Lancaster County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 619 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Firth <1>
    • Sprague
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Holland
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holland
      • Holland is located in Lancaster County
    • Martell
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Hickman
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Roca
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Roca have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roca
      • Roca is located in Lancaster County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 358 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Roca <1>
    • Kramer
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kramer
      • Kramer is located in Lancaster County
    • Panama
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Bennet
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Berks
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berks
      • Berks is located in Lancaster County
  • Otoe County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cortland, with the one closest to Cortland listed first.
    • Douglas
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Burr
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Burr have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burr
      • Burr is located in Otoe County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 59 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Burr <1>
    • Palmyra
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Palmyra have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmyra
      • Palmyra is located in Otoe County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 575 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Palmyra <1>
    • Unadilla
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Unadilla have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unadilla
      • Unadilla is located in Otoe County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 320 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Unadilla <1>
    • Syracuse
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Pawnee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cortland, with the one closest to Cortland listed first.
    • Lewiston
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lewiston have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewiston
      • Lewiston is located in Pawnee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 63 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lewiston <1>
    • Burchard
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Saline County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cortland, with the one closest to Cortland listed first.
    • De Witt
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Wilber
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Crete
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Swanton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Dorchester
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Western
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
  • Seward County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cortland, with the one closest to Cortland listed first.
    • Pleasant Dale
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Grover
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grover
      • Grover is located in Seward County
    • Milford
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Ruby
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ruby have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruby
      • Ruby is located in Seward County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Cortland ...

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 324 newspapers that have been published in the area around Cortland.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

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

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 websites either 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 Cortland:

Cemeteries Near Cortland ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Cortland.

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

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

  • Highland Center Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Highland Center Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Highland Center Cemetery
  • Sunnyside Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sunnyside Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sunnyside Cemetery
  • Dietz Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Princeton Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Grandview Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Grandview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Grandview Cemetery
  • Firth Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Firth Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the south of Firth.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Firth Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #100639 <4>
  • Hallam Zion Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Hallam Community Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Immanuel Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • 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.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Immanuel Cemetery
  • John Sothan Family Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the John Sothan Family Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<5>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the John Sothan Family Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2370923 <4>
  • Stockfeldt Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Stagecoach Lake Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Stagecoach Lake Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<5>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Stagecoach Lake Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2353397 <4>
  • Continue List   (163 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 Cortland had a population of 509 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Cortland had a population of 478 people.

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

  • Princeton
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Princeton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princeton
    • Princeton is located in Lancaster County
  • Firth
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Firth
    • Firth is located in Lancaster County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 619 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Firth <1>
  • Sprague
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Pickrell
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Holland
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holland
    • Holland is located in Lancaster County
  • Hickman
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Adams
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Adams have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adams
    • Adams is located in Gage County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 622 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Adams <1>
  • Roca
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Roca have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roca
    • Roca is located in Lancaster County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 358 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Roca <1>
  • Hanlon
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hanlon have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanlon
    • Hanlon is located in Lancaster County
  • Kramer
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kramer
    • Kramer is located in Lancaster County
  • Pella ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pella have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pella
    • Pella is located in Lancaster County
  • Panama
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • De Witt
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Saltillo
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saltillo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saltillo
      • Saltillo is located in Lancaster County
    • Jamaica
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jamaica have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamaica
      • Jamaica is located in Lancaster County

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

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

The official website for Gage County: www.co.gage.ne.us/

The official website for State of Nebraska: 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>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- Cortland) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Cortland. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.5059, Longitude: -96.7061       In this case, the coordinates for Cortland have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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>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.
<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 Cortland, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024