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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 De Witt (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 De Witt. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

De Witt is located in Saline 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 Saline County: Fillmore, Gage, Jefferson, Lancaster, Seward, Thayer & York.

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

  • Saline County     (The home county of De Witt)
    • The following are listed by their distance from De Witt, with the one closest to De Witt listed first.
    • Wilber
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Swanton
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Western
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Crete
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Dorchester
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Tobias
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Friend
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Fillmore County
    • The following are listed by their distance from De Witt, with the one closest to De Witt listed first.
    • Milligan
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Ohiowa
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
  • Gage County
    • The following are listed by their distance from De Witt, with the one closest to De Witt listed first.
    • Clatonia
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Pickrell
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Ellis
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellis
      • Ellis is located in Gage County
    • Beatrice
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Cortland
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cortland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cortland
      • Cortland is located in Gage County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 478 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cortland <1>
    • Holmesville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Rockford
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockford
      • Rockford is located in Gage County
    • Filley
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Adams
      (22 miles [35.4 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>
    • Blue Springs
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Wymore
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Odell
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Virginia
      (24 miles [38.6 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>
  • Jefferson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from De Witt, with the one closest to De Witt listed first.
    • Plymouth
      (7 miles [11.3 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
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harbine
      • Harbine is located in Jefferson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 44 people
    • Jansen
      (16 miles [25.7 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>
    • Diller
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Daykin
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Daykin have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daykin
      • Daykin is located in Jefferson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 160 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Daykin <1>
    • Fairbury
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Powell
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powell
      • Powell is located in Jefferson County
    • Endicott
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Endicott have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Endicott
      • Endicott is located in Jefferson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 128 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Endicott <1>
    • Steele City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Steele City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steele City
      • Steele City is located in Jefferson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 58 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Steele City <1>
    • Thompson
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompson
      • Thompson is located in Jefferson County
  • Johnson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from De Witt, with the one closest to De Witt listed first.
    • Crab Orchard
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • 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>
    • Sterling
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Vesta
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vesta
      • Vesta is located in Johnson County
  • Lancaster County
    • The following are listed by their distance from De Witt, with the one closest to De Witt listed first.
    • Hallam
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Kramer
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kramer
      • Kramer is located in Lancaster County
    • Princeton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • 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
    • Berks
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berks
      • Berks is located in Lancaster County
    • Martell
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Sprague
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Firth
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • 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>
    • Hickman
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Holland
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holland
      • Holland is located in Lancaster County
    • Roca
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • 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>
    • Denton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Panama
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Cheney
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheney
      • Cheney is located in Lancaster County
  • Pawnee County
    • Lewiston
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • 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>
  • Seward County
    • The following are listed by their distance from De Witt, with the one closest to De Witt listed first.
    • Milford
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Grover
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grover
      • Grover is located in Seward County
    • Pleasant Dale
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
  • Thayer County
    • Alexandria
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Washington County (KS)
    • The following are listed by their distance from De Witt, with the one closest to De Witt listed first.
    • Lanham
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lanham
      • Lanham is located in Washington County (KS)
    • Hollenberg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hollenberg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollenberg
      • Hollenberg is located in Washington County (KS)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 20 people

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of De Witt ...

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 237 newspapers that have been published in the area around De Witt.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

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

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 De Witt:

Cemeteries Near De Witt ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of De Witt.

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

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

  • Oak Grove Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Rose Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rose Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rose Hill Cemetery
  • Trinity Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Trinity Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Trinity Cemetery
  • St. Paul's Lutheran Church Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Plummers Branch Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • First Trinity Lutheran Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Wilber Czech Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Wilber Czech Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the west of Wilber.
    • The Wilber Czech Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Cecho Slovansky Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wilber Czech Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2182080 <4>
  • St. Paul Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Paul Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Paul Cemetery
  • Woodlawn Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Woodlawn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Woodlawn Cemetery
  • Kilpatrick Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Kilpatrick Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Kilpatrick Cemetery
  • Sunny Side Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (164 more) ...
    • Swan Valley Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Freeman Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • The Freeman Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Freeman Graves Cemetery
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Freeman Cemetery
    • Megli Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Megli Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Megli 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 De Witt had a population of 751 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, De Witt had a population of 488 people.

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

  • Wilber
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Plymouth
    (7 miles [11.3 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>
  • Hoag
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hoag have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoag
    • Hoag is located in Gage County
  • Swanton
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Pickrell
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Ellis
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellis
    • Ellis is located in Gage County
  • Beatrice
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Cortland
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cortland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cortland
    • Cortland is located in Gage County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 478 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cortland <1>
  • Kramer
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kramer
    • Kramer is located in Lancaster County
  • Harbine
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harbine
    • Harbine is located in Jefferson County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 44 people
  • Western
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • Pleasant Hill
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
    • Pleasant Hill is located in Saline County
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Crete
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Bower ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bower have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bower
      • Bower is located in Jefferson County
    • Jansen
      (16 miles [25.7 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>

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

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

The official website for Saline County: www.co.saline.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 '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- De Witt) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in De Witt. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.3966, Longitude: -96.9228    
<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 De Witt, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024