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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 Doniphan (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 Doniphan. 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 and 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.

Doniphan is located in Hall 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 Hall County: Adams, Buffalo, Hamilton, Howard & Merrick.

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

  • Hall County     (The home county of Doniphan)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Doniphan, with the one closest to Doniphan listed first.
    • Alda
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Grand Island
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Wood River
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Cameron
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Cameron is located in Hall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cameron
    • Cairo
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
  • Adams County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Doniphan, with the one closest to Doniphan listed first.
    • Hansen
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Hansen is located in Adams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hansen
    • Blaine
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Blaine is located in Adams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blaine
    • Prosser
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Prosser is located in Adams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prosser
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 71 people
    • Good Samaritan Village
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Hastings
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Hayland
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Hayland is located in Adams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayland
    • Juniata
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Kenesaw
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Brickton ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Brickton is located in Adams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brickton
    • Assumption
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Assumption is located in Adams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Assumption
    • Ayr
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Ayr is located in Adams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayr
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 120 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ayr <1>
    • Roseland
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Holstein
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Buffalo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Doniphan, with the one closest to Doniphan listed first.
    • Shelton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Denman
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Denman is located in Buffalo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denman
    • Gibbon
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Nantasket ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Nantasket is located in Buffalo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nantasket
  • Clay County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Doniphan, with the one closest to Doniphan listed first.
    • Trumbull
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Inland
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Harvard
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Glenvil
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Clay Center
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Saronville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Verona
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Verona is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verona
    • Fairfield
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Sutton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Hamilton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Doniphan, with the one closest to Doniphan listed first.
    • Giltner
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Phillips
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Aurora
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Stockham
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Stockham is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stockham
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 44 people
    • Marquette
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Hampton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Kronborg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Kronborg is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kronborg
    • Overland
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Overland is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Overland
  • Howard County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Doniphan, with the one closest to Doniphan listed first.
    • Saint Libory
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Dannebrog
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Boelus
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Howard City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Howard City is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howard City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 187 people
    • Nysted
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Nysted is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nysted
    • Saint Paul
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Kearney County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Doniphan, with the one closest to Doniphan listed first.
    • Heartwell
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Valley City ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Valley City is located in Kearney County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley City
    • Norman
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Merrick County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Doniphan, with the one closest to Doniphan listed first.
    • Chapman
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Worms
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Worms is located in Merrick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worms
    • Paddock
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Paddock is located in Merrick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paddock
    • Archer
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Central City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Hord
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Hord is located in Merrick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hord
  • Webster County
    • Blue Hill
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • York County
    • Henderson
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)

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

Cemeteries Near Doniphan ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Doniphan.

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 Doniphan - one of the links might be able to help.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Doniphan, with the one closest to Doniphan 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.<3>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Doniphan had a population of 437 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Doniphan had a population of 832 people.

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

  • Hansen
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Hansen is located in Adams County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hansen
  • Trumbull
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Alda
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Grand Island
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Prosser
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Prosser is located in Adams County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prosser
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 71 people
  • Wood River
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Hastings
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Juniata
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Inland
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Abbott
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Abbott is located in Hall County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbott
  • Lockwood
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Lockwood is located in Merrick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lockwood
  • Cameron
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Cameron is located in Hall County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cameron
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Harvard
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Kenesaw
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Shelton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Doniphan ...

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 185 newspapers that have been published in the area around Doniphan.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Doniphan. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Doniphan and those printed in the larger area surrounding Doniphan.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4> of Doniphan.

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 helpful 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 Doniphan:

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