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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 Essen (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 Essen. 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 doctors 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.

Essen is located in Burt 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 Burt County: Harrison (IA), Monona (IA), Cuming, Dodge, Thurston & Washington.

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

  • Burt County     (The home county of Essen)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Essen, with the one closest to Essen listed first.
    • Oakland
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Craig
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Lyons
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Bertha
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Bertha is located in Burt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bertha
    • Tekamah
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Decatur
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
  • Colfax County
    • Howells
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
  • Cuming County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Essen, with the one closest to Essen listed first.
    • West Point
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • West Point is located in Cuming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Point
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,237 people
      • West Point has also been known as:
      • Westpoint
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for West Point <1>
    • Bancroft
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Monterey
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Monterey is located in Cuming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monterey
    • Beemer
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Aloys
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Aloys is located in Cuming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aloys
    • Wisner
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Dodge County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Essen, with the one closest to Essen listed first.
    • Uehling
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Crowell
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Crowell is located in Dodge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crowell
    • Hooper
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Winslow
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Scribner
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Telbasta
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Telbasta is located in Dodge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Telbasta
    • Snyder
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Fontanelle
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Fontanelle is located in Dodge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fontanelle
    • Nickerson
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Webster
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Webster is located in Dodge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
    • Dodge
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Ames
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Fremont
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
  • Douglas County
    • Elk City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Elk City is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk City
  • Saunders County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Essen, with the one closest to Essen listed first.
    • Cedar Bluffs
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Woodcliff
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Woodcliff is located in Saunders County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodcliff
    • Morse Bluff
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Thurston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Essen, with the one closest to Essen listed first.
    • Rosalie
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Macy
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Walthill
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Pender
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Thurston
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Washington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Essen, with the one closest to Essen listed first.
    • Admah ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Admah is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Admah
    • Herman
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Arlington
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Blair
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Blair is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blair
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,948 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Blair <1>
    • Kennard
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • De Soto ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • De Soto is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Soto
      • De Soto has also been known as:
      • DeSoto
    • Washington
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Harrison County (IA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Essen, with the one closest to Essen listed first.
    • Little Sioux
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Mondamin
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Orson
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Orson is located in Harrison County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orson
    • Modale
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Modale is located in Harrison County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Modale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 264 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Modale <1>
    • Pisgah
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Pisgah is located in Harrison County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pisgah
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 237 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pisgah <1>
    • California Junction
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • California Junction is located in Harrison County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for California Junction
  • Monona County (IA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Essen, with the one closest to Essen listed first.
    • Blencoe
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Blencoe is located in Monona County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blencoe
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 196 people
    • Onawa
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Onawa is located in Monona County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onawa
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,766 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Onawa <1>
    • Albaton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Albaton is located in Monona County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albaton
    • Whiting
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Essen ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Essen.

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

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

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

  • Uehling Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Salem Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Argo Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Pioneer Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Blomgren Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Baptist Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Swaburg Baptist Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Peterson Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Craig Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • West Admah Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Admah Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • East Admah Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (110 more) ...
    • Grace Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • St. Johns Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Logan Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)

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>

While we didn't find Essen in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Essen.

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

  • Oakland
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Argo ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Argo is located in Burt County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argo
  • Craig
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Admah ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Admah is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Admah
  • Bertha
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Bertha is located in Burt County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bertha
  • Lyons
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Crowell
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Crowell is located in Dodge County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crowell
  • Scribner
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Hooper
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • West Point
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • West Point is located in Cuming County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Point
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,237 people
    • West Point has also been known as:
    • Westpoint
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for West Point <1>
  • Tekamah
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Saint Charles
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Saint Charles is located in Cuming County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Charles
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Telbasta
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Telbasta is located in Dodge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Telbasta
    • Herman
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Snyder
      (16 miles [25.7 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 Essen. See our List of 1890's Communities around Essen.

Newspapers Published in Essen ...

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 91 newspapers that have been published in the area around Essen.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Essen, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Essen.

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 Essen:

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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Essen) 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 Essen, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.