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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 Hayes Center (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 Hayes Center. 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.

Name Variations for Hayes Center ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

  • A typical abbreviation for Hayes Center: Hayes Ctr. (or less commonly used: Hayes Cen., Hayes Cent. or Hayes Cntr.)
  • While the name of this village is Hayes Center, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Hayes Center may originally have been Haye's Center.

    Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Hayes Center might be written as Haye Center.

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

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 and 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.

Hayes Center is located in Hayes County and is the County Seat.

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 Hayes County: Chase, Dundy, Frontier, Hitchcock, Lincoln & Perkins.

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

  • Hayes County     (The home county of Hayes Center)
    • Hamlet
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Chase County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hayes Center, with the one closest to Hayes Center listed first.
    • Catherine ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Catherine. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catherine
      • Catherine is located in Chase County
    • Wauneta
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Blanche ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Blanche. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blanche
      • Blanche is located in Chase County
    • Enders
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
  • Dundy County
    • Ough
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ough
      • Ough is located in Dundy County
  • Frontier County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hayes Center, with the one closest to Hayes Center listed first.
    • Maywood
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Curtis
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
  • Hitchcock County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hayes Center, with the one closest to Hayes Center listed first.
    • Palisade
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Beverly
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beverly have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beverly
      • Beverly is located in Hitchcock County
    • Culbertson
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Trenton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Trenton have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trenton
      • Trenton is located in Hitchcock County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 533 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Trenton <2>
    • Stratton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Lincoln County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hayes Center, with the one closest to Hayes Center listed first.
    • Dickens
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dickens have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickens
      • Dickens is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dickens <2>
    • Wellfleet
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Somerset
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Somerset have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somerset
      • Somerset is located in Lincoln County
    • Wallace
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
  • Perkins County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hayes Center, with the one closest to Hayes Center listed first.
    • Grainton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grainton have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grainton
      • Grainton is located in Perkins County
    • Elsie
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Red Willow County
    • McCook
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCook
      • McCook is located in Red Willow County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,499 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for McCook <2>

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Hayes Center ...

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 72 newspapers that have been published in the area around Hayes Center.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Hayes Center. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Hayes Center and those printed in the larger area surrounding Hayes Center.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<5> of Hayes Center.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with 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 Hayes Center:

Cemeteries Near Hayes Center ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Hayes Center.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Hayes Center, with the one closest to Hayes Center 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.<7>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Hayes Center had a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Hayes Center had a population of 200 people.

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

  • Marengo
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marengo have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marengo
    • Marengo is located in Hayes County
  • Palisade
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Beverly
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beverly have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beverly
    • Beverly is located in Hitchcock County
  • Wauneta
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
  • Catherine ‑ Historic
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Catherine. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catherine
    • Catherine is located in Chase County
  • Quick
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Quick have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quick
    • Quick is located in Frontier County
  • Culbertson
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Dickens
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dickens have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickens
    • Dickens is located in Lincoln County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dickens <2>
  • Blanche ‑ Historic
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Blanche. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blanche
    • Blanche is located in Chase County
  • Wellfleet
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Trenton
    (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Trenton have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trenton
    • Trenton is located in Hitchcock County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 533 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Trenton <2>
  • Wallace
    (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (9 more) ...
    • Maywood
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Somerset
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Somerset have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somerset
      • Somerset is located in Lincoln County
    • Perry
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Perry have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perry
      • Perry is located in Red Willow County

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

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

The official website for Hayes County: www.geocities.com/hayes_county/

The official website for State of Nebraska: www.nebraska.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties).
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<4>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.
<5>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Hayes Center) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Hayes Center. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.5115, Longitude: -101.0205       In this case, the coordinates for Hayes Center have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>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.
<7>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 Hayes Center, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024