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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

So far, we found very little information about Helena. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>

We've added Helena to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Helena, please Contact Us.

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 Helena (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 Helena. 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 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.

Although our information shows that the community of Helena is historic, it would have been located within present day Johnson 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 Johnson County: Gage, Lancaster, Nemaha, Otoe & Pawnee.

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

  • Johnson County     (The home county of Helena)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Helena, with the one closest to Helena listed first.
    • Cook
      (4 miles [6.4 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 <3>
    • Saint Mary
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Mary
      • Saint Mary is located in Johnson County
    • Sterling
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Tecumseh
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Graf ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Graf. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graf
      • Graf is located in Johnson County
    • Vesta
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vesta
      • Vesta is located in Johnson County
    • Crab Orchard
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • 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 <3>
    • Elk Creek
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Cass County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Helena, with the one closest to Helena listed first.
    • Avoca
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Avoca have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avoca
      • Avoca is located in Cass County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 253 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Avoca <3>
    • Elmwood
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elmwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmwood
      • Elmwood is located in Cass County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 659 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elmwood <3>
    • Eagle
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • 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 <3>
    • Alvo
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • 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 <3>
    • Wabash
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wabash
      • Wabash is located in Cass County
    • Weeping Water
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Weeping Water have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weeping Water
      • Weeping Water is located in Cass County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,094 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Weeping Water <3>
    • Nehawka
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Union
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Manley
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Manley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manley
      • Manley is located in Cass County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 171 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Manley <3>
    • Murdock
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Gage County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Helena, with the one closest to Helena listed first.
    • Adams
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • 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 <3>
    • Filley
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Virginia
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • 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 <3>
    • Cortland
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • 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 <3>
    • Rockford
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockford
      • Rockford is located in Gage County
    • Pickrell
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Holmesville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Beatrice
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Lancaster County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Helena, with the one closest to Helena listed first.
    • Panama
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Bennet
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Firth
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • 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 <3>
    • Holland
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holland
      • Holland is located in Lancaster County
    • Hickman
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Cheney
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheney
      • Cheney is located in Lancaster County
    • Roca
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • 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 <3>
    • Princeton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Princeton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princeton
      • Princeton is located in Lancaster County
    • Pine Lake
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Lake
      • Pine Lake is located in Lancaster County
    • Walton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Sprague
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • College View
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for College View
      • College View is located in Lancaster County
  • Nemaha County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Helena, with the one closest to Helena listed first.
    • Johnson
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Johnson have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnson
      • Johnson is located in Nemaha County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 327 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Johnson <3>
    • Brock
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Rohrs
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rohrs
      • Rohrs is located in Nemaha County
    • Julian
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Julian
      • Julian is located in Nemaha County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 56 people
    • Auburn
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Auburn have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auburn
      • Auburn is located in Nemaha County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,342 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Auburn <3>
    • Howe
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howe
      • Howe is located in Nemaha County
    • Peru
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
  • Otoe County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Helena, with the one closest to Helena listed first.
    • Burr
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • 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 <3>
    • Douglas
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Syracuse
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Talmage
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Unadilla
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • 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 <3>
    • Lorton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Dunbar
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dunbar have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunbar
      • Dunbar is located in Otoe County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 192 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dunbar <3>
    • Otoe
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Otoe have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otoe
      • Otoe is located in Otoe County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 177 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Otoe <3>
    • Palmyra
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • 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 <3>
    • Nebraska City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Wyoming
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyoming
      • Wyoming is located in Otoe County
  • Pawnee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Helena, with the one closest to Helena listed first.
    • Lewiston
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Steinauer
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Table Rock
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Burchard
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Pawnee City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
  • Richardson County
    • Humboldt
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Fremont County (IA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Helena, with the one closest to Helena listed first.
    • Payne
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Payne. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Payne
      • Payne is located in Fremont County (IA)
    • Percival
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Percival have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Percival
      • Percival is located in Fremont County (IA)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Percival <3>

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

Cemeteries Near Helena ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Helena.

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

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

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

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

  • Burr
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • 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 <3>
  • Cook
    (4 miles [6.4 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 <3>
  • Sterling
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Tecumseh
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Douglas
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Vesta
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vesta
    • Vesta is located in Johnson County
  • Graf ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Graf. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graf
    • Graf is located in Johnson County
  • Syracuse
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Talmage
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Unadilla
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • 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 <3>
  • Adams
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • 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 <3>
  • Lorton
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Pella ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • 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
    • Crab Orchard
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • 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 <3>
    • Johnson
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Johnson have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnson
      • Johnson is located in Nemaha County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 327 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Johnson <3>

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

Newspapers Published in Helena ...

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 49 newspapers that have been published in the area around Helena.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Helena, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Helena.

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 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 Helena:

The official website for Johnson County: www.co.johnson.ne.us/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Helena, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>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.
<5>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.
<6>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- Helena) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Helena. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.5006, Longitude: -96.2497       In this case, the coordinates for Helena have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025