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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 Howells (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 Howells. 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 Howells ...

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 occur.

Another variation: Howell.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Howells. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Howells.

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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors 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.

Howells is located in Colfax 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 Colfax County: Butler, Cuming, Dodge, Platte, Saunders & Stanton.

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

  • Colfax County     (The home county of Howells)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Howells, with the one closest to Howells listed first.
    • Clarkson
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Leigh
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Rogers
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Rogers is located in Colfax County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 93 people
    • Schuyler
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Richland
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Richland is located in Colfax County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 71 people
  • Burt County
    • Oakland
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
  • Butler County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Howells, with the one closest to Howells listed first.
    • Linwood
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Nimburg
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Nimburg is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nimburg
    • Octavia
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Octavia is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Octavia
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 117 people
    • Abie
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Bellwood
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Bruno
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Cuming County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Howells, with the one closest to Howells listed first.
    • Aloys
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Aloys is located in Cuming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aloys
    • Monterey
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Monterey is located in Cuming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monterey
    • Beemer
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • West Point
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • 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>
    • Wisner
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Bancroft
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Dodge County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Howells, with the one closest to Howells listed first.
    • Dodge
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Snyder
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Webster
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Webster is located in Dodge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
    • Crowell
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Crowell is located in Dodge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crowell
    • Scribner
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • North Bend
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Hooper
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Uehling
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Winslow
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Ames
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Nickerson
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Madison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Howells, with the one closest to Howells listed first.
    • Madison
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Warnerville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Warnerville is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warnerville
    • Norfolk
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Platte County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Howells, with the one closest to Howells listed first.
    • Creston
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Humphrey
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Carriage House Estates
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Tarnov
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Tarnov is located in Platte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tarnov
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 45 people
    • Columbus
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Platte Center
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Sheldonville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Sheldonville is located in Platte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheldonville
    • Cornlea
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Cornlea is located in Platte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornlea
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 35 people
  • Saunders County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Howells, with the one closest to Howells listed first.
    • Morse Bluff
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Rescue ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Rescue is located in Saunders County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rescue
    • Prague
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Cedar Bluffs
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Stanton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Howells, with the one closest to Howells listed first.
    • Pilger
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Stanton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
  • Thurston County
    • Pender
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Wayne County
    • Hoskins
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Howells ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Howells.

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

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

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

  • St.s Peter and Paul Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Grove Hill Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • St. John's Nepomucene Catholic Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Tabor Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • St. Joseph Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Immanuel Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Bohemian Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • St. Wenceslaus Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • St. Peters Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Sousek Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Dry Creek Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (114 more) ...
    • St. Peter's Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Peter's Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Peter's Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the north of Snyder.
      • The St. Peter's Cemetery has also been known as:
      • St. Leo's Catholic Cemetery
      • St. Leo's Cemetery
      • Synder Cemeetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #101461 <2>
    • Snyder Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • St. Boniface Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)

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 Howells had a population of 197 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Howells had a population of 557 people.

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

  • Heun
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Heun is located in Colfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heun
  • Dodge
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Clarkson
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Glencoe ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Glencoe is located in Dodge County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glencoe
  • Snyder
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Monterey
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Monterey is located in Cuming County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monterey
  • Leigh
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Saint Charles
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Saint Charles is located in Cuming County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Charles
  • Bismarck ‑ Historic
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Bismarck is located in Cuming County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bismarck
  • Webster
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Webster is located in Dodge County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
  • Crowell
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Crowell is located in Dodge County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crowell
  • West Point
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • 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>
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Beemer
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Rogers
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Rogers is located in Colfax County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 93 people
    • Scribner
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Howells ...

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 90 newspapers that have been published in the area around Howells.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

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

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 Howells:

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 Howells, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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- Howells) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.