RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Nebraska >> Jefferson County >> Jansen >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Jansen (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 Jansen. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.

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 south 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.

Jansen is located in Jefferson 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 Jefferson County: Republic (KS), Washington (KS), Fillmore, Gage, Saline & Thayer.

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

  • Jefferson County     (The home county of Jansen)
  • Fillmore County
  • Gage County
  • Lancaster County
  • Saline County
  • Thayer County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Jansen, with the one closest to Jansen listed first.
    • Alexandria
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Gilead
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gilead have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilead
      • Gilead is located in Thayer County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 37 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gilead <1>
    • Hubbell
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hubbell have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hubbell
      • Hubbell is located in Thayer County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 64 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hubbell <1>
    • Belvidere
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Hebron
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Bruning
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Stoddard ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stoddard have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoddard
      • Stoddard is located in Thayer County
    • Chester
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Marshall County (KS)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Jansen, with the one closest to Jansen listed first.
    • Bremen
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Oketo
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Marietta
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Marietta. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marietta
      • Marietta is located in Marshall County (KS)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Marietta
      • From Jansen to Marietta
  • Republic County (KS)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Jansen, with the one closest to Jansen listed first.
    • Narka
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Munden
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Washington County (KS)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Jansen, with the one closest to Jansen listed first.
    • Hollenberg
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hollenberg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollenberg
      • Hollenberg is located in Washington County (KS)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 20 people
    • Lanham
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Mahaska
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mahaska have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mahaska
      • Mahaska is located in Washington County (KS)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 77 people
    • Blocker ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Blocker. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blocker
      • Blocker is located in Washington County (KS)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Blocker
      • From Jansen to Blocker
    • Hanover
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hanover have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanover
      • Hanover is located in Washington County (KS)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 650 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hanover <1>
    • Morrowville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Washington
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Haddam
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Haddam have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haddam
      • Haddam is located in Washington County (KS)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 97 people
      • Haddam has also been known as:
      • Haddam City
      • West Haddam

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

Cemeteries Near Jansen ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Jansen.

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

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

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

  • Jansen Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Bartel Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bartel Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bartel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Grandy Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Grandy Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Grandy Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Fairbury Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fairbury Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fairbury Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hope Church Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hope Church Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hope Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Harbine Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Harbine Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Harbine Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Old Plymouth Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Plymouth Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Plymouth Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bower Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bower Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bower Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Richland Center Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Richland Center Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Richland Center Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Emmanuel Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Emmanuel Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Emmanuel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Prairie Home Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Megli Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (148 more) ...
    • Woodlawn Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Woodlawn Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Woodlawn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • St. Paul Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Paul Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Paul Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Steele City Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Steele City Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Steele City Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Jansen had a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Jansen had a population of 114 people.

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

  • Fairbury
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Harbine
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Endicott
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Endicott have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Endicott
    • Endicott is located in Jefferson County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 128 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Endicott <1>
  • Bower ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bower have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bower
    • Bower is located in Jefferson County
  • Diller
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Plymouth
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Steele City
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Powell
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Ellis
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Gladstone
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gladstone have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladstone
    • Gladstone is located in Jefferson County
  • Thompson
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Swanton
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Hollenberg
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hollenberg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollenberg
      • Hollenberg is located in Washington County (KS)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 20 people
    • Daykin
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Daykin have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daykin
      • Daykin is located in Jefferson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 160 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Daykin <1>
    • Reynolds
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Jansen ...

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 183 newspapers that have been published in the area around Jansen.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

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

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 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 Jansen:

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 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>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 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.
<5>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 from Point A (ie- Jansen) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Jansen. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.1863, Longitude: -97.0835    
<6>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 Jansen, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.