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










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
Nebraska

The Commemorative Quarter for Nebraska





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 Johnstown (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 Johnstown. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Johnstown is located in Brown 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 Brown County: Blaine, Cherry, Keya Paha, Loup & Rock.

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

  • Brown County     (The home county of Johnstown)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Johnstown, with the one closest to Johnstown listed first.
    • Ainsworth
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Long Pine
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
  • Cherry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Johnstown, with the one closest to Johnstown listed first.
    • Wood Lake
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Arabia ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Arabia. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arabia
      • Arabia is located in Cherry County
    • Sparks
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Elsmere
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elsmere
      • Elsmere is located in Cherry County
  • Keya Paha County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Johnstown, with the one closest to Johnstown listed first.
    • Meadville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadville
      • Meadville is located in Keya Paha County
    • Norden
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norden
      • Norden is located in Keya Paha County
    • Springview
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
  • Rock County
    • Bassett
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)

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

Cemeteries Near Johnstown ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Johnstown.

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

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

  • East Woodlawn Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the East Woodlawn Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the East Woodlawn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Woodlawn Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • 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.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Grand Prairie Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Grand Prairie Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Grand Prairie Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • German Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the German Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the German Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Ainsworth Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ainsworth Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Ainsworth Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located less than 2 miles<4> to the northwest of Ainsworth.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #100308 <5>
  • Mt. Hope Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Park Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Park Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Park Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Union Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Union Cemetery
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Union Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Union Cemetery is located 7 miles [11.3 km]<4> to the east of Springview.
    • The Union Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Chub Creek Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2255883 <5>
  • Pleasant Vale Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Vale Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Vale Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Huishizer Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Huishizer Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Huishizer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Norden Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Norden Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Norden Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Leonard Cemetery
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Leonard Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Leonard Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Putnam Cemetery
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Putnam Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Putnam Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #101204 <5>
    • Rogers Cemetery
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rogers Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rogers Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Mt. Hope Cemetery
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Hope Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Hope Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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 Johnstown had a population of 205 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Johnstown had a population of 60 people.

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

  • Ainsworth
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Wood Lake
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Meadville
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadville
    • Meadville is located in Keya Paha County
  • Long Pine
    (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
  • Arabia ‑ Historic
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Arabia. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arabia
    • Arabia is located in Cherry County
  • Winfield ‑ Historic
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Winfield have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winfield
    • Winfield is located in Brown County
  • Norden
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norden
    • Norden is located in Keya Paha County
  • Springview
    (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
  • Bassett
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
  • Thatcher
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thatcher have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thatcher
    • Thatcher is located in Cherry County
  • Sparks
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)

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

Newspapers Published in Johnstown ...

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 41 newspapers that have been published in the area around Johnstown.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Johnstown, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Johnstown.

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 Johnstown:

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

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

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>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.
<3>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.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Johnstown) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Johnstown. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.5721, Longitude: -100.0563       In this case, the coordinates for Johnstown have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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>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 Johnstown, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

Copyright 2025
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025