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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 Norman (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 Norman. 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 hospitals and doctors 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.

Norman is located in Kearney 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 Kearney County: Adams, Buffalo, Franklin, Harlan, Phelps & Webster.

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

  • Kearney County     (The home county of Norman)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Norman, with the one closest to Norman listed first.
    • Heartwell
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Heartwell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heartwell
      • Heartwell is located in Kearney County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 72 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Heartwell <2>
    • Minden
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Valley City ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Valley City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley City
      • Valley City is located in Kearney County
    • Newark
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Newark. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newark
      • Newark is located in Kearney County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Newark
      • From Norman to Newark
    • Keene
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Kearney City ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Kearney City. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kearney City
      • Kearney City is located in Kearney County
      • Kearney City has also been known as:
      • Dobytown
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Kearney City
      • From Norman to Kearney City
    • Axtell
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Wilcox
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wilcox have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilcox
      • Wilcox is located in Kearney County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 349 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wilcox <2>
  • Adams County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Norman, with the one closest to Norman listed first.
    • Holstein
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Assumption
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Kenesaw
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kenesaw have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenesaw
      • Kenesaw is located in Adams County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 950 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kenesaw <2>
    • Roseland
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Hayland
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Juniata
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Ayr
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ayr have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayr
      • Ayr is located in Adams County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 120 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ayr <2>
    • Prosser
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prosser have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prosser
      • Prosser is located in Adams County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 71 people
    • Hastings
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Good Samaritan Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Good Samaritan Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Good Samaritan Village
      • Good Samaritan Village is located in Adams County
    • Blaine
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Hansen
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Buffalo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Norman, with the one closest to Norman listed first.
    • Denman
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Gibbon
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gibbon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibbon
      • Gibbon is located in Buffalo County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,875 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gibbon <2>
    • Buda
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Buda. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buda
      • Buda is located in Buffalo County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Buda
      • From Norman to Buda
    • Shelton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shelton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shelton
      • Shelton is located in Buffalo County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,055 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Shelton <2>
    • Kearney
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Glenwood Park
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Odessa
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Riverdale
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Riverdale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverdale
      • Riverdale is located in Buffalo County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 179 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Riverdale <2>
    • Prairie Center
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Clay County
  • Franklin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Norman, with the one closest to Norman listed first.
    • Upland
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Campbell
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Hildreth
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Macon
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Riverton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Franklin
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Franklin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
      • Franklin is located in Franklin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 899 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Franklin <2>
    • Bloomington
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Hall County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Norman, with the one closest to Norman listed first.
    • Wood River
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Doniphan
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Doniphan have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doniphan
      • Doniphan is located in Hall County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 832 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Doniphan <2>
  • Harlan County
    • Ragan
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ragan have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ragan
      • Ragan is located in Harlan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 38 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ragan <2>
  • Nuckolls County
    • Lawrence
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lawrence have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawrence
      • Lawrence is located in Nuckolls County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 278 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lawrence <2>
  • Phelps County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Norman, with the one closest to Norman listed first.
    • Funk
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Funk have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Funk
      • Funk is located in Phelps County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 182 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Funk <2>
    • Sacramento
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sacramento. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sacramento
      • Sacramento is located in Phelps County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Sacramento
      • From Norman to Sacramento
    • Holdrege
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Webster County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Norman, with the one closest to Norman listed first.
    • Bladen
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Blue Hill
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blue Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Hill
      • Blue Hill is located in Webster County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 850 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Blue Hill <2>
    • Rosemont
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Inavale
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Cowles
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cowles. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowles
      • Cowles is located in Webster County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 27 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Cowles
      • From Norman to Cowles
    • Red Cloud
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Norman ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Norman.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Norman, with the one closest to Norman 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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Norman had a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Norman had a population of 44 people.

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

  • Heartwell
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Heartwell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heartwell
    • Heartwell is located in Kearney County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 72 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Heartwell <2>
  • Holstein
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Minden
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Lowell
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lowell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowell
    • Lowell is located in Kearney County
  • Kenesaw
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kenesaw have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenesaw
    • Kenesaw is located in Adams County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 950 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kenesaw <2>
  • Upland
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Roseland
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Campbell
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Keene
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • Bladen
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Newark
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Newark. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newark
    • Newark is located in Kearney County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Newark
    • From Norman to Newark
  • Hildreth
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in Norman ...

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 26 newspapers that have been published in the area around Norman.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Norman, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Norman.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with 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 Norman:

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

The official website for Kearney County: www.kearneycounty.ne.gov/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<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 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 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Norman) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Norman. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.4791, Longitude: -98.7920    
<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 Norman, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025