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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 North Star (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 North Star. 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 North Star ...

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.

For example, a typical abbreviation for North Star: N. Star

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

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 doctors and hospitals 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.

North Star is located in Nance 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 Nance County: Boone, Greeley, Howard, Merrick & Platte.

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

  • Nance County     (The home county of North Star)
    • The following are listed by their distance from North Star, with the one closest to North Star listed first.
    • Belgrade
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Fullerton
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Merchiston
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Merchiston is located in Nance County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merchiston
    • Krakow
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Krakow is located in Nance County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Krakow
    • Genoa
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
  • Boone County
    • The following are listed by their distance from North Star, with the one closest to North Star listed first.
    • Cedar Rapids
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Primrose
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Saint Edward
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Boone
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Boone is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boone
    • Albion
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Vorhees
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Vorhees is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vorhees
    • Akron
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Akron is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Akron
    • Loretto
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Loretto is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loretto
  • Greeley County
    • The following are listed by their distance from North Star, with the one closest to North Star listed first.
    • Wolbach
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Brayton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Brayton is located in Greeley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brayton
    • Greeley Center
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Greeley Center is located in Greeley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greeley Center
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 421 people
    • Greeley
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Spalding
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Horace ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Horace is located in Greeley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horace
    • Scotia
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Hamilton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from North Star, with the one closest to North Star listed first.
    • Overland
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Overland is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Overland
    • Hordville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Marquette
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Kronborg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Kronborg is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kronborg
  • Howard County
    • The following are listed by their distance from North Star, with the one closest to North Star listed first.
    • Cushing
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Cushing is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cushing
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 33 people
    • Saint Paul
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Saint Libory
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Elba
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Cotesfield
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Cotesfield is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotesfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 49 people
    • Dannebrog
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Farwell
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Nysted
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Nysted is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nysted
    • Dannevirke
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Dannevirke is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dannevirke
  • Merrick County
    • The following are listed by their distance from North Star, with the one closest to North Star listed first.
    • Palmer
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Archer
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Hord
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Hord is located in Merrick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hord
    • Clarks
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Central City
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Paddock
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Paddock is located in Merrick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paddock
    • Worms
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Worms is located in Merrick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worms
    • Silver Creek
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Chapman
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
  • Platte County
    • The following are listed by their distance from North Star, with the one closest to North Star listed first.
    • Rosenburg
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Rosenburg is located in Platte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosenburg
    • Monroe
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Gardiner
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Gardiner is located in Platte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gardiner
  • Polk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from North Star, with the one closest to North Star listed first.
    • Polk
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Swedehome
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Swedehome is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swedehome
  • York County
    • Arborville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Arborville is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arborville

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

Cemeteries Near North Star ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of North Star.

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 North Star - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Morning Star Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Redwing Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Peace Lutheran Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Glenwood Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Fullerton Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • St. Peter Catholic Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Main Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Main Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Main Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<3> to the northeast of Belgrade.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #100939 <2>
  • Rock Creek Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Rose Hill Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Bureau Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bureau Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Bureau Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 5 miles [8 km]<3> to the northwest of Clarks.
    • The Bureau Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Pierce Chapel Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #100438 <2>
  • Spring Creek Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Sunnyside Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (92 more) ...
    • Enfield Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • St. Anthony Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Sunset Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)

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.<4>

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

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

  • Belgrade
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Fullerton
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Palmer
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Cedar Rapids
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Cushing
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Cushing is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cushing
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 33 people
  • Merchiston
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Merchiston is located in Nance County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merchiston
  • Wolbach
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Archer
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
  • Clarks
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
  • Brayton
    (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Brayton is located in Greeley County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brayton
  • Central City
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
  • Saint Edward
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • O'Connor
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • O'Connor is located in Greeley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for O'Connor
    • Saint Paul
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Paddock
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Paddock is located in Merrick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paddock

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

Newspapers Published in North Star ...

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 118 newspapers that have been published in the area around North Star.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of North Star, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for North Star.

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 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 North Star:

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