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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 Olean (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 Olean. 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.

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

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

  • Colfax County     (The home county of Olean)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Olean, with the one closest to Olean listed first.
    • Howells
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Howells have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howells
      • Howells is located in Colfax County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 557 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Howells <2>
    • Clarkson
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clarkson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarkson
      • Clarkson is located in Colfax County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 630 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clarkson <2>
    • Leigh
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Rogers
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers
      • Rogers is located in Colfax County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 93 people
    • Schuyler
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Richland
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Richland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richland
      • Richland is located in Colfax County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 71 people
  • Burt County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Olean, with the one closest to Olean listed first.
    • Oakland
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Lyons
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lyons have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyons
      • Lyons is located in Burt County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 800 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lyons <2>
    • Craig
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Craig have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craig
      • Craig is located in Burt County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 188 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Craig <2>
  • Butler County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Olean, with the one closest to Olean listed first.
    • Linwood
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Nimburg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nimburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nimburg
      • Nimburg is located in Butler County
    • Abie
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Octavia
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Octavia
      • Octavia is located in Butler County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 117 people
  • Cuming County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Olean, with the one closest to Olean listed first.
    • Aloys
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aloys
      • Aloys is located in Cuming County
    • Monterey
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monterey
      • Monterey is located in Cuming County
    • West Point
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Point have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Point
      • West Point is located in Cuming County
      • 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 <2>
    • Beemer
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Wisner
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Bancroft
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Dodge County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Olean, with the one closest to Olean listed first.
    • Dodge
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dodge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodge
      • Dodge is located in Dodge County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 582 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dodge <2>
    • Snyder
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Snyder have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snyder
      • Snyder is located in Dodge County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 280 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Snyder <2>
    • Crowell
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crowell
      • Crowell is located in Dodge County
    • Scribner
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • North Bend
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Hooper
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hooper have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooper
      • Hooper is located in Dodge County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 828 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hooper <2>
    • Uehling
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Uehling have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uehling
      • Uehling is located in Dodge County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 216 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Uehling <2>
    • Winslow
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Winslow have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winslow
      • Winslow is located in Dodge County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 99 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Winslow <2>
    • Ames
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ames have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ames
      • Ames is located in Dodge County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ames <2>
    • Nickerson
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Telbasta
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Telbasta
      • Telbasta is located in Dodge County
    • Fontanelle
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fontanelle
      • Fontanelle is located in Dodge County
  • Madison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Olean, with the one closest to Olean listed first.
    • Madison
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Madison have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madison
      • Madison is located in Madison County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,343 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Madison <2>
    • Warnerville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warnerville
      • Warnerville is located in Madison County
  • Platte County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Olean, with the one closest to Olean listed first.
    • Creston
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Creston have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creston
      • Creston is located in Platte County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 197 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Creston <2>
    • Carriage House Estates
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Humphrey
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Humphrey have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Humphrey
      • Humphrey is located in Platte County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 800 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Humphrey <2>
    • Tarnov
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tarnov
      • Tarnov is located in Platte County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 45 people
    • Columbus
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Saunders County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Olean, with the one closest to Olean listed first.
    • Morse Bluff
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Morse Bluff have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morse Bluff
      • Morse Bluff is located in Saunders County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 144 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Morse Bluff <2>
    • Rescue ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rescue have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rescue
      • Rescue is located in Saunders County
    • Cedar Bluffs
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Prague
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Stanton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Olean, with the one closest to Olean listed first.
    • Pilger
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Stanton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Thurston County
    • Pender
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Olean ...

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 43 newspapers that have been published in the area around Olean.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Olean, 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 Olean.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start 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 Olean:

Cemeteries Near Olean ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Olean.

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

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

  • St.s Peter and Paul Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St.s Peter and Paul Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St.s Peter and Paul Cemetery
  • Grove Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Grove Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Grove Hill Cemetery
  • St. Joseph Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Joseph Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Joseph Cemetery
  • Immanuel Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Immanuel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Immanuel Cemetery
  • St. John's Nepomucene Catholic Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Tabor Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Tabor Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Tabor Cemetery
  • St. Wenceslaus Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Wenceslaus Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Wenceslaus Cemetery
  • St. Peters Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Peters Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Peters Cemetery
  • Snyder Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Snyder Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Snyder Cemetery
  • St. Boniface Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Boniface Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Boniface Cemetery
  • Bohemian Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bohemian Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bohemian Cemetery
  • St. Anthony Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Anthony Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Anthony Cemetery
  • Continue List   (117 more) ...
    • Sousek Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sousek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sousek Cemetery
    • St. Johns Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Johns Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Johns Cemetery
    • Dry Creek Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dry Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dry Creek Cemetery

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.<5>

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

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

  • Howells
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Howells have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howells
    • Howells is located in Colfax County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 557 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Howells <2>
  • Dodge
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dodge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodge
    • Dodge is located in Dodge County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 582 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dodge <2>
  • Glencoe ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Glencoe have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glencoe
    • Glencoe is located in Dodge County
  • Heun
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Heun have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heun
    • Heun is located in Colfax County
  • Snyder
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Snyder have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snyder
    • Snyder is located in Dodge County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 280 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Snyder <2>
  • Monterey
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monterey
    • Monterey is located in Cuming County
  • Clarkson
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clarkson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarkson
    • Clarkson is located in Colfax County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 630 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clarkson <2>
  • Saint Charles
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Charles have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Charles
    • Saint Charles is located in Cuming County
  • Webster
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Webster have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
    • Webster is located in Dodge County
  • Crowell
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crowell
    • Crowell is located in Dodge County
  • Bismarck ‑ Historic
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bismarck have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bismarck
    • Bismarck is located in Cuming County
  • West Point
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Point have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Point
    • West Point is located in Cuming County
    • 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 <2>
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Scribner
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Beemer
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Leigh
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)

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

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

The official website for Colfax County: www.colfaxcounty.ne.gov/

The official website for State of Nebraska: 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>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 from Point A (ie- Olean) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Olean. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.7361, Longitude: -96.9453       In this case, the coordinates for Olean have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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>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 Olean, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024