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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 northwest 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 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.

Olean is located in Colfax 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 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)
    • Clarkson
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Leigh
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Rogers
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Rogers is located in Colfax County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers
      • 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)
      • Richland is located in Colfax County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richland
      • 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)
    • Craig
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • 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)
      • Nimburg is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nimburg
    • Abie
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Octavia
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Octavia is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Octavia
      • 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)
      • Aloys is located in Cuming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aloys
    • Monterey
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Monterey is located in Cuming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monterey
    • West Point
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • West Point is located in Cuming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Point
      • 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 <1>
    • 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)
    • Snyder
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Crowell
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Crowell is located in Dodge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crowell
    • Webster
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Webster is located in Dodge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
    • 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)
    • Uehling
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Winslow
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Ames
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Nickerson
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Fontanelle
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Fontanelle is located in Dodge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fontanelle
  • Madison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Olean, with the one closest to Olean listed first.
    • Madison
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Warnerville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Warnerville is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warnerville
  • 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)
    • Carriage House Estates
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Humphrey
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Tarnov
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Tarnov is located in Platte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tarnov
      • 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)
    • Rescue ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Rescue is located in Saunders County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rescue
    • 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)
  • Washington County
    • Admah ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Admah is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Admah

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

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

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)
  • Grove Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Joseph Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Immanuel Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • St. John's Nepomucene Catholic Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Tabor Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • St. Wenceslaus Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • St. Peters Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • St. Peter's Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Peter's Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Peter's Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the north of Snyder.
    • The St. Peter's Cemetery has also been known as:
    • St. Leo's Catholic Cemetery
    • St. Leo's Cemetery
    • Synder Cemeetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #101461 <2>
  • Snyder Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • St. Boniface Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Bohemian Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (119 more) ...
    • St. Anthony Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Sousek Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • St. Johns Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)

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.<3>

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)
  • Dodge
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Glencoe ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Glencoe is located in Dodge County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glencoe
  • Heun
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Heun is located in Colfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heun
  • Snyder
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Monterey
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Monterey is located in Cuming County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monterey
  • Clarkson
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Saint Charles
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Saint Charles is located in Cuming County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Charles
  • Webster
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Webster is located in Dodge County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
  • Crowell
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Crowell is located in Dodge County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crowell
  • Bismarck ‑ Historic
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Bismarck is located in Cuming County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bismarck
  • West Point
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • West Point is located in Cuming County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Point
    • 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 <1>
  • 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.

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]<4>. 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 helpful 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 Olean:

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>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.
<4>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Olean) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.