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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 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.

Olean is located in Valley 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 Valley County: Custer, Garfield, Greeley, Howard, Loup, Sherman & Wheeler.

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:

  • Valley County     (The home county of Olean)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Olean, with the one closest to Olean listed first.
    • Sumter
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sumter. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumter
      • Sumter is located in Valley County
    • North Loup
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Ord
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ord
      • Ord is located in Valley County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,052 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ord <2>
    • Elyria
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elyria have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elyria
      • Elyria is located in Valley County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 51 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elyria <2>
    • Arcadia
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
  • Boone County
    • Primrose
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Primrose have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Primrose
      • Primrose is located in Boone County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 57 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Primrose <2>
  • Custer County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Olean, with the one closest to Olean listed first.
    • Comstock
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Comstock have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comstock
      • Comstock is located in Custer County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 87 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Comstock <2>
    • Wescott
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wescott
      • Wescott is located in Custer County
    • Sargent
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Garfield County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Olean, with the one closest to Olean listed first.
    • Willow Springs ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Willow Springs. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Springs
      • Willow Springs is located in Garfield County
    • Burwell
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Gables ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Gables. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gables
      • Gables is located in Garfield County
  • Greeley County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Olean, with the one closest to Olean listed first.
    • Horace ‑ Historic
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horace
      • Horace is located in Greeley County
    • Scotia
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Greeley Center
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greeley Center
      • Greeley Center is located in Greeley County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 421 people
    • Greeley
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Brayton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brayton
      • Brayton is located in Greeley County
    • Spalding
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spalding have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spalding
      • Spalding is located in Greeley County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 432 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Spalding <2>
    • Wolbach
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
  • Howard County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Olean, with the one closest to Olean listed first.
    • Cotesfield
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cotesfield. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotesfield
      • Cotesfield is located in Howard County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 49 people
    • Dannevirke
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dannevirke
      • Dannevirke is located in Howard County
    • Elba
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Farwell
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Cushing
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cushing
      • Cushing is located in Howard County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 33 people
    • Saint Paul
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Sherman County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Olean, with the one closest to Olean listed first.
    • North Loup City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Loup City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Loup City
      • North Loup City is located in Sherman County
    • Ashton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Loup City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loup City
      • Loup City is located in Sherman County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 960 people
      • Loup City has also been known as:
      • Loup
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Loup City <2>
    • Rockville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Wheeler County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Olean, with the one closest to Olean listed first.
    • Ericson
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Bartlett
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)

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.

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.

  • Hillside Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hillside Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Hillside Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the west of North Loup.
    • The Hillside Cemetery has also been known as:
    • North Loup Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #100777 <4>
  • Mira Valley Evangelical Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Mt. Hope Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Ord City Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Pleasant Hill Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Davis Creek Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Amity Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Elyria Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Greeley Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Greeley Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Greeley Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the northwest of Greeley.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #909888 <4>
  • Sacred Heart Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Swedish Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
  • St. Mary Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Mary Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Mary Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (65 more) ...

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Olean had railroad service and no post office.

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

  • Sumter
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sumter. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumter
    • Sumter is located in Valley County
  • North Loup
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Ord
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ord
    • Ord is located in Valley County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,052 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ord <2>
  • Horace ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horace
    • Horace is located in Greeley County
  • Scotia
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Belfast
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Belfast have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belfast
    • Belfast is located in Greeley County
  • Elyria
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elyria have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elyria
    • Elyria is located in Valley County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 51 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elyria <2>
  • Greeley Center
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greeley Center
    • Greeley Center is located in Greeley County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 421 people
  • Greeley
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Cotesfield
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cotesfield. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotesfield
    • Cotesfield is located in Howard County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 49 people
  • Ericson
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Dannevirke
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dannevirke
    • Dannevirke is located in Howard County
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • O'Connor
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for O'Connor have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for O'Connor
      • O'Connor is located in Greeley County
    • Geranium ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Geranium have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geranium
      • Geranium is located in Valley County
    • Arcadia
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)

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 91 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 29 miles [46.7 km]<6>. 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 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:

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 Valley County: www.co.valley.ne.us/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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>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.
<6>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 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: 41.5608, Longitude: -98.8076       In this case, the coordinates for Olean have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025