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 Opportunity (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 Opportunity. 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 southwest 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 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 west 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.
Opportunity is located in Holt 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 Holt County: Antelope, Boyd, Knox, Loup, Rock & Wheeler.
Below are the counties that are near Opportunity. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Opportunity:
- Holt County (The home county of Opportunity)
- The following are listed by their distance from Opportunity, with the one closest to Opportunity listed first.
- Star
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Star is located in Holt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star
- Redbird
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Redbird is located in Holt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redbird
- O'Neill
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- O'Neill is located in Holt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for O'Neill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,537 people
- O'Neill has also been known as:
- O'Neill City
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for O'Neill <1>
- Paddock
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Paddock is located in Holt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paddock
- Inman
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Page
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Emporia ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Emporia is located in Holt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emporia
- Emmet
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Stafford
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Stafford is located in Holt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stafford
- Ewing
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Atkinson
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Chambers
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Antelope County
- The following are listed by their distance from Opportunity, with the one closest to Opportunity listed first.
- Orchard
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Royal
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Boyd County
- The following are listed by their distance from Opportunity, with the one closest to Opportunity listed first.
- Lynch
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Bristow
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Monowi
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Monowi is located in Boyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monowi
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1 people
- Spencer
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Gross
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Gross is located in Boyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gross
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2 people
- Butte
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Anoka
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Anoka is located in Boyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anoka
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6 people
- Knox County
- The following are listed by their distance from Opportunity, with the one closest to Opportunity listed first.
- Knoxville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Knoxville is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knoxville
- Walnut
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Walnut is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut
- Venus ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Venus is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Venus
- Pishelville ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Pishelville is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pishelville
- Dukeville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Dukeville is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dukeville
- Verdel
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Verdel is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verdel
- Population from the 2020 Census: 30 people
- Verdigre
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Niobrara
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Winnetoon
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Bazile Mills
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Bazile Mills is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bazile Mills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 29 people
- Charles Mix County (SD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Opportunity, with the one closest to Opportunity listed first.
- Greenwood
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Greenwood is located in Charles Mix County (SD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
- Estimated population in 2014: 7 people
- Marty
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Marty is located in Charles Mix County (SD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marty
- Population from the 2010 Census: 402 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marty <1>
- Gregory County (SD)
- Fort Randall
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Fort Randall is located in Gregory County (SD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Randall
- Estimated population in 2014: 2,135 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Opportunity, see our County-by-County Page for Opportunity.
Cemeteries Near Opportunity ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Opportunity.
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 Opportunity - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Opportunity covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Opportunity, with the one closest to Opportunity listed first.
- Miniola Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Scottville Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Star Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Dorsey Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- O'Neill Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for O'Neill Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the O'Neill Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in O'Neill.
- The O'Neill Cemetery has also been known as:
- Calvary Cemetery
- Prospect Hill Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #654077 <2>
- Walnut Grove Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Grove Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Walnut Grove Cemetery is located 11 miles [17.7 km]<3> to the northeast of Page.
- The Walnut Grove Cemetery has also been known as:
- Grimton Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #100721 <2>
- Page Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Page Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Page Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located less than 2 miles<3> to the east of Page.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1961103 <2>
- Lambert Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lambert Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Lambert Cemetery is located 4 miles [6.4 km]<3> to the northeast of Page.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #100880 <2>
- Pischelville National Cemetery
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant Hill Cemetery
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Bristow Cemetery
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Inman Cemetery
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Continue List (53 more) ...
- Hope - Enterprise Cemetery
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope - Enterprise Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Hope - Enterprise Cemetery is located 10 miles [16.1 km]<3> to the northeast of Page.
- The Hope - Enterprise Cemetery has also been known as:
- Enterprise Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #100592 <2>
- Alford Cemetery
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Phoenix Cemetery
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
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 Opportunity in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Opportunity.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Opportunity, with the one closest to Opportunity listed first.
- Star
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Star is located in Holt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star
- Dorsey
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Dorsey is located in Holt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorsey
- O'Neill
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- O'Neill is located in Holt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for O'Neill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,537 people
- O'Neill has also been known as:
- O'Neill City
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for O'Neill <1>
- Knoxville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Knoxville is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knoxville
- Paddock
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Paddock is located in Holt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paddock
- Inman
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Page
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Venus ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Venus is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Venus
- Lynch
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Emmet
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Bristow
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Pishelville ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Pishelville is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pishelville
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Stafford
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Stafford is located in Holt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stafford
- Dukeville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Dukeville is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dukeville
- Spencer
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Opportunity. See our List of 1890's Communities around Opportunity.
Newspapers Published in Opportunity ...
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 83 newspapers that have been published in the area around Opportunity.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Opportunity, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Opportunity.
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 Opportunity:
- Websites specific to Nebraska
- Pages specific to Holt County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Antelope County
- Boyd County
- Knox County
- Charles Mix County
- Gregory County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Nebraska
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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Opportunity) 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 Opportunity, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |