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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 Otoe (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 Otoe. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Otoe is located in Otoe 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 Otoe County: Fremont (IA), Atchison (MO), Cass, Gage, Johnson, Lancaster & Nemaha.

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

  • Otoe County     (The home county of Otoe)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Otoe, with the one closest to Otoe listed first.
    • Syracuse
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Dunbar
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Unadilla
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Wyoming
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Wyoming is located in Otoe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyoming
    • Lorton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Nebraska City
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Talmage
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Palmyra
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Burr
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Douglas
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Cass County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Otoe, with the one closest to Otoe listed first.
    • Avoca
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Nehawka
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Weeping Water
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Union
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Elmwood
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Manley
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Wabash
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Wabash is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wabash
    • Murray
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Murdock
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Alvo
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Eagle
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Louisville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
  • Gage County
    • Adams
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Johnson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Otoe, with the one closest to Otoe listed first.
    • Cook
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Cook is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cook
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 300 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cook <1>
    • Graf ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Graf is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graf
    • Saint Mary
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Saint Mary is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Mary
    • Sterling
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Tecumseh
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Vesta
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Vesta is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vesta
    • Elk Creek
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Lancaster County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Otoe, with the one closest to Otoe listed first.
    • Bennet
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Panama
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Prairie Home
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Prairie Home is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Home
    • Walton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Cheney
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Cheney is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheney
    • Waverly
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Pine Lake
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Pine Lake is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Lake
    • Holland
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Holland is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holland
    • Havelock
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Havelock is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Havelock
    • Hickman
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Firth
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Firth is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Firth
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 619 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Firth <1>
    • College View
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • College View is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for College View
  • Nemaha County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Otoe, with the one closest to Otoe listed first.
    • Brock
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Julian
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Julian is located in Nemaha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Julian
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 56 people
    • Johnson
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Rohrs
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Rohrs is located in Nemaha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rohrs
    • Peru
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Auburn
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Sarpy County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Otoe, with the one closest to Otoe listed first.
    • Springfield
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Linoma Beach
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Linoma Beach is located in Sarpy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linoma Beach
    • La Platte
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • La Platte is located in Sarpy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Platte
    • Richfield
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Gretna
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Gilmore
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Gilmore is located in Sarpy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilmore
    • Papillion
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Saunders County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Otoe, with the one closest to Otoe listed first.
    • Ashland
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Memphis
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Fremont County (IA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Otoe, with the one closest to Otoe listed first.
    • Percival
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • McPaul
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • McPaul is located in Fremont County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McPaul
    • Payne
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Payne is located in Fremont County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Payne
    • Thurman
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Thurman is located in Fremont County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thurman
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 210 people
    • Bartlett
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Bartlett is located in Fremont County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bartlett
    • Sidney
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Sidney is located in Fremont County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sidney
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,016 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sidney <1>
    • Hamburg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Hamburg is located in Fremont County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,041 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hamburg <1>
    • Tabor
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Tabor is located in Fremont County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tabor
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 958 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tabor <1>
    • Anderson
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Anderson is located in Fremont County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson
    • Riverton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Randolph
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Randolph is located in Fremont County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randolph
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 145 people
  • Mills County (IA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Otoe, with the one closest to Otoe listed first.
    • Pacific Junction
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Mills
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Mills is located in Mills County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mills
    • Pacific City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Pacific City is located in Mills County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pacific City
    • Folsom
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Folsom is located in Mills County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Folsom
    • Glenwood
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Hentons ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Hentons is located in Mills County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hentons

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

Cemeteries Near Otoe ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Otoe.

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

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

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

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 Otoe in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Otoe.

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

  • Syracuse
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Avoca
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Dunbar
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Unadilla
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Nehawka
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Lorton
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Wyoming
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Wyoming is located in Otoe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyoming
  • Weeping Water
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Union
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Elmwood
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Wabash
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Wabash is located in Cass County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wabash
  • Manley
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Cook
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Cook is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cook
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 300 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cook <1>
    • Talmage
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Paul
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Paul is located in Otoe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paul

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Otoe ...

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 188 newspapers that have been published in the area around Otoe.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Otoe. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Otoe and those printed in the larger area surrounding Otoe.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3> of Otoe.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Otoe:

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 from Point A (ie- Otoe) 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 Otoe, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.