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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 Overton (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 Overton. 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 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.

Overton is located in Dawson 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 Dawson County: Buffalo, Custer, Frontier, Gosper, Lincoln & Phelps.

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

  • Dawson County     (The home county of Overton)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Overton, with the one closest to Overton listed first.
    • Lexington
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Sumner
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Darr
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darr
      • Darr is located in Dawson County
    • Eddyville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Cozad
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Willow Island
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Island
      • Willow Island is located in Dawson County
  • Buffalo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Overton, with the one closest to Overton listed first.
    • Elm Creek
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elm Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elm Creek
      • Elm Creek is located in Buffalo County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 945 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elm Creek <1>
    • Odessa
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Miller
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Amherst
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Riverdale
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Riverdale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverdale
      • Riverdale is located in Buffalo County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 179 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Riverdale <1>
    • Kearney
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Sartoria
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sartoria
      • Sartoria is located in Buffalo County
    • Prairie Center
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Center
      • Prairie Center is located in Buffalo County
    • Buda
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buda have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buda
      • Buda is located in Buffalo County
    • Pleasanton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Custer County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Overton, with the one closest to Overton listed first.
    • Cumro ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumro
      • Cumro is located in Custer County
    • Oconto
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Frontier County
    • Eustis
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eustis have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eustis
      • Eustis is located in Frontier County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 369 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eustis <1>
  • Gosper County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Overton, with the one closest to Overton listed first.
    • Smithfield
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Elwood
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elwood
      • Elwood is located in Gosper County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 679 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elwood <1>
  • Kearney County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Overton, with the one closest to Overton listed first.
    • Kearney City ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kearney City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kearney City
      • Kearney City is located in Kearney County
      • Kearney City has also been known as:
      • Dobytown
    • Axtell
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Phelps County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Overton, with the one closest to Overton listed first.
    • Westmark
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westmark
      • Westmark is located in Phelps County
    • Bertrand
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Loomis
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Holdrege
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Funk
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Funk have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Funk
      • Funk is located in Phelps County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 182 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Funk <1>
    • Atlanta
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Atlanta have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atlanta
      • Atlanta is located in Phelps County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 131 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Atlanta <1>
    • Sacramento
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sacramento have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sacramento
      • Sacramento is located in Phelps County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Overton ...

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 76 newspapers that have been published in the area around Overton.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

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

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 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 Overton:

Cemeteries Near Overton ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Overton.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Overton, with the one closest to Overton 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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Overton had a population of 416 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Overton had a population of 564 people.

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

  • Josselyn
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Josselyn have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Josselyn
    • Josselyn is located in Dawson County
  • Elm Creek
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elm Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elm Creek
    • Elm Creek is located in Buffalo County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 945 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elm Creek <1>
  • Westmark
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westmark
    • Westmark is located in Phelps County
  • Lexington
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Odessa
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Miller
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Smithfield
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Bertrand
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
  • Amherst
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Loomis
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
  • Elwood
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elwood
    • Elwood is located in Gosper County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 679 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elwood <1>
  • Eddyville
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Riverdale
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Riverdale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverdale
      • Riverdale is located in Buffalo County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 179 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Riverdale <1>
    • Holdrege
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Kearney
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)

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

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

The official website for Dawson County: www.dawsoncountyne.net/

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

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 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.
<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 drawn from Point A (ie- Overton) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Overton. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.7406, Longitude: -99.5374       In this case, the coordinates for Overton 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>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.
<6>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 Overton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024