RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Nebraska >> Franklin County >> Riverton >> Genealogy HelperIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
Nebraska

The Commemorative Quarter for Nebraska





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 Riverton (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 Riverton. 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.

Riverton is located in Franklin 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 Franklin County: Phillips (KS), Smith (KS), Harlan, Kearney, Phelps & Webster.

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

  • Franklin County     (The home county of Riverton)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riverton, with the one closest to Riverton listed first.
    • Franklin
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Franklin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
      • Franklin is located in Franklin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 899 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Franklin <2>
    • Macon
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macon
      • Macon is located in Franklin County
    • Campbell
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Campbell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell
      • Campbell is located in Franklin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 296 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Campbell <2>
    • Bloomington
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Upland
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Naponee
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Hildreth
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Adams County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riverton, with the one closest to Riverton listed first.
    • Holstein
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Roseland
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Ayr
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ayr have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayr
      • Ayr is located in Adams County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 120 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ayr <2>
    • Assumption
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Assumption
      • Assumption is located in Adams County
  • Harlan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riverton, with the one closest to Riverton listed first.
    • Republican City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Huntley
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Huntley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntley
      • Huntley is located in Harlan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 42 people
  • Kearney County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riverton, with the one closest to Riverton listed first.
    • Norman
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Keene
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keene
      • Keene is located in Kearney County
    • Wilcox
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wilcox have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilcox
      • Wilcox is located in Kearney County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 349 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wilcox <2>
    • Minden
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Nuckolls County
    • Lawrence
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lawrence have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawrence
      • Lawrence is located in Nuckolls County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 278 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lawrence <2>
  • Webster County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riverton, with the one closest to Riverton listed first.
    • Inavale
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Red Cloud
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Amboy
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amboy
      • Amboy is located in Webster County
    • Cowles
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cowles have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowles
      • Cowles is located in Webster County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 27 people
    • Pawnee Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pawnee Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pawnee Village
      • Pawnee Village is located in Webster County
    • Bladen
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Guide Rock
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Guide Rock have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guide Rock
      • Guide Rock is located in Webster County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 197 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Guide Rock <2>
    • Blue Hill
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blue Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Hill
      • Blue Hill is located in Webster County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 850 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Blue Hill <2>
    • Rosemont
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosemont
      • Rosemont is located in Webster County
  • Jewell County (KS)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riverton, with the one closest to Riverton listed first.
    • Esbon
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Esbon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Esbon
      • Esbon is located in Jewell County (KS)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 91 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Esbon <2>
    • Burr Oak
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Burr Oak have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burr Oak
      • Burr Oak is located in Jewell County (KS)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 160 people
  • Phillips County (KS)
    • Agra
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agra
      • Agra is located in Phillips County (KS)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 238 people
  • Smith County (KS)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riverton, with the one closest to Riverton listed first.
    • Womer
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Womer
      • Womer is located in Smith County (KS)
    • Bellaire
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellaire
      • Bellaire is located in Smith County (KS)
    • Smith Center
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Lebanon
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Athol
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athol
      • Athol is located in Smith County (KS)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 40 people
    • Kensington
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kensington
      • Kensington is located in Smith County (KS)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 433 people
    • Gaylord
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gaylord have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gaylord
      • Gaylord is located in Smith County (KS)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 104 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gaylord <2>

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Riverton ...

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 141 newspapers that have been published in the area around Riverton.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

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

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Riverton:

Cemeteries Near Riverton ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Riverton.

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

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

  • Fuller Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fuller Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fuller Cemetery
  • Stevens Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Walnut Creek Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Walnut Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Walnut Creek Cemetery
  • Pleasant Prairie Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Prairie Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Prairie Cemetery
  • Norwegian Zion Lutheran Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
  • New Virginia Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the New Virginia Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the New Virginia Cemetery
  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Eminence Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Eminence Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Eminence Cemetery
  • Murphy Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Murphy Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Murphy Cemetery
  • Trinity Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Trinity Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Trinity Cemetery
  • Pleasant Hill Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Hill Cemetery
  • Continue List   (107 more) ...
    • Dane Lutheran Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Pleasant Hill Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Hill Cemetery
    • Gust Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)

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 Riverton had a population of 389 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Riverton had a population of 83 people.

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

  • Inavale
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Womer
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Womer
    • Womer is located in Smith County (KS)
  • Franklin
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Franklin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
    • Franklin is located in Franklin County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 899 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Franklin <2>
  • Reamsville
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reamsville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reamsville
    • Reamsville is located in Smith County (KS)
  • Red Cloud
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Macon
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macon
    • Macon is located in Franklin County
  • Cora
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cora have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cora
    • Cora is located in Smith County (KS)
  • Campbell
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Campbell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell
    • Campbell is located in Franklin County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 296 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Campbell <2>
  • Bloomington
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • Amboy
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amboy
    • Amboy is located in Webster County
  • Upland
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Cowles
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cowles have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowles
    • Cowles is located in Webster County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 27 people
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Bladen
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Bellaire
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellaire
      • Bellaire is located in Smith County (KS)
    • Naponee
      (20 miles [32.2 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 Riverton. See our List of 1890's Communities around Riverton.

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

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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- Riverton) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Riverton. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.0894, Longitude: -98.7590       In this case, the coordinates for Riverton 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>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 Riverton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

Copyright 2024
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024