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

Rockford is located in Gage 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 Gage County: Marshall (KS), Washington (KS), Jefferson, Johnson, Lancaster, Otoe, Pawnee & Saline.

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

  • Gage County     (The home county of Rockford)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockford, with the one closest to Rockford listed first.
    • Filley
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Holmesville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Virginia
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Virginia have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virginia
      • Virginia is located in Gage County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 57 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Virginia <1>
    • Beatrice
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Blue Springs
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Wymore
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Pickrell
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Liberty
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Barneston
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Ellis
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellis
      • Ellis is located in Gage County
    • Adams
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Adams have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adams
      • Adams is located in Gage County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 622 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Adams <1>
    • Odell
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Cortland
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cortland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cortland
      • Cortland is located in Gage County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 478 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cortland <1>
  • Jefferson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockford, with the one closest to Rockford listed first.
    • Diller
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Harbine
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harbine
      • Harbine is located in Jefferson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 44 people
    • Plymouth
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plymouth have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plymouth
      • Plymouth is located in Jefferson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 379 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Plymouth <1>
    • Jansen
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jansen have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jansen
      • Jansen is located in Jefferson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 114 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jansen <1>
    • Steele City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Steele City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steele City
      • Steele City is located in Jefferson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 58 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Steele City <1>
    • Endicott
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Endicott have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Endicott
      • Endicott is located in Jefferson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 128 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Endicott <1>
  • Johnson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockford, with the one closest to Rockford listed first.
    • Crab Orchard
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crab Orchard have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crab Orchard
      • Crab Orchard is located in Johnson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 36 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Crab Orchard <1>
    • Vesta
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vesta
      • Vesta is located in Johnson County
    • Sterling
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Saint Mary
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Mary
      • Saint Mary is located in Johnson County
    • Tecumseh
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Elk Creek
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Graf ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Graf have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graf
      • Graf is located in Johnson County
    • Cook
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cook have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cook
      • Cook is located in Johnson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 300 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cook <1>
  • Lancaster County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockford, with the one closest to Rockford listed first.
    • Firth
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Firth
      • Firth is located in Lancaster County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 619 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Firth <1>
    • Princeton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Princeton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princeton
      • Princeton is located in Lancaster County
    • Hallam
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Holland
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holland
      • Holland is located in Lancaster County
    • Panama
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Hickman
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Martell
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Sprague
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Kramer
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kramer
      • Kramer is located in Lancaster County
    • Roca
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Roca have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roca
      • Roca is located in Lancaster County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 358 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Roca <1>
    • Bennet
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Otoe County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockford, with the one closest to Rockford listed first.
    • Burr
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Burr have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burr
      • Burr is located in Otoe County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 59 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Burr <1>
    • Douglas
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Pawnee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockford, with the one closest to Rockford listed first.
    • Lewiston
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lewiston have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewiston
      • Lewiston is located in Pawnee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 63 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lewiston <1>
    • Burchard
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Steinauer
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Pawnee City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Table Rock
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
  • Saline County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockford, with the one closest to Rockford listed first.
    • De Witt
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Wilber
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Swanton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
  • Marshall County (KS)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockford, with the one closest to Rockford listed first.
    • Oketo
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oketo
      • Oketo is located in Marshall County (KS)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 70 people
    • Marietta
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marietta have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marietta
      • Marietta is located in Marshall County (KS)
    • Summerfield
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Bremen
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bremen
      • Bremen is located in Marshall County (KS)
    • Beattie
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beattie
      • Beattie is located in Marshall County (KS)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 188 people
    • Home
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Home have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Home
      • Home is located in Marshall County (KS)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Home <1>
    • Marysville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Carden
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carden have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carden
      • Carden is located in Marshall County (KS)
  • Washington County (KS)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockford, with the one closest to Rockford listed first.
    • Lanham
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lanham
      • Lanham is located in Washington County (KS)
    • Hollenberg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hollenberg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollenberg
      • Hollenberg is located in Washington County (KS)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 20 people
    • Hanover
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hanover have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanover
      • Hanover is located in Washington County (KS)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 650 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hanover <1>

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

Newspapers Published in Rockford ...

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 228 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rockford.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Rockford, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Rockford.

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 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 Rockford:

Cemeteries Near Rockford ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rockford.

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

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

  • Stark Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Stark Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Stark Cemetery
  • Brethren Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • The Brethren Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Holmesville Brethren Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Brethren Cemetery
  • Emmanuel Lutheran Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Filley Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Filley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Filley Cemetery
  • Virginia Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Virginia Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Virginia Cemetery
  • Evergreen Home Memorial Park
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Evergreen Home Memorial Park is a very large cemetery that is located outside and to the east of Beatrice.
    • The Evergreen Home Memorial Park has also been known as:
    • Evergreen Cemetery
    • Evergreen Home Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Evergreen Home Memorial Park
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #100607 <4>
  • Zion Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Zion Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Zion Cemetery
  • Zion Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Blue Springs Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Beatrice Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Marys Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Marys Cemetery
  • Elysian View Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (158 more) ...
    • Austin Creek Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • St. Joseph Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Kinney Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • The Kinney Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Baker Cemetery
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Kinney Cemetery

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, Rockford had a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Holmesville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Filley
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Virginia
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Virginia have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virginia
    • Virginia is located in Gage County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 57 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Virginia <1>
  • Beatrice
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Blue Springs
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Tate ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tate have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tate
    • Tate is located in Pawnee County
  • Wymore
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Lewiston
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lewiston have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewiston
    • Lewiston is located in Pawnee County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 63 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lewiston <1>
  • Crab Orchard
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crab Orchard have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crab Orchard
    • Crab Orchard is located in Johnson County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 36 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Crab Orchard <1>
  • Pickrell
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Liberty
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Armour ‑ Historic
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Armour have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armour
    • Armour is located in Pawnee County
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Hoag
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hoag have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoag
      • Hoag is located in Gage County
    • Burchard
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Ellis
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellis
      • Ellis is located in Gage County

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

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

The official website for Gage County: www.co.gage.ne.us/

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 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Rockford) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rockford. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.2514, Longitude: -96.6004    
<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 Rockford, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024