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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 Ruskin (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 Ruskin. 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 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.

Ruskin is located in Nuckolls 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 Nuckolls County: Jewell (KS), Republic (KS), Clay, Fillmore, Thayer & Webster.

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

  • Nuckolls County     (The home county of Ruskin)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ruskin, with the one closest to Ruskin listed first.
    • Nora
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Nora is located in Nuckolls County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nora
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 19 people
    • Oak
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Oak is located in Nuckolls County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 61 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oak <1>
    • Hardy
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Angus
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Angus is located in Nuckolls County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angus
    • Nelson
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Sedan
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Sedan is located in Nuckolls County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedan
    • Superior
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Lawrence
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
  • Clay County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ruskin, with the one closest to Ruskin listed first.
    • Edgar
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Ong
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Deweese
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Fairfield
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Clay Center
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Verona
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Verona is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verona
  • Fillmore County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ruskin, with the one closest to Ruskin listed first.
    • Shickley
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Strang
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Ohiowa
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Geneva
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Jefferson County
    • Reynolds
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
  • Thayer County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ruskin, with the one closest to Ruskin listed first.
    • Deshler
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Byron
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Davenport
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Stoddard ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Stoddard is located in Thayer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoddard
    • Hebron
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Carleton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Chester
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Belvidere
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Bruning
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Hubbell
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Gilead
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Alexandria
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
  • Webster County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ruskin, with the one closest to Ruskin listed first.
    • Guide Rock
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Pawnee Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Pawnee Village is located in Webster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pawnee Village
    • Rosemont
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Rosemont is located in Webster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosemont
    • Amboy
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Amboy is located in Webster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amboy
    • Cowles
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Cowles is located in Webster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowles
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 27 people
  • Jewell County (KS)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ruskin, with the one closest to Ruskin listed first.
    • Webber
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Webber is located in Jewell County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webber
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 24 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Webber <1>
    • Formoso
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Formoso is located in Jewell County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Formoso
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 86 people
    • Montrose
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Montrose is located in Jewell County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montrose
      • Former name for Montrose:
      • Delta
    • Burr Oak
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Burr Oak is located in Jewell County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burr Oak
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 160 people
    • Mankato
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Republic County (KS)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ruskin, with the one closest to Ruskin listed first.
    • Republic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Republic is located in Republic County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Republic
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 106 people
    • White Rock
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • White Rock is located in Republic County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Rock
    • Sherdahl
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Sherdahl is located in Republic County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherdahl
    • Munden
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Munden is located in Republic County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Munden
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 91 people
    • Courtland
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Scandia
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Scandia is located in Republic County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scandia
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 335 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Scandia <1>
    • Belleville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Narka
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Narka is located in Republic County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Narka
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 84 people
    • Kackley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Kackley is located in Republic County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kackley
  • Washington County (KS)
    • Mahaska
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Mahaska is located in Washington County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mahaska
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 77 people

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

Cemeteries Near Ruskin ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ruskin.

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

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

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

  • Spring Creek Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • St. Marks Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • St. Pauls Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Mt. Zion Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Zion Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Zion Lutheran Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • St. Peters Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Nora Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Oak Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Peace Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • St. Pauls Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • St. Peters Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (125 more) ...
    • St. Johns Lutheran Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • St. Pauls Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Salem Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)

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.<2>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Ruskin had a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Ruskin had a population of 113 people.

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

  • Nora
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Nora is located in Nuckolls County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nora
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 19 people
  • Oak
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Oak is located in Nuckolls County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 61 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oak <1>
  • Deshler
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Cadams
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Cadams is located in Nuckolls County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cadams
  • Hardy
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Warwick
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Warwick is located in Republic County (KS)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warwick
  • Byron
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Smyrna
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Smyrna is located in Nuckolls County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smyrna
  • Angus
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Angus is located in Nuckolls County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angus
  • Nelson
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Davenport
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Superior
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Stoddard ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Stoddard is located in Thayer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoddard
    • Hebron
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Carleton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Ruskin ...

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 195 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ruskin.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

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

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 Ruskin:

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>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 Ruskin, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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- Ruskin) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.