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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 Seward (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 Seward. 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.

Seward is located in Seward County and is the County Seat.

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 Seward County: Butler, Fillmore, Lancaster, Polk, Saline, Saunders & York.

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

  • Seward County     (The home county of Seward)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Seward, with the one closest to Seward listed first.
    • Staplehurst
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Ruby
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Ruby is located in Seward County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruby
    • Bee
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Bee is located in Seward County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bee
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 180 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bee <1>
    • Garland
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Tamora
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Tamora is located in Seward County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tamora
    • Goehner
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Grover
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Grover is located in Seward County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grover
    • Milford
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Pleasant Dale
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Beaver Crossing
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Utica
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Camden ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Camden is located in Seward County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camden
    • Cordova
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
  • Butler County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Seward, with the one closest to Seward listed first.
    • Dwight
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Ulysses
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Loma
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Loma is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loma
    • Surprise
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Surprise is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Surprise
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 40 people
    • Garrison
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Garrison is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garrison
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 51 people
    • Brainard
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Millerton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Millerton is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerton
    • Rising City
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • David City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Bruno
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Abie
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • Bellwood
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • Octavia
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Octavia is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Octavia
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 117 people
  • Fillmore County
    • Exeter
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Lancaster County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Seward, with the one closest to Seward listed first.
    • Malcolm
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Emerald
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Emerald is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerald
    • Raymond
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Agnew
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Agnew is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agnew
    • Denton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Berks
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Berks is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berks
    • Gaslight Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Gaslight Village is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gaslight Village
    • West Lincoln
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • West Lincoln is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Lincoln
    • Arbor
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Arbor is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arbor
    • Belmont
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Belmont is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
    • Lincoln
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Lincoln is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 290,505 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lincoln <1>
    • Davey
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Davey is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davey
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 153 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Davey <1>
    • College View
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • College View is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for College View
  • Polk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Seward, with the one closest to Seward listed first.
    • Shelby
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Osceola
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Stromsburg
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Saline County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Seward, with the one closest to Seward listed first.
    • Dorchester
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Friend
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Crete
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Wilber
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Saunders County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Seward, with the one closest to Seward listed first.
    • Valparaiso
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Ceresco
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Weston
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Swedeburg
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Swedeburg is located in Saunders County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swedeburg
  • York County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Seward, with the one closest to Seward listed first.
    • Gresham
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Waco
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Thayer
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Thayer is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thayer
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 49 people
    • York
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Benedict
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • McCool Junction
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Seward ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Seward.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Seward, with the one closest to Seward 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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Seward had a population of 2,108 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Seward had a population of 7,363 people.

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

  • Ruby
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Ruby is located in Seward County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruby
  • Staplehurst
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Bee
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Bee is located in Seward County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bee
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 180 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bee <1>
  • Tamora
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Tamora is located in Seward County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tamora
  • Marysville ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Marysville is located in Seward County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marysville
  • Goehner
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Milford
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Grover
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Grover is located in Seward County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grover
  • Pleasant Dale
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Malcolm
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Ulysses
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Dwight
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Beaver Crossing
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Utica
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Camden ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Camden is located in Seward County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camden

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Seward ...

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 97 newspapers that have been published in the area around Seward.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

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

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 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 Seward:

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