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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 Valparaiso (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 Valparaiso. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Valparaiso is located in Saunders 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 Saunders County: Butler, Cass, Colfax, Dodge, Douglas, Lancaster, Sarpy & Seward.

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

  • Saunders County     (The home county of Valparaiso)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Valparaiso, with the one closest to Valparaiso listed first.
    • Ceresco
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Weston
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Swedeburg
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swedeburg
      • Swedeburg is located in Saunders County
    • Malmo
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Wahoo
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wahoo
      • Wahoo is located in Saunders County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,603 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wahoo <1>
    • Prague
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Ithaca
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Rescue ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rescue have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rescue
      • Rescue is located in Saunders County
    • Colon
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Memphis
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Mead
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mead
      • Mead is located in Saunders County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 571 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mead <1>
    • Ashland
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ashland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
      • Ashland is located in Saunders County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,724 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ashland <1>
    • Cedar Bluffs
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
  • Butler County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Valparaiso, with the one closest to Valparaiso listed first.
    • Loma
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loma
      • Loma is located in Butler County
    • Dwight
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Brainard
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Bruno
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Abie
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Garrison
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garrison
      • Garrison is located in Butler County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 51 people
    • David City
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Ulysses
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Nimburg
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nimburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nimburg
      • Nimburg is located in Butler County
    • Octavia
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Octavia
      • Octavia is located in Butler County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 117 people
    • Millerton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerton
      • Millerton is located in Butler County
    • Linwood
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Rising City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
  • Cass County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Valparaiso, with the one closest to Valparaiso listed first.
    • Greenwood
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Alvo
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alvo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alvo
      • Alvo is located in Cass County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 138 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alvo <1>
    • Eagle
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eagle have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle
      • Eagle is located in Cass County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,105 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eagle <1>
    • Murdock
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • South Bend
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Bend have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Bend
      • South Bend is located in Cass County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 105 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for South Bend <1>
  • Colfax County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Valparaiso, with the one closest to Valparaiso listed first.
    • Rogers
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers
      • Rogers is located in Colfax County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 93 people
    • Schuyler
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Dodge County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Valparaiso, with the one closest to Valparaiso listed first.
    • North Bend
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Ames
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ames have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ames
      • Ames is located in Dodge County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ames <1>
    • Inglewood
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Inglewood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inglewood
      • Inglewood is located in Dodge County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 314 people
    • Fremont
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Douglas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Valparaiso, with the one closest to Valparaiso listed first.
    • Venice
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Venice
      • Venice is located in Douglas County
    • Valley
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley
      • Valley is located in Douglas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,928 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Valley <1>
  • Lancaster County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Valparaiso, with the one closest to Valparaiso listed first.
    • Agnew
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agnew
      • Agnew is located in Lancaster County
    • Raymond
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Davey
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davey
      • Davey is located in Lancaster County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 153 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Davey <1>
    • Malcolm
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Arbor
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arbor have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arbor
      • Arbor is located in Lancaster County
    • Gaslight Village
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gaslight Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gaslight Village
      • Gaslight Village is located in Lancaster County
    • West Lincoln
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Lincoln
      • West Lincoln is located in Lancaster County
    • Belmont
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
      • Belmont is located in Lancaster County
    • Emerald
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerald
      • Emerald is located in Lancaster County
    • Havelock
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Havelock
      • Havelock is located in Lancaster County
    • Lincoln
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln
      • Lincoln is located in Lancaster County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 290,505 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lincoln <1>
    • Waverly
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Prairie Home
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Home
      • Prairie Home is located in Lancaster County
  • Sarpy County
    • Linoma Beach
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linoma Beach
      • Linoma Beach is located in Sarpy County
  • Seward County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Valparaiso, with the one closest to Valparaiso listed first.
    • Bee
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bee
      • Bee is located in Seward County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 180 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bee <1>
    • Garland
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Seward
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seward have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seward
      • Seward is located in Seward County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,363 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Seward <1>
    • Staplehurst
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Pleasant Dale
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Ruby
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ruby have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruby
      • Ruby is located in Seward County
    • Grover
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grover
      • Grover is located in Seward County
    • Milford
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Tamora
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tamora
      • Tamora is located in Seward County
    • Goehner
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Utica
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • York County
    • Gresham
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Valparaiso ...

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 47 newspapers that have been published in the area around Valparaiso.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

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

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 Valparaiso:

Cemeteries Near Valparaiso ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Valparaiso.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Valparaiso, with the one closest to Valparaiso 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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Valparaiso had a population of 515 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Valparaiso had a population of 543 people.

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

  • Agnew
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agnew
    • Agnew is located in Lancaster County
  • Raymond
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Ceresco
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Weston
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Dwight
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Davey
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davey
    • Davey is located in Lancaster County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 153 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Davey <1>
  • Malcolm
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Swedeburg
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swedeburg
    • Swedeburg is located in Saunders County
  • Brainard
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Bee
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bee
    • Bee is located in Seward County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 180 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bee <1>
  • Woodlawn
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodlawn have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodlawn
    • Woodlawn is located in Lancaster County
  • Wahoo
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wahoo
    • Wahoo is located in Saunders County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,603 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wahoo <1>
  • Continue List   (20 more) ...
    • Malmo
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Bruno
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Prague
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)

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

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

The official website for Saunders County: www.co.saunders.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 '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- Valparaiso) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Valparaiso. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.0792, Longitude: -96.8306    
<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 Valparaiso, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024