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 Waterloo (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 Waterloo. 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.
Waterloo is located in Douglas 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 Douglas County: Pottawattamie (IA), Dodge, Sarpy, Saunders & Washington.
Below are the counties that are near Waterloo. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Waterloo:
- Douglas County (The home county of Waterloo)
- The following are listed by their distance from Waterloo, with the one closest to Waterloo listed first.
- King Lake
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- King Lake is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for King Lake
- Elkhorn
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Valley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Venice
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Venice is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Venice
- Elk City
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Elk City is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk City
- Boys Town
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Bennington
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Millard
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Irvington
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Irvington is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irvington
- Omaha
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Omaha is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Omaha
- Population from the 2020 Census: 478,393 people
- Omaha has also been known as:
- Omaha City
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Omaha <1>
- Ralston
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Briggs
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Briggs is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briggs
- Cass County
- The following are listed by their distance from Waterloo, with the one closest to Waterloo listed first.
- South Bend
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Cedar Creek
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Louisville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Cullom
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Cullom is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cullom
- Greenwood
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Murdock
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Manley
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Wabash
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Wabash is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wabash
- Mynard
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Mynard is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mynard
- Plattsmouth
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Alvo
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Weeping Water
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Dodge County
- The following are listed by their distance from Waterloo, with the one closest to Waterloo listed first.
- Fremont
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Inglewood
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Inglewood is located in Dodge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inglewood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 314 people
- Fontanelle
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Fontanelle is located in Dodge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fontanelle
- Nickerson
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Telbasta
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Telbasta is located in Dodge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Telbasta
- Ames
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Winslow
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Hooper
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- North Bend
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Lancaster County
- The following are listed by their distance from Waterloo, with the one closest to Waterloo listed first.
- Davey
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Waverly
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Sarpy County
- The following are listed by their distance from Waterloo, with the one closest to Waterloo listed first.
- Chalco
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Gretna
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Portal
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Portal is located in Sarpy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portal
- La Vista
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Linoma Beach
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Linoma Beach is located in Sarpy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linoma Beach
- Papillion
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Richfield
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Springfield
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Gilmore
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Gilmore is located in Sarpy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilmore
- Avery
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Avery is located in Sarpy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avery
- Bellevue
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- La Platte
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- La Platte is located in Sarpy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Platte
- Saunders County
- The following are listed by their distance from Waterloo, with the one closest to Waterloo listed first.
- Yutan
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Leshara
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Wann
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Wann is located in Saunders County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wann
- Mead
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Woodcliff
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Woodcliff is located in Saunders County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodcliff
- Ithaca
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Memphis
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Colon
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Ashland
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Cedar Bluffs
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Wahoo
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Swedeburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Swedeburg is located in Saunders County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swedeburg
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Waterloo, with the one closest to Waterloo listed first.
- Washington
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Arlington
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Kennard
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Fort Calhoun
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- De Soto ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- De Soto is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Soto
- De Soto has also been known as:
- DeSoto
- Blair
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Admah ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Admah is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Admah
- Herman
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Harrison County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Waterloo, with the one closest to Waterloo listed first.
- California Junction
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- California Junction is located in Harrison County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for California Junction
- Missouri Valley
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Modale
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Mills County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Waterloo, with the one closest to Waterloo listed first.
- Folsom
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Folsom is located in Mills County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Folsom
- Hentons ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Hentons is located in Mills County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hentons
- Pacific City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Pacific City is located in Mills County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pacific City
- Pottawattamie County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Waterloo, with the one closest to Waterloo listed first.
- Carter Lake
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Council Bluffs
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Crescent
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Honey Creek
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Honey Creek is located in Pottawattamie County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honey Creek
- Chautauqua
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Chautauqua is located in Pottawattamie County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chautauqua
- Loveland
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Loveland is located in Pottawattamie County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loveland
- Weston
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Weston is located in Pottawattamie County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weston
- Pigeon
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Pigeon is located in Pottawattamie County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pigeon
- Dumfries
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Dumfries is located in Pottawattamie County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dumfries
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Waterloo, see our County-by-County Page for Waterloo.
Cemeteries Near Waterloo ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Waterloo.
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 Waterloo - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Waterloo covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Waterloo, with the one closest to Waterloo listed first.
- Prospect Hill Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Mt. Calvary Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Elkhorn Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhorn Cemetery
- The Elkhorn Cemetery has also been known as:
- Brittin Cemetery
- Spring Grove Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #100579 <2>
- Elk City Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Bender Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Mt. Auburn Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Valley Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Flower Hill Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flower Hill Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Flower Hill Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Omaha.
- The Flower Hill Cemetery has also been known as:
- German Lutheran Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #100642 <2>
- Pleasant View Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Hollst - Lawn Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Pleasant Hill Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- St. James Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (212 more) ...
- Parmenter Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- LaBorde Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- New Pennsylvania Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
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.<3>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Waterloo had a population of 272 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Waterloo had a population of 914 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Waterloo, with the one closest to Waterloo listed first.
- Elkhorn
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Valley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Elk City
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Elk City is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk City
- Yutan
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Millard
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Bennington
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Washington
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Chalco
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Mercer
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Mercer is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mercer
- Gretna
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Mead
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Arlington
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Irvington
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Irvington is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irvington
- Portal
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Portal is located in Sarpy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portal
- Omaha
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Omaha is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Omaha
- Population from the 2020 Census: 478,393 people
- Omaha has also been known as:
- Omaha City
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Omaha <1>
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Waterloo. See our List of 1890's Communities around Waterloo.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Waterloo ...
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 61 newspapers that have been published in the area around Waterloo.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Waterloo. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Waterloo and those printed in the larger area surrounding Waterloo.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4> of Waterloo.
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 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 Waterloo:
- Websites specific to Nebraska
- Pages specific to Douglas County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cass County
- Dodge County
- Lancaster County
- Sarpy County
- Saunders County
- Washington County
- Harrison County
- Mills County
- Pottawattamie County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Nebraska
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> | 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 Waterloo, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Waterloo) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |