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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 West Point (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 West Point. 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.

Name Variations for West Point ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

West Point has also been known as: Westpoint.

  • A typical abbreviation for West Point: W. Point

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

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.

West Point is located in Cuming County and is the County Seat.

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 Cuming County: Burt, Colfax, Dodge, Stanton, Thurston & Wayne.

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

  • Cuming County     (The home county of West Point)
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Point, with the one closest to West Point listed first.
    • Monterey
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monterey
      • Monterey is located in Cuming County
    • Beemer
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Aloys
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aloys
      • Aloys is located in Cuming County
    • Bancroft
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Wisner
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Burt County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Point, with the one closest to West Point listed first.
    • Oakland
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Lyons
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lyons have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyons
      • Lyons is located in Burt County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 800 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lyons <1>
    • Bertha
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bertha
      • Bertha is located in Burt County
    • Craig
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Craig have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craig
      • Craig is located in Burt County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 188 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Craig <1>
    • Tekamah
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Decatur
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Colfax County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Point, with the one closest to West Point listed first.
    • Howells
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Howells have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howells
      • Howells is located in Colfax County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 557 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Howells <1>
    • Clarkson
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clarkson have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarkson
      • Clarkson is located in Colfax County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 630 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clarkson <1>
    • Rogers
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers
      • Rogers is located in Colfax County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 93 people
    • Leigh
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
  • Dixon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Point, with the one closest to West Point listed first.
    • Emerson
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Emerson have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerson
      • Emerson is located in Dixon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 789 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Emerson <1>
    • Wakefield
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Dodge County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Point, with the one closest to West Point listed first.
    • Crowell
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crowell
      • Crowell is located in Dodge County
    • Snyder
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Snyder have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snyder
      • Snyder is located in Dodge County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 280 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Snyder <1>
    • Dodge
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dodge have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodge
      • Dodge is located in Dodge County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 582 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dodge <1>
    • Scribner
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Uehling
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Uehling have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uehling
      • Uehling is located in Dodge County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 216 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Uehling <1>
    • Hooper
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hooper have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooper
      • Hooper is located in Dodge County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 828 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hooper <1>
    • Winslow
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Winslow have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winslow
      • Winslow is located in Dodge County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 99 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Winslow <1>
    • Nickerson
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Telbasta
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Telbasta
      • Telbasta is located in Dodge County
    • North Bend
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Fontanelle
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fontanelle
      • Fontanelle is located in Dodge County
    • Ames
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • 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>
    • Fremont
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Saunders County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Point, with the one closest to West Point listed first.
    • Morse Bluff
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Morse Bluff have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morse Bluff
      • Morse Bluff is located in Saunders County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 144 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Morse Bluff <1>
    • Cedar Bluffs
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Stanton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Point, with the one closest to West Point listed first.
    • Pilger
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Stanton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
  • Thurston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Point, with the one closest to West Point listed first.
    • Pender
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Rosalie
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rosalie have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosalie
      • Rosalie is located in Thurston County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 159 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rosalie <1>
    • Thurston
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thurston have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thurston
      • Thurston is located in Thurston County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Thurston <1>
    • Walthill
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walthill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walthill
      • Walthill is located in Thurston County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 836 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Walthill <1>
    • Macy
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Macy have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macy
      • Macy is located in Thurston County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Macy <1>
    • Winnebago
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Winnebago have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winnebago
      • Winnebago is located in Thurston County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 924 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Winnebago <1>
  • Washington County
    • Herman
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of West Point ...

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 65 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Point.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

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

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start 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 West Point:

Cemeteries Near West Point ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Point.

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

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

  • St. Michael Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Michael Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Michael Cemetery
  • Mt. Hope Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • St. Josephs Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Josephs Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Josephs Cemetery
  • St. Anthony Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Anthony Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Anthony Cemetery
  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Greenwood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Greenwood Cemetery
  • St. Boniface Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Boniface Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Boniface Cemetery
  • Dewitt Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dewitt Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dewitt Cemetery
  • Peterson Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Peterson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Peterson Cemetery
  • Blomgren Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Blomgren Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Blomgren Cemetery
  • Pioneer Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pioneer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pioneer Cemetery
  • Immanuel Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Immanuel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Immanuel Cemetery
  • Manhattan Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Manhattan Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Manhattan Cemetery
  • Continue List   (98 more) ...
    • Salem Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Salem Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Salem Cemetery
    • Beemer Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Beemer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Beemer Cemetery
    • St. Wenceslaus Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Wenceslaus Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Wenceslaus 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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that West Point had a population of 1,842 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, West Point had a population of 3,237 people.

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

  • Saint Charles
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Charles have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Charles
    • Saint Charles is located in Cuming County
  • Monterey
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monterey
    • Monterey is located in Cuming County
  • Crowell
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crowell
    • Crowell is located in Dodge County
  • Beemer
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Snyder
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Snyder have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snyder
    • Snyder is located in Dodge County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 280 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Snyder <1>
  • Dodge
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dodge have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodge
    • Dodge is located in Dodge County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 582 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dodge <1>
  • Bismarck ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bismarck have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bismarck
    • Bismarck is located in Cuming County
  • Scribner
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Oakland
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Lyons
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lyons have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyons
    • Lyons is located in Burt County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 800 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lyons <1>
  • Bancroft
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Glencoe ‑ Historic
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Glencoe have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glencoe
    • Glencoe is located in Dodge County
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Wisner
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Argo ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Argo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argo
      • Argo is located in Burt County
    • Howells
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Howells have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howells
      • Howells is located in Colfax County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 557 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Howells <1>

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

The official website for West Point: www.ci.west-point.ne.us/

The official website for Cuming County: www.co.cuming.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- West Point) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in West Point. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.8378, Longitude: -96.7075       In this case, the coordinates for West Point have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 West Point, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 10 Mar 2024