Kansas Gazetteers

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Gazetteers

Online Gazetteers

• FamilySearch Places
• Kansas Historical Society, Genealogy Indexes
• Genealogy Trails - Kansas Genealogy and History
• Kansas Place-Names John Rydjord. Kansas Place-Names. Digital Publisher FamilySearch International
• Kansas post offices, May 29, 1828 - Aug 3, 1961 Robert W Baughman. Kansas post offices, May 29, 1828 - Aug 3, 1961. Digital Publisher FamilySearch International
• 1880 Kansas post offices : originally published in Edwin Green's Leavenworth city directory Debra F Graden. 1880 Kansas Post Offices : originally published in Edwin Green's Leavenworth City Directory. Digital publisher FamilySearch International
• Gazetteer and directory of the state of Kansas Gazetteer and directory of the state of Kansas : ... descriptions of the cities, towns and villages,... and useful information. Digital Publisher FamilySearch International
• Kansas ; a cyclopedia of state history vol 1 Frank Wilson Backmar. Kansas; a Cyclopedia of State History, embracing events, institutions, industries, counties, cities, towns, prominent persons, etc. ... with a supplementary volume devoted to selected personal history and reminiscence, Volume 1. Chicago, Standard publishing company 1912
• Kansas ; a cyclopedia of state history vol 2 Frank Wilson Backmar. Kansas; a Cyclopedia of State History, embracing events, institutions, industries, counties, cities, towns, prominent persons, etc. ... with a supplementary volume devoted to selected personal history and reminiscence, Volume 2. Chicago, Standard publishing company 1912
• A Gazetteer of Kansas Henry Gannett. A gazetteer of Kansas. Washington, Govt. print. off., 1898.
• Kansas geographic names U.S. Geological Survey. Kansas geographic names : [alphabetical finding list]. Reston, Va. : U.S.G.S. Topographic Division, Office of Research & Technical Standards, National Center, [1981]

Print Only Gazetteers

• Quick reference to Kansas Melvin D Bruntzel. Quick Reference to Kansas : Lost-Found-Missing : Towns and Places with selected trivia and truths. Topeka, Kansas : M.D. Bruntzel, c2010
• The National gazetteer of the United States of America--Kansas, 1984 U.S. Geological Survey. The National gazetteer of the United States of America--Kansas, 1984. [Washington, D.C.] : United States. Government Printing Office, 1985
• Kansas towns & cities as of 1912 Debra F Graden Kansas towns & cities as of 1912 : includes a list of extinct towns [and a] bonus index of biographies from volumes 1, 2 & 3 extracted from "Kansas". Leavenworth, Kansas : Grey Ink, c1997
• Indian place-names, their origin, evolution, and meanings John Rydjord. Indian Place-Names, Their Origin, Evolution, and Meanings : collected in Kansas from the Siouan, Algonquian, Shoshonean, Caddoan, Iroquoian, and other tongues. Norman, Oklahoma : University of Oklahoma Press, 1968

Why Use Gazetteers

A gazetteer is a dictionary of place-names. Gazetteers list or describe towns and villages, parishes, states, populations, rivers and mountains, and other geographical features. They usually include only the names of places that existed at the time the gazetteer was published. Within a specific geographical area, the place-names are listed in alphabetical order, similar to a dictionary. You can use a gazetteer to locate the places where your family lived and to determine the civil and religious jurisdictions over those places.

There are many places within a state with similar or identical place-names. You will need to use a gazetteer to identify the specific town where your ancestor lived, the state the town was or is in, and the jurisdictions where records about the person was kept.

Gazetteer Contents

Gazetteers may also provide additional information about towns, such as:

• Different religious denominations
• Schools, colleges, and universities
• Major manufacturers, canals, docks, and railroad stations
• The population size.
• Boundaries of civil jurisdiction.
• Ecclesiastical jurisdiction(s)
• Longitude and latitude.
• Distances and direction from other from cities.
• Schools, colleges, and universities.
• Denominations and number of churches.
• Historical and biographical information on some individuals (usually high-ranking or famous individuals)