We hear this expression all the time… “Location, location, location!”  Where did it come from ?  Who initiated it?  I wish I knew.  But, I digress…

When doing genealogical research, location is, indeed, critical.  A gazetteer is a very useful resource in the pursuit of one’s ancestry.  A gazetteer is basically a geographical dictionary, so it will list place names for a particular region, as well as describing related geographical features.  It’s particularly helpful to use a gazetteer that is as close to the time your ancestors lived as possible, so you can see how land boundaries were laid out at that time.  Our collection includes numerous gazetteers, some of which circulate.  For Kansas, we own the following:

Kansas Atlas and Gazetteer, by the DeLorme Mapping Company

A Gazetteer of Kansas, by Henry Gannett, and

The National Gazetteer of the United States-Kansas 1984, as printed by the U.S. Government.

In addition to the Kansas gazetteers, you might want to take a look at another source.  Sondra Van Meter McCoy wrote a book titled 1001 Kansas Place Names, and we have both circulating and non-circulating copies.  We also own a few other titles that deal specifically with Kansas place names.

Lastly, a good source of birth and death information and certification is your local office of vital records.  Specifically, if you are looking for death information, your best bet is to contact the vital records office in the area where the individual(s) died.  For the state of Kansas, the vital records office is right here in Topeka.  Here is their contact information:

Office of Vital Statistics
1000 S W Jackson, Suite 110
Topeka, KS 66612
(785) 296-1400 Info
(785) 296-3253
Fax: (785) 357-4332

Location, location, location… as the saying goes.  The closer you can come to pinpointing locations in your genealogical research, the more success you will enjoy as you search.  Good luck! 

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