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 Adel (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 Adel. 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 Adel ...
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 occur.
Another variation: Adell.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Adel. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Adel.
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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.
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 north 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.
Adel is located in Dallas County and is the County Seat.
To see how the shape of Iowa's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Dallas County: Adair, Boone, Greene, Guthrie, Madison, Polk & Warren.
Below are the counties that are near Adel. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Adel:
- Dallas County (The home county of Adel)
- The following are listed by their distance from Adel, with the one closest to Adel listed first.
- DeSoto
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Dallas Center
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Panther
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Panther is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panther
- Van Meter
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Waukee
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Redfield
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Wiscotta
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Wiscotta is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wiscotta
- Booneville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Minburn
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Minburn is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minburn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 357 people
- Dexter
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Linden
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Linden is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linden
- Population from the 2020 Census: 214 people
- Granger
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Bouton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Adair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Adel, with the one closest to Adel listed first.
- Arbor Hill
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Arbor Hill is located in Adair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arbor Hill
- Stanzel
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Stanzel is located in Adair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanzel
- Hebron
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Hebron is located in Adair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hebron
- Greenfield
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Boone County
- The following are listed by their distance from Adel, with the one closest to Adel listed first.
- Madrid
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Berkley
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Berkley is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berkley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 33 people
- Luther
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Luther is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luther
- Population from the 2020 Census: 133 people
- Moingona
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Moingona is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moingona
- Ogden
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Beaver
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Beaver is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver
- Population from the 2020 Census: 50 people
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from Adel, with the one closest to Adel listed first.
- Rippey
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Rippey is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rippey
- Population from the 2020 Census: 269 people
- Cooper
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Cooper is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooper
- Guthrie County
- The following are listed by their distance from Adel, with the one closest to Adel listed first.
- Dale
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Dale is located in Guthrie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dale
- Stuart
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Panora
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Glendon
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Glendon is located in Guthrie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendon
- Yale
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Yale is located in Guthrie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 239 people
- Menlo
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Jamaica
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Herndon
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Herndon is located in Guthrie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herndon
- Guthrie Center
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Bagley
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Bagley is located in Guthrie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bagley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 285 people
- Casey
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Madison County
- The following are listed by their distance from Adel, with the one closest to Adel listed first.
- Earlham
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Pitzer
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Pitzer is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pitzer
- Winterset
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Patterson
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Patterson is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patterson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 163 people
- Webster
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Webster is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
- Ord
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Ord is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ord
- Saint Charles
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- East Peru
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- East Peru is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Peru
- Population from the 2020 Census: 133 people
- Macksburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Macksburg is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macksburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 122 people
- Truro
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Barney
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Barney is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barney
- Polk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Adel, with the one closest to Adel listed first.
- Clive
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Urbandale
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- West Des Moines
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Grimes
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Commerce
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Commerce is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Commerce
- Johnston
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Windsor Heights
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Herrold
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Herrold is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herrold
- Andrews
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Andrews is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Andrews
- Polk City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Norwalk
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Saylorville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Saylorville is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saylorville
- Des Moines
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Story County
- The following are listed by their distance from Adel, with the one closest to Adel listed first.
- Slater
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Huxley
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Kelley
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Midvale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Midvale is located in Story County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midvale
- Warren County
- The following are listed by their distance from Adel, with the one closest to Adel listed first.
- Cumming
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Orillia
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Orillia is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orillia
- Lakewood
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Lakewood is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakewood
- Churchville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Churchville is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Churchville
- Prole
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Prole is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prole
- Bevington
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Martensdale
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Spring Hill
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Spring Hill is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 65 people
- Saint Marys
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Saint Marys is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Marys
- Population from the 2020 Census: 127 people
- Indianola
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Adel, see our County-by-County Page for Adel.
Cemeteries Near Adel ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Adel.
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 Adel - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Adel covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Adel, with the one closest to Adel listed first.
- Oakdale Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Odd Fellows Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Gibson Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Miller Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Kinnick Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Panther Creek Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Dallas County Farm Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Otterman Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Williams Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Merical Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Longmire Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Ellis Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Continue List (259 more) ...
- Masonic Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Jenkins Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- King Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
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.<2>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Adel had a population of 995 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Adel had a population of 5,607 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Adel, with the one closest to Adel listed first.
- Ortonville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Ortonville is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ortonville
- DeSoto
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Kennedy
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Kennedy is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kennedy
- Van Meter
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Dallas Center
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Panther
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Panther is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panther
- Waukee
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Redfield
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Booneville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Minburn
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Minburn is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minburn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 357 people
- Campbell
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Campbell is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell
- Clive
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Dexter
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Linden
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Linden is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linden
- Population from the 2020 Census: 214 people
- McBride
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- McBride is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McBride
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Adel. See our List of 1890's Communities around Adel.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Adel ...
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 232 newspapers that have been published in the area around Adel.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Adel. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Adel and those printed in the larger area surrounding Adel.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<3> of Adel.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Adel:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Dallas County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Adair County
- Boone County
- Greene County
- Guthrie County
- Madison County
- Polk County
- Story County
- Warren County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Iowa
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> | 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 Adel, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Adel) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |