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 Ainsworth (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 Ainsworth. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and 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.
Ainsworth is located in Washington County.
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 Washington County: Henry, Iowa, Jefferson, Johnson, Keokuk & Louisa.
Below are the counties that are near Ainsworth. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Ainsworth:
- Washington County (The home county of Ainsworth)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ainsworth, with the one closest to Ainsworth listed first.
- Havre
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Havre is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Havre
- Crawfordsville
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Washington
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Coppock
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Coppock is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coppock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 48 people
- Riverside
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- West Chester
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- West Chester is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Chester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 147 people
- Kalona
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Brighton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Wellman
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Rubio
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Rubio is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rubio
- Nira
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Nira is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nira
- Cedar County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ainsworth, with the one closest to Ainsworth listed first.
- Downey
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Downey is located in Cedar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downey
- Centerdale
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Centerdale is located in Cedar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerdale
- West Branch
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Springdale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Springdale is located in Cedar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springdale
- Des Moines County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ainsworth, with the one closest to Ainsworth listed first.
- Yarmouth
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Mediapolis
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Dodgeville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Dodgeville is located in Des Moines County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodgeville
- Sperry
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Sperry is located in Des Moines County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sperry
- Henry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ainsworth, with the one closest to Ainsworth listed first.
- Olds
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Olds is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olds
- Population from the 2020 Census: 222 people
- Wayland
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Swedesburg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Swedesburg is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swedesburg
- Winfield
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Union
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Union is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Union
- Estimated population in 2017: 107 people
- Mount Pleasant
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Rome
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Rome is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rome
- Population from the 2020 Census: 117 people
- Westwood
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Westwood is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
- Oakland Mills
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Oakland Mills is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland Mills
- New London
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Salem
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Iowa County
- Parnell
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ainsworth, with the one closest to Ainsworth listed first.
- Pleasant Plain
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Pleasant Plain is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Plain
- Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
- Lockridge
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Perlee
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Perlee is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perlee
- Glasgow
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Glasgow is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glasgow
- Fairfield
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Maharishi Vedic City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Maharishi Vedic City is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maharishi Vedic City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,288 people
- Packwood
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Packwood is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Packwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 225 people
- Johnson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ainsworth, with the one closest to Ainsworth listed first.
- River Junction
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- River Junction is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Junction
- Lone Tree
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Hills
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Amish
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Amish is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amish
- Frytown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Frytown is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frytown
- Williamstown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Williamstown is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamstown
- Midway ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Midway is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
- Windham
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Windham is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windham
- Iowa City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- University Heights
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- University Heights is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University Heights
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,025 people
- Cosgrove
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Cosgrove is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cosgrove
- Coralville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Keokuk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ainsworth, with the one closest to Ainsworth listed first.
- Keota
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Talleyrand
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Talleyrand is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talleyrand
- Richland
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Kinross
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Kinross is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinross
- Population from the 2020 Census: 71 people
- Harper
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Harper is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harper
- Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
- Ollie
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Ollie is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ollie
- Population from the 2020 Census: 207 people
- South English
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- South English is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South English
- Population from the 2020 Census: 211 people
- Louisa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ainsworth, with the one closest to Ainsworth listed first.
- Cotter
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Cotter is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotter
- Population from the 2020 Census: 42 people
- Gladwin
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Gladwin is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladwin
- Wyman
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Wyman is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyman
- Columbus City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Columbus City is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbus City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 371 people
- Columbus Junction
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Fredonia
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Fredonia is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredonia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
- Letts
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Grandview
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Grandview is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
- Population from the 2020 Census: 519 people
- Wapello
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Wapello is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wapello
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,999 people
- Morning Sun
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Elrick Junction
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Elrick Junction is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elrick Junction
- Oakville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Muscatine County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ainsworth, with the one closest to Ainsworth listed first.
- Conesville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Conesville is located in Muscatine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conesville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 427 people
- Nichols
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Nichols is located in Muscatine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nichols
- Population from the 2020 Census: 358 people
- Fruitland
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Fruitland is located in Muscatine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruitland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 966 people
- West Liberty
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Atalissa
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Muscatine
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Mercer County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ainsworth, with the one closest to Ainsworth listed first.
- New Boston
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Eliza
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Eliza is located in Mercer County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eliza
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Ainsworth, see our County-by-County Page for Ainsworth.
Cemeteries Near Ainsworth ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ainsworth.
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 Ainsworth - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Ainsworth covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Ainsworth, with the one closest to Ainsworth listed first.
- Ainsworth Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Campground Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Benson Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Sweet Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Pleasant Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Crawfordsville Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Cambrian Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Moore Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Bethel Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Salem Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Harrisburg Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Shiloh Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (399 more) ...
- Fern Cliff Evangelic Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Rumble Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Covenantor Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
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 Ainsworth had a population of 332 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Ainsworth had a population of 577 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Ainsworth, with the one closest to Ainsworth listed first.
- Havre
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Havre is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Havre
- Cotter
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Cotter is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotter
- Population from the 2020 Census: 42 people
- Crawfordsville
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Wyman
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Wyman is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyman
- Washington
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Noble
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Noble is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noble
- Columbus City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Columbus City is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbus City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 371 people
- Columbus Junction
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Olds
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Olds is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olds
- Population from the 2020 Census: 222 people
- Port Allen ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Port Allen is located in Muscatine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Allen
- Wayland
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Fredonia
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Fredonia is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredonia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Coppock
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Coppock is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coppock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 48 people
- Swedesburg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Swedesburg is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swedesburg
- Winfield
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Ainsworth. See our List of 1890's Communities around Ainsworth.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Ainsworth ...
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 64 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ainsworth.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Ainsworth. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Ainsworth and those printed in the larger area surrounding Ainsworth.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<2> of Ainsworth.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to 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 Ainsworth:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Washington County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cedar County
- Des Moines County
- Henry County
- Iowa County
- Jefferson County
- Johnson County
- Keokuk County
- Louisa County
- Muscatine County
- Mercer 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Ainsworth) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <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 Ainsworth, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |