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 Allen (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 Allen. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors 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.
Allen is located in Harrison 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 Harrison County: Crawford, Monona, Pottawattamie, Shelby, Burt (NE) & Washington (NE).
Below are the counties that are near Allen. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Allen:
- Harrison County (The home county of Allen)
- The following are listed by their distance from Allen, with the one closest to Allen listed first.
- Pisgah
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Woodbine
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Magnolia
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Magnolia is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 170 people
- Orson
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Orson is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orson
- Little Sioux
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Dunlap
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Logan
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Mondamin
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Modale
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Missouri Valley
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- California Junction
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- California Junction is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for California Junction
- Persia
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Persia is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Persia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 281 people
- Crawford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Allen, with the one closest to Allen listed first.
- Dow City
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Bell
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Bell is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell
- Arion
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Arion is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arion
- Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
- Charter Oak
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Kenwood
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Kenwood is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenwood
- Buck Grove
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Buck Grove is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buck Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 43 people
- Ricketts
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Ricketts is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ricketts
- Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
- Sunset Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Sunset Village is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Village
- Denison
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Astor
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Astor is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Astor
- Manilla
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Monona County
- The following are listed by their distance from Allen, with the one closest to Allen listed first.
- Moorhead
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Soldier
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Blencoe
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Blencoe is located in Monona County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blencoe
- Population from the 2020 Census: 196 people
- Turin
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Ute
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Castana
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Onawa
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Mapleton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Whiting
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Rodney
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Rodney is located in Monona County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodney
- Population from the 2020 Census: 57 people
- Pottawattamie County
- The following are listed by their distance from Allen, with the one closest to Allen listed first.
- Loveland
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Loveland is located in Pottawattamie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loveland
- Pigeon
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Pigeon is located in Pottawattamie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pigeon
- Honey Creek
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Honey Creek is located in Pottawattamie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honey Creek
- Neola
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Minden
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Underwood
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Crescent
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Shelby County
- The following are listed by their distance from Allen, with the one closest to Allen listed first.
- Panama
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Portsmouth
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Earling
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Earling is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Earling
- Population from the 2020 Census: 403 people
- Westphalia
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Westphalia is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westphalia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 117 people
- Defiance
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Defiance is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Defiance
- Population from the 2020 Census: 260 people
- Tennant
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Tennant is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tennant
- Population from the 2020 Census: 63 people
- Harlan
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Shelby
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Kirkman
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Kirkman is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirkman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 61 people
- Corley
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Corley is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corley
- Woodbury County
- The following are listed by their distance from Allen, with the one closest to Allen listed first.
- Smithland
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Danbury
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Burt County (NE)
- The following are listed by their distance from Allen, with the one closest to Allen listed first.
- Tekamah
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Decatur
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Bertha
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Bertha is located in Burt County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bertha
- Craig
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Washington County (NE)
- The following are listed by their distance from Allen, with the one closest to Allen listed first.
- Herman
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Blair
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Blair is located in Washington County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blair
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,948 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Blair <1>
- De Soto ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- De Soto is located in Washington County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Soto
- De Soto has also been known as:
- DeSoto
- Fort Calhoun
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Kennard
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Allen, see our County-by-County Page for Allen.
Cemeteries Near Allen ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Allen.
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 Allen - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Allen covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Allen, with the one closest to Allen listed first.
- Hodges Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Purcell Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Biglers Grove Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Cleveland Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Woodbine Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Preparation Canyon Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Spring Valley Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Soldier Valley Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Magnolia Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Silver Hill Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Cowan - Pardee Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Bethesda Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (133 more) ...
- Fountainbleau Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Conyers Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Little Sioux Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
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.<3>
While we didn't find Allen in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Allen.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Allen, with the one closest to Allen listed first.
- Woodbine
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Moorhead
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Magnolia
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Magnolia is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 170 people
- Little Sioux
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Logan
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Dunlap
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- River Sioux
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- River Sioux is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Sioux
- Mondamin
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Soldier
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Manteno
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Manteno is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manteno
- Modale
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Turin
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Blencoe
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Blencoe is located in Monona County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blencoe
- Population from the 2020 Census: 196 people
- Missouri Valley
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Ute
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Allen. See our List of 1890's Communities around Allen.
Newspapers Published in Allen ...
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 126 newspapers that have been published in the area around Allen.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Allen, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Allen.
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 professional and volunteer 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 Allen:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Harrison County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Crawford County
- Monona County
- Pottawattamie County
- Shelby County
- Woodbury County
- Burt County
- Washington 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> | 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. |
| <3> | 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 Allen, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Allen) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |