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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 Arlington (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 Arlington. 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 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.

Arlington is located in Fayette 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 Fayette County: Allamakee, Black Hawk, Bremer, Buchanan, Chickasaw, Clayton, Delaware & Winneshiek.

Below are the counties that are near Arlington. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Arlington:

  • Fayette County     (The home county of Arlington)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Arlington, with the one closest to Arlington listed first.
    • Maryville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Maryville is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maryville
    • Wadena
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Fayette
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Illyria
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Illyria is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Illyria
    • Maynard
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Brainard
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Brainard is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brainard
    • Randalia
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Randalia is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randalia
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 60 people
    • Oelwein
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Elgin
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Donnan
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Donnan is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donnan
    • West Union
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Westgate
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Westgate is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westgate
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 209 people
  • Allamakee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Arlington, with the one closest to Arlington listed first.
    • Postville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Volney
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Volney is located in Allamakee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Volney
  • Black Hawk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Arlington, with the one closest to Arlington listed first.
    • Dunkerton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Dunkerton is located in Black Hawk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunkerton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 851 people
    • Jesup
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Jesup is located in Black Hawk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jesup
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,711 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jesup <1>
  • Bremer County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Arlington, with the one closest to Arlington listed first.
    • Sumner
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Klinger
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Klinger is located in Bremer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Klinger
    • Readlyn
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Knittel
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Knittel is located in Bremer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knittel
    • Tripoli
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Buchanan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Arlington, with the one closest to Arlington listed first.
    • Aurora
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Aurora is located in Buchanan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurora
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 162 people
    • Lamont
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Stanley
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Stanley is located in Buchanan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 120 people
    • Hazleton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Doris
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Doris is located in Buchanan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doris
    • Winthrop
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Winthrop is located in Buchanan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winthrop
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 848 people
    • Fairbank
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Independence
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Quasqueton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Monti
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Monti is located in Buchanan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monti
    • Rowley
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
  • Chickasaw County
    • Fredericksburg
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Clayton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Arlington, with the one closest to Arlington listed first.
    • Volga
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Volga is located in Clayton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Volga
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 193 people
    • Strawberry Point
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Osborne
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Osborne is located in Clayton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osborne
    • Mederville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Mederville is located in Clayton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mederville
    • Littleport
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Littleport is located in Clayton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littleport
    • Elkader
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Gunder
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Gunder is located in Clayton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gunder
    • Wood
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Wood is located in Clayton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wood
    • Saint Olaf
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Clayton Center
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Clayton Center is located in Clayton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clayton Center
    • Elkport
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Elkport is located in Clayton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkport
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 36 people
    • Garber
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Garber is located in Clayton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garber
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 86 people
  • Delaware County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Arlington, with the one closest to Arlington listed first.
    • Forestville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Forestville is located in Delaware County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forestville
    • Dundee
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Edgewood
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Masonville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Masonville is located in Delaware County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Masonville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 119 people
    • Greeley
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Manchester
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Oneida
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Oneida is located in Delaware County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oneida
    • Colesburg
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Colesburg is located in Delaware County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colesburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 371 people
    • Almoral
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Almoral is located in Delaware County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almoral
    • Delaware
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Delaware is located in Delaware County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delaware
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 149 people
    • Holy Cross
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Holy Cross is located in Delaware County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holy Cross
    • Golden
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Golden is located in Delaware County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golden
  • Winneshiek County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Arlington, with the one closest to Arlington listed first.
    • Castalia
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Castalia is located in Winneshiek County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castalia
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 156 people
    • Festina
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Ossian
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Frankville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Frankville is located in Winneshiek County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frankville
    • Fort Atkinson
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Jackson Junction
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jackson Junction is located in Winneshiek County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackson Junction
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 54 people
  • Grant County (WI)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Arlington, with the one closest to Arlington listed first.
    • Bagley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Bagley is located in Grant County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bagley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 367 people
    • Glen Haven
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Glen Haven is located in Grant County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Haven
    • Wyalusing
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Wyalusing is located in Grant County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyalusing

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Arlington, see our County-by-County Page for Arlington.

Cemeteries Near Arlington ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Arlington.

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 Arlington - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Arlington covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Arlington, with the one closest to Arlington listed first.

  • Arlington Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Taylorville Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Reeds Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Corn Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Garden Prairie Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Union Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Rothfusz Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • St. Sebald Lutheran Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • St. Josephs Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Wadena Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • County Corners Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • County Corners Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (308 more) ...

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 Arlington in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Arlington.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Arlington, with the one closest to Arlington listed first.

  • Saint Sebald
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Saint Sebald is located in Clayton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Sebald
  • Wadena
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Volga
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Volga is located in Clayton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Volga
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 193 people
  • Strawberry Point
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Aurora
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Aurora is located in Buchanan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurora
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 162 people
  • Lima
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Lima is located in Fayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lima
  • Albany
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Albany is located in Fayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albany
  • Fayette
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Stanley
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Stanley is located in Buchanan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanley
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 120 people
  • Lamont
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Highland
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Highland is located in Clayton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland
  • Illyria
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Illyria is located in Fayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Illyria
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Maynard
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Osborne
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Osborne is located in Clayton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osborne
    • Forestville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Forestville is located in Delaware County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forestville

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Arlington. See our List of 1890's Communities around Arlington.

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Arlington ...

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 129 newspapers that have been published in the area around Arlington.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Arlington. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Arlington and those printed in the larger area surrounding Arlington.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4> of Arlington.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Arlington:

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 Arlington, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Arlington) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.