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 Ashland (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 Ashland. 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 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.
Ashland is located in Wapello 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 Wapello County: Appanoose, Davis, Jefferson, Keokuk, Mahaska, Monroe & Van Buren.
Below are the counties that are near Ashland. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Ashland:
- Wapello County (The home county of Ashland)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ashland, with the one closest to Ashland listed first.
- Eldon
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Agency
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Cliffland
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Cliffland is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliffland
- East Ottumwa
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- East Ottumwa is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Ottumwa
- Dahlonega
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Dahlonega is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dahlonega
- Ottumwa
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Competine
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Competine is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Competine
- Highland Center
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Highland Center is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Center
- Keb ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Keb is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keb
- Bidwell
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Bidwell is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bidwell
- Chillicothe
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Chillicothe is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chillicothe
- Population from the 2020 Census: 97 people
- Kirkville
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Kirkville is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirkville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 177 people
- Blakesburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Appanoose County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ashland, with the one closest to Ashland listed first.
- Unionville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Orleans
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Orleans is located in Appanoose County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orleans
- Moulton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Moulton is located in Appanoose County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moulton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 580 people
- Udell
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Udell is located in Appanoose County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Udell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 44 people
- Moravia
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Davis County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ashland, with the one closest to Ashland listed first.
- Chequest
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Chequest is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chequest
- Floris
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Floris is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Floris
- Population from the 2020 Census: 143 people
- Carbon
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Carbon is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbon
- Drakesville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bloomfield
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Pulaski
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Pulaski is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pulaski
- Population from the 2020 Census: 291 people
- Steuben
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Steuben is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steuben
- Paris
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Paris is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paris
- Stiles
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Stiles is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stiles
- West Grove
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- West Grove is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Grove
- Mark
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Mark is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mark
- Savannah
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Savannah is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savannah
- Henry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ashland, with the one closest to Ashland listed first.
- Hillsboro
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Hillsboro is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsboro
- Population from the 2020 Census: 173 people
- Rome
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Rome is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rome
- Population from the 2020 Census: 117 people
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ashland, with the one closest to Ashland listed first.
- Batavia
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Libertyville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Libertyville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Libertyville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 341 people
- Abingdon
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Abingdon is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abingdon
- Maharishi Vedic City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- 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
- Fairfield
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Linby
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Linby is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linby
- Pekin
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Pekin is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pekin
- Packwood
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Packwood is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Packwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 225 people
- Perlee
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Perlee is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perlee
- Glasgow
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Glasgow is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glasgow
- Pleasant Plain
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant Plain is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Plain
- Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
- Lockridge
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Keokuk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ashland, with the one closest to Ashland listed first.
- Hedrick
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Hedrick is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hedrick
- Population from the 2020 Census: 743 people
- Martinsburg
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Martinsburg is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martinsburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
- Nugent
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Nugent is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nugent
- Ollie
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Ollie is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ollie
- Population from the 2020 Census: 207 people
- Richland
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Hayesville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Hayesville is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayesville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 48 people
- Delta
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Delta is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delta
- Population from the 2020 Census: 313 people
- Sigourney
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Talleyrand
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Talleyrand is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talleyrand
- Harper
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Harper is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harper
- Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
- Mahaska County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ashland, with the one closest to Ashland listed first.
- Fremont
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Cedar
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Cedar is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar
- Exeelsior
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Exeelsior is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exeelsior
- Wright
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Wright is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wright
- Keomah Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Keomah Village is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keomah Village
- Population from the 2020 Census: 99 people
- Rose Hill
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Rose Hill is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 161 people
- Givin
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Givin is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Givin
- Lakonta
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Lakonta is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakonta
- University Park
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- University Park is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 468 people
- Monroe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ashland, with the one closest to Ashland listed first.
- Avery
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Avery is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avery
- Selection
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Selection is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selection
- Albia
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Van Buren County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ashland, with the one closest to Ashland listed first.
- Selma
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Selma is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selma
- Douds
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Douds is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douds
- Leando
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Leando is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leando
- Birmingham
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Birmingham is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birmingham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 423 people
- Kilbourn
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Kilbourn is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kilbourn
- Winchester
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Winchester is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winchester
- Mount Zion
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Zion is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
- Milton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Keosauqua
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Stockport
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Cantril
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Bonaparte
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Sterling
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ashland, with the one closest to Ashland listed first.
- Rubio
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Rubio is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rubio
- Brighton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Coppock
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Coppock is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coppock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 48 people
- Scotland County (MO)
- Kilwinning
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Kilwinning is located in Scotland County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kilwinning
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Ashland, see our County-by-County Page for Ashland.
Cemeteries Near Ashland ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ashland.
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 Ashland - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Ashland covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Ashland, with the one closest to Ashland listed first.
- Ashland Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Ellsworth Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Cooper Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Eldon Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Hackney Grave
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Sterner Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Sedore Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Railback Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Sedore Family Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Sioc Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Brumsey Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Chief Wapello Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (509 more) ...
- Litgner Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Gonferman Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Batavia City Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
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 Ashland in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Ashland.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Ashland, with the one closest to Ashland listed first.
- Eldon
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Batavia
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Agency
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Cliffland
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Cliffland is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliffland
- Bladensburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Bladensburg is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bladensburg
- Selma
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Selma is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selma
- Floris
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Floris is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Floris
- Population from the 2020 Census: 143 people
- Chequest
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Chequest is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chequest
- East Ottumwa
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- East Ottumwa is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Ottumwa
- Libertyville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Libertyville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Libertyville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 341 people
- Abingdon
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Abingdon is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abingdon
- Dahlonega
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Dahlonega is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dahlonega
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Ottumwa
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Carbon
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Carbon is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbon
- Brookville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Brookville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Ashland. See our List of 1890's Communities around Ashland.
Newspapers Published in Ashland ...
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 188 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ashland.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ashland, 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 Ashland.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Ashland:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Wapello County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Appanoose County
- Davis County
- Henry County
- Jefferson County
- Keokuk County
- Mahaska County
- Monroe County
- Van Buren County
- Washington County
- Scotland 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 Ashland, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Ashland) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |