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 Ayrshire (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 Ayrshire. 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 northeast 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 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 east 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.
Ayrshire is located in Palo Alto 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 Palo Alto County: Buena Vista, Clay, Dickinson, Emmet, Humboldt, Kossuth & Pocahontas.
Below are the counties that are near Ayrshire. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Ayrshire:
- Palo Alto County (The home county of Ayrshire)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ayrshire, with the one closest to Ayrshire listed first.
- Curlew
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Curlew is located in Palo Alto County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curlew
- Population from the 2020 Census: 55 people
- Ruthven
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Emmetsburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Mallard
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Cylinder
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Cylinder is located in Palo Alto County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cylinder
- Population from the 2020 Census: 84 people
- Graettinger
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Rodman
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Rodman is located in Palo Alto County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 41 people
- West Bend
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Buena Vista County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ayrshire, with the one closest to Ayrshire listed first.
- Marathon
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Marathon is located in Buena Vista County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marathon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 228 people
- Albert City
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Sioux Rapids
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Rembrandt
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Linn Grove
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Truesdale
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Newell
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Clay County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ayrshire, with the one closest to Ayrshire listed first.
- Webb
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Webb is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webb
- Population from the 2020 Census: 126 people
- Gillett Grove
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Gillett Grove is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gillett Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 47 people
- Dickens
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Dickens is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickens
- Population from the 2020 Census: 168 people
- Greenville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Cornell
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Cornell is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornell
- Langdon
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Langdon is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langdon
- Spencer
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Rossie
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Rossie is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rossie
- Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
- Fostoria
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Fostoria is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fostoria
- Population from the 2020 Census: 219 people
- Royal
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Everly
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Everly is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Everly
- Population from the 2020 Census: 541 people
- Peterson
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Dickinson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ayrshire, with the one closest to Ayrshire listed first.
- Terril
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Terril is located in Dickinson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terril
- Population from the 2020 Census: 338 people
- Old Town
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Old Town is located in Dickinson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Town
- Milford
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Superior
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Arnolds Park
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- West Okoboji
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- West Okoboji is located in Dickinson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Okoboji
- Population from the 2020 Census: 303 people
- Okoboji
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Wahpeton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Wahpeton is located in Dickinson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wahpeton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 353 people
- Spirit Lake
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Emmet County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ayrshire, with the one closest to Ayrshire listed first.
- Wallingford
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Wallingford is located in Emmet County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallingford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 168 people
- Hoprig
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Hoprig is located in Emmet County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoprig
- Estherville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Ringsted
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Gruver
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Gruver is located in Emmet County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gruver
- Population from the 2020 Census: 82 people
- Armstrong
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Armstrong is located in Emmet County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armstrong
- Population from the 2020 Census: 841 people
- Humboldt County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ayrshire, with the one closest to Ayrshire listed first.
- Ottosen
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Ottosen is located in Humboldt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ottosen
- Population from the 2020 Census: 36 people
- Bradgate
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Bradgate is located in Humboldt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradgate
- Population from the 2020 Census: 84 people
- Gilmore City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bode
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Bode is located in Humboldt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bode
- Population from the 2020 Census: 286 people
- Kossuth County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ayrshire, with the one closest to Ayrshire listed first.
- Whittemore
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Whittemore is located in Kossuth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whittemore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 469 people
- Fenton
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Fenton is located in Kossuth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fenton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 225 people
- Lone Rock
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Seneca
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Seneca is located in Kossuth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seneca
- Algona
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- O'Brien County
- Moneta
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Moneta is located in O'Brien County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moneta
- Pocahontas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ayrshire, with the one closest to Ayrshire listed first.
- Laurens
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Havelock
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Plover
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Plover is located in Pocahontas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plover
- Population from the 2020 Census: 69 people
- Rolfe
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Pocahontas
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Varina
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Varina is located in Pocahontas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Varina
- Population from the 2020 Census: 64 people
- Palmer
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Ayrshire, see our County-by-County Page for Ayrshire.
Cemeteries Near Ayrshire ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ayrshire.
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 Ayrshire - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Ayrshire covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Ayrshire, with the one closest to Ayrshire listed first.
- Calvary Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Silver Lake Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Calvary Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Crown Hill Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Garfield Twp. Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Rush Lake Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rush Lake Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Rush Lake Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<2> to the west of Mallard.
- The Rush Lake Cemetery has also been known as:
- Stratton Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2145197 <3>
- Logan Twp. Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Highland Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Evergreen Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Lost Island Lutheran Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Continue List (120 more) ...
- St. Pauls Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Dickens Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Ellington Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 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 in 1895, Ayrshire had a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Ayrshire had a population of 138 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Ayrshire, with the one closest to Ayrshire listed first.
- Curlew
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Curlew is located in Palo Alto County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curlew
- Population from the 2020 Census: 55 people
- Emmetsburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Mallard
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Dickens
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Dickens is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickens
- Population from the 2020 Census: 168 people
- Osgood
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Osgood is located in Palo Alto County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osgood
- Laurens
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Marathon
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Marathon is located in Buena Vista County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marathon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 228 people
- Cylinder
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Cylinder is located in Palo Alto County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cylinder
- Population from the 2020 Census: 84 people
- Graettinger
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Havelock
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Plover
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Plover is located in Pocahontas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plover
- Population from the 2020 Census: 69 people
- Rodman
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Rodman is located in Palo Alto County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 41 people
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Greenville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Spencer
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Sioux Rapids
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Ayrshire. See our List of 1890's Communities around Ayrshire.
Newspapers Published in Ayrshire ...
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 110 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ayrshire.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ayrshire, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Ayrshire.
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 helpful 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 Ayrshire:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Palo Alto County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Buena Vista County
- Clay County
- Dickinson County
- Emmet County
- Humboldt County
- Kossuth County
- O'Brien County
- Pocahontas 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' (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- Ayrshire) 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 Ayrshire, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |