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 Baird (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 Baird. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.
Baird 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 Baird. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Baird:
- Harrison County (The home county of Baird)
- The following are listed by their distance from Baird, with the one closest to Baird listed first.
- Dunlap
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Woodbine
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Logan
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Magnolia
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Magnolia is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 170 people
- Pisgah
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Persia
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Persia is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Persia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 281 people
- Orson
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Orson is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orson
- Yorkshire
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Yorkshire is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorkshire
- Little Sioux
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Mondamin
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Missouri Valley
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Modale
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- California Junction
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- California Junction is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for California Junction
- Audubon County
- Fiscus
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Fiscus is located in Audubon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fiscus
- Crawford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Baird, with the one closest to Baird listed first.
- Dow City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Bell
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Bell is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell
- Arion
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Arion is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arion
- Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
- Buck Grove
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Buck Grove is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buck Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 43 people
- Kenwood
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Kenwood is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenwood
- Charter Oak
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Astor
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Astor is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Astor
- Sunset Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Sunset Village is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Village
- Denison
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Manilla
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Ricketts
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Ricketts is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ricketts
- Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
- Deloit
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Deloit is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deloit
- Population from the 2020 Census: 254 people
- Aspinwall
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Aspinwall is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aspinwall
- Population from the 2020 Census: 40 people
- Monona County
- The following are listed by their distance from Baird, with the one closest to Baird listed first.
- Moorhead
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Soldier
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Ute
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Turin
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Castana
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Blencoe
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Blencoe is located in Monona County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blencoe
- Population from the 2020 Census: 196 people
- Mapleton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Onawa
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Pottawattamie County
- The following are listed by their distance from Baird, with the one closest to Baird listed first.
- Minden
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Neola
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Pigeon
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Pigeon is located in Pottawattamie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pigeon
- Loveland
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Loveland is located in Pottawattamie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loveland
- Harlan Junction ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Harlan Junction is located in Pottawattamie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlan Junction
- Avoca
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Avoca is located in Pottawattamie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avoca
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,537 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Avoca <1>
- Honey Creek
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Honey Creek is located in Pottawattamie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honey Creek
- Underwood
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Walnut
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Walnut is located in Pottawattamie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut
- Population from the 2020 Census: 768 people
- Shelby County
- The following are listed by their distance from Baird, with the one closest to Baird listed first.
- Panama
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Earling
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Earling is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Earling
- Population from the 2020 Census: 403 people
- Portsmouth
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Westphalia
(14 miles [22.5 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
(16 miles [25.7 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
(17 miles [27.4 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
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Kirkman
(20 miles [32.2 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
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Corley is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corley
- Shelby
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Irwin
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Botna
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Botna is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Botna
- Woodbury County
- Danbury
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Burt County (NE)
- Tekamah
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Washington County (NE)
- The following are listed by their distance from Baird, with the one closest to Baird listed first.
- De Soto ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 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
- Blair
(30 miles [48.3 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>
- Fort Calhoun
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Herman
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Baird, see our County-by-County Page for Baird.
Cemeteries Near Baird ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Baird.
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 Baird - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Baird covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Baird, with the one closest to Baird listed first.
- Cleveland Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Woodbine Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Pleasant Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Valley View Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Hodges Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Mefferd Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Gallands Grove Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Grove Twp. Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Biglers Grove Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Cowan - Pardee Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Doyle Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Purcell Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (138 more) ...
- Greenwood Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Ellison Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Washington Twp. Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 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>
While we didn't find Baird in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Baird.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Baird, with the one closest to Baird listed first.
- Dunlap
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Woodbine
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Manteno
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Manteno is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manteno
- Panama
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Logan
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Portsmouth
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Dow City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Magnolia
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Magnolia is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 170 people
- Bell
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Bell is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell
- Moorhead
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Westphalia
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Westphalia is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westphalia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 117 people
- Soldier
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Arion
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Arion is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arion
- Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
- Persia
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Persia is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Persia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 281 people
- Buck Grove
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Buck Grove is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buck Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 43 people
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Baird. See our List of 1890's Communities around Baird.
Newspapers Published in Baird ...
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 Baird.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Baird, 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 Baird.
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 Baird:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Harrison County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Audubon County
- 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Baird) 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 Baird, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |