RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Iowa >> Kossuth County >> Bancroft >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Bancroft (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 Bancroft. 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 and hospitals 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.

Bancroft is located in Kossuth 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 Kossuth County: Emmet, Hancock, Humboldt, Palo Alto, Winnebago, Faribault (MN) & Martin (MN).

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

  • Kossuth County     (The home county of Bancroft)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bancroft, with the one closest to Bancroft listed first.
    • Gerled
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Burt
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Burt is located in Kossuth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burt
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 493 people
    • Swea City
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Lone Rock
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Lakota
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Lakota is located in Kossuth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakota
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 275 people
    • Seneca
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • German Valley
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Ledyard
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Titonka
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Titonka is located in Kossuth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Titonka
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 433 people
    • Fenton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Fenton is located in Kossuth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fenton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 225 people
    • Algona
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Sexton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Wesley
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Wesley is located in Kossuth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wesley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 364 people
  • Emmet County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bancroft, with the one closest to Bancroft listed first.
    • Ringsted
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Armstrong
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Hoprig
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Dolliver
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Gruver
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Gruver is located in Emmet County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gruver
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 82 people
    • Wallingford
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Hancock County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bancroft, with the one closest to Bancroft listed first.
    • Woden
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Crystal Lake
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Crystal Lake is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Lake
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 228 people
    • Hutchins
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Britt
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Corwith
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Corwith is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corwith
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 245 people
    • Duncan
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Humboldt County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bancroft, with the one closest to Bancroft listed first.
    • Ottosen
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Ottosen is located in Humboldt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ottosen
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 36 people
    • Bode
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Livermore
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Livermore is located in Humboldt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Livermore
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 361 people
  • Palo Alto County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bancroft, with the one closest to Bancroft listed first.
    • Cylinder
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Cylinder is located in Palo Alto County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cylinder
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 84 people
    • Rodman
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • West Bend
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Emmetsburg
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Graettinger
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
  • Winnebago County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bancroft, with the one closest to Bancroft listed first.
    • Buffalo Center
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Rake
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Rake is located in Winnebago County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rake
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
    • Thompson
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Forest City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Leland
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Vinje
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Faribault County (MN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bancroft, with the one closest to Bancroft listed first.
    • Elmore
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Elmore is located in Faribault County (MN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmore
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 613 people
    • Blue Earth
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Frost
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Frost is located in Faribault County (MN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frost
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 181 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Frost <1>
    • Bricelyn
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Bricelyn is located in Faribault County (MN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bricelyn
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 334 people
    • Dell
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Huntley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • Kiester
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Kiester is located in Faribault County (MN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kiester
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 456 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kiester <1>
  • Martin County (MN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bancroft, with the one closest to Bancroft listed first.
    • Ceylon
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Ceylon is located in Martin County (MN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceylon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 337 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ceylon <1>
    • Fairmont
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Granada
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)

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

Cemeteries Near Bancroft ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bancroft.

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

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

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

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Bancroft had a population of 657 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Bancroft had a population of 684 people.

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

  • Burt
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Burt is located in Kossuth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burt
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 493 people
  • Seneca
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • German Valley
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Ledyard
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Fenton
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Fenton is located in Kossuth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fenton
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 225 people
  • Swea ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Swea is located in Kossuth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swea
  • Ringsted
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • Algona
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
  • Sexton
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Buffalo Center
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Armstrong
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Pilot Grove
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Pilot Grove is located in Faribault County (MN)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilot Grove
  • Continue List   (19 more) ...
    • Elmore
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Elmore is located in Faribault County (MN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmore
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 613 people
    • Wesley
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Wesley is located in Kossuth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wesley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 364 people
    • Whittemore
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Whittemore is located in Kossuth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whittemore
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 469 people

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Bancroft ...

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 98 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bancroft.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

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

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 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 Bancroft:

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 Bancroft, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Bancroft) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.