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 Beckwith (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 Beckwith. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.
Beckwith is located in Jefferson 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 Jefferson County: Davis, Henry, Keokuk, Van Buren, Wapello & Washington.
Below are the counties that are near Beckwith. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Beckwith:
- Jefferson County (The home county of Beckwith)
- The following are listed by their distance from Beckwith, with the one closest to Beckwith listed first.
- Perlee
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Perlee is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perlee
- Fairfield
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Lockridge
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Glasgow
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Glasgow is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glasgow
- Maharishi Vedic City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- 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
- Pleasant Plain
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Pleasant Plain is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Plain
- Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
- Libertyville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Libertyville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Libertyville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 341 people
- Packwood
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Packwood is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Packwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 225 people
- Abingdon
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Abingdon is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abingdon
- Batavia
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Linby
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Linby is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linby
- Pekin
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Pekin is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pekin
- Davis County
- The following are listed by their distance from Beckwith, with the one closest to Beckwith listed first.
- Chequest
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Chequest is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chequest
- Floris
(26 miles [41.8 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
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Carbon is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbon
- Pulaski
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Pulaski is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pulaski
- Population from the 2020 Census: 291 people
- Des Moines County
- The following are listed by their distance from Beckwith, with the one closest to Beckwith listed first.
- Yarmouth
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Danville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Danville is located in Des Moines County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 896 people
- Henry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Beckwith, with the one closest to Beckwith listed first.
- Rome
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Rome is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rome
- Population from the 2020 Census: 117 people
- Westwood
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Westwood is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
- Oakland Mills
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Oakland Mills is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland Mills
- Wayland
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Hillsboro
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Hillsboro is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsboro
- Population from the 2020 Census: 173 people
- Mount Pleasant
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Salem
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Swedesburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Swedesburg is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swedesburg
- Olds
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Olds is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olds
- Population from the 2020 Census: 222 people
- Winfield
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Mount Union
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Mount Union is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Union
- Estimated population in 2017: 107 people
- New London
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Keokuk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Beckwith, with the one closest to Beckwith listed first.
- Richland
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Ollie
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Ollie is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ollie
- Population from the 2020 Census: 207 people
- Talleyrand
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Talleyrand is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talleyrand
- Nugent
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Nugent is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nugent
- Martinsburg
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Martinsburg is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martinsburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
- Keota
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Hedrick
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Hedrick is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hedrick
- Population from the 2020 Census: 743 people
- Harper
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Harper is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harper
- Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
- Hayesville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Hayesville is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayesville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 48 people
- Sigourney
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Lee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Beckwith, with the one closest to Beckwith listed first.
- Big Mound
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Big Mound is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Mound
- Russellville ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Russellville is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russellville
- Russellville has also been known as:
- Doantown
- Houghton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Houghton is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houghton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
- White Lane ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- White Lane is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Lane
- Mount Hamill
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Hamill is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hamill
- Former names for Mount Hamill:
- Courtwright
- Hamill
- Pilot Grove
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Pilot Grove is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilot Grove
- Saint Paul
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Saint Paul is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Paul
- Population from the 2020 Census: 123 people
- Primrose
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Primrose is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Primrose
- Donnellson
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Franklin
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Franklin is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 132 people
- West Point
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Croton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Croton is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Croton
- Louisa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Beckwith, with the one closest to Beckwith listed first.
- Wyman
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Wyman is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyman
- Cotter
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Cotter is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotter
- Population from the 2020 Census: 42 people
- Columbus City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Columbus City is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbus City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 371 people
- Van Buren County
- The following are listed by their distance from Beckwith, with the one closest to Beckwith listed first.
- Stockport
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Birmingham
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Birmingham is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birmingham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 423 people
- Winchester
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Winchester is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winchester
- Kilbourn
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Kilbourn is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kilbourn
- Mount Zion
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Mount Zion is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
- Douds
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Douds is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douds
- Leando
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Leando is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leando
- Selma
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Selma is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selma
- Keosauqua
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Bonaparte
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Farmington
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Cantril
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Wapello County
- The following are listed by their distance from Beckwith, with the one closest to Beckwith listed first.
- Eldon
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Competine
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Competine is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Competine
- Agency
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Cliffland
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Cliffland is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliffland
- Dahlonega
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Dahlonega is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dahlonega
- East Ottumwa
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- East Ottumwa is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Ottumwa
- Highland Center
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Highland Center is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Center
- Ottumwa
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Beckwith, with the one closest to Beckwith listed first.
- Brighton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Coppock
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Coppock is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coppock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 48 people
- Rubio
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Rubio is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rubio
- Havre
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Havre is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Havre
- Washington
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- West Chester
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- West Chester is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Chester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 147 people
- Crawfordsville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Ainsworth
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Nira
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Nira is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nira
- Clark County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Beckwith, with the one closest to Beckwith listed first.
- Acasto
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Acasto is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acasto
- Anson
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Anson is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anson
- Athens
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Athens is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athens
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Beckwith, see our County-by-County Page for Beckwith.
Cemeteries Near Beckwith ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Beckwith.
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 Beckwith - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Beckwith covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Beckwith, with the one closest to Beckwith listed first.
- Bethesda Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Union Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Salina Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Bradshaw Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Upper Richwoods Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Galliher Family Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Wright Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Bonnifield Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Peterson Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Chilcott Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Switzer Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Patterson Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (489 more) ...
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- New Sweden Methodist Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- New Sweden Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
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 Beckwith had a population of 46 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Beckwith, with the one closest to Beckwith listed first.
- Salina
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Salina is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salina
- Perlee
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Perlee is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perlee
- Fairfield
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Glasgow
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Glasgow is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glasgow
- Lockridge
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Germanville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Germanville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Germanville
- Collett
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Collett is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collett
- Rome
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Rome is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rome
- Population from the 2020 Census: 117 people
- Merrimac
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Merrimac is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrimac
- Pleasant Plain
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Pleasant Plain is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Plain
- Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
- Libertyville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Libertyville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Libertyville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 341 people
- Veo
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Veo is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Veo
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Birmingham
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Birmingham is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birmingham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 423 people
- Stockport
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Winchester
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Winchester is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winchester
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Beckwith. See our List of 1890's Communities around Beckwith.
Newspapers Published in Beckwith ...
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 62 newspapers that have been published in the area around Beckwith.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Beckwith, 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 Beckwith.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin with 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 Beckwith:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Jefferson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Davis County
- Des Moines County
- Henry County
- Keokuk County
- Lee County
- Louisa County
- Van Buren County
- Wapello County
- Washington County
- Clark 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Beckwith) 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 Beckwith, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |