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 Belknap (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 Belknap. 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 hospitals 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.
Belknap is located in Davis 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 Davis County: Appanoose, Jefferson, Monroe, Van Buren, Wapello, Schuyler (MO) & Scotland (MO).
Below are the counties that are near Belknap. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Belknap:
- Davis County (The home county of Belknap)
- The following are listed by their distance from Belknap, with the one closest to Belknap listed first.
- Drakesville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Bloomfield
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Carbon
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Carbon is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbon
- Floris
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Floris is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Floris
- Population from the 2020 Census: 143 people
- Steuben
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Steuben is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steuben
- Chequest
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Chequest is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chequest
- West Grove
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- West Grove is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Grove
- Paris
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Paris is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paris
- Mark
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Mark is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mark
- Pulaski
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Pulaski is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pulaski
- Population from the 2020 Census: 291 people
- Savannah
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Savannah is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savannah
- Stiles
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Stiles is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stiles
- Appanoose County
- The following are listed by their distance from Belknap, with the one closest to Belknap listed first.
- Orleans
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Orleans is located in Appanoose County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orleans
- Unionville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Moulton
(16 miles [25.7 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
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Udell is located in Appanoose County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Udell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 44 people
- Moravia
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Coal City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Coal City is located in Appanoose County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal City
- Centerville
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Darbyville
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Darbyville is located in Appanoose County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darbyville
- Exline
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Exline is located in Appanoose County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exline
- Population from the 2020 Census: 154 people
- Rathbun
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Rathbun is located in Appanoose County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rathbun
- Population from the 2020 Census: 72 people
- Clarkdale
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Clarkdale is located in Appanoose County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarkdale
- Sunshine
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Sunshine is located in Appanoose County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunshine
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Belknap, with the one closest to Belknap listed first.
- Batavia
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Libertyville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Libertyville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Libertyville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 341 people
- Abingdon
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Abingdon is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abingdon
- Maharishi Vedic City
(26 miles [41.8 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
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Linby
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Linby is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linby
- Pekin
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Pekin is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pekin
- Packwood
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Packwood is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Packwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 225 people
- Keokuk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Belknap, with the one closest to Belknap listed first.
- Hedrick
(25 miles [40.2 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
(26 miles [41.8 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
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Nugent is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nugent
- Mahaska County
- The following are listed by their distance from Belknap, with the one closest to Belknap listed first.
- Cedar
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Cedar is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar
- Fremont
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Exeelsior
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Exeelsior is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exeelsior
- Wright
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Wright is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wright
- Givin
(30 miles [48.3 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
- Monroe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Belknap, with the one closest to Belknap listed first.
- Selection
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Selection is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selection
- Avery
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Avery is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avery
- Albia
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Georgetown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Georgetown is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgetown
- Van Buren County
- The following are listed by their distance from Belknap, with the one closest to Belknap listed first.
- Selma
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Selma is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selma
- Douds
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Douds is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douds
- Leando
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Leando is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leando
- Milton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Cantril
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Kilbourn
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Kilbourn is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kilbourn
- Keosauqua
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Birmingham
(25 miles [40.2 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
- Mount Zion
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Mount Zion is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
- Winchester
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Winchester is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winchester
- Mount Sterling
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Wapello County
- The following are listed by their distance from Belknap, with the one closest to Belknap listed first.
- Cliffland
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Cliffland is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliffland
- Eldon
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- East Ottumwa
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- East Ottumwa is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Ottumwa
- Ottumwa
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Agency
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Bidwell
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Bidwell is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bidwell
- Blakesburg
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Dahlonega
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Dahlonega is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dahlonega
- Keb ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Keb is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keb
- Chillicothe
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Chillicothe is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chillicothe
- Population from the 2020 Census: 97 people
- Dudley
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Dudley is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dudley
- Highland Center
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Highland Center is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Center
- Putnam County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Belknap, with the one closest to Belknap listed first.
- Livonia
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Livonia is located in Putnam County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Livonia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 71 people
- Pearl City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Pearl City is located in Putnam County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearl City
- Mendota
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Mendota is located in Putnam County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mendota
- Schuyler County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Belknap, with the one closest to Belknap listed first.
- Coatsville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Coatsville is located in Schuyler County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coatsville
- Glenwood
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Glenwood is located in Schuyler County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 201 people
- Lancaster
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Downing
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Downing is located in Schuyler County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downing
- Population from the 2020 Census: 341 people
- Julesburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Julesburg is located in Schuyler County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Julesburg
- Clifton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Clifton is located in Schuyler County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
- Queen City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Queen City is located in Schuyler County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Queen City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 607 people
- Scotland County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Belknap, with the one closest to Belknap listed first.
- Kilwinning
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Kilwinning is located in Scotland County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kilwinning
- Memphis
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Belknap, see our County-by-County Page for Belknap.
Cemeteries Near Belknap ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Belknap.
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 Belknap - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Belknap covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Belknap, with the one closest to Belknap listed first.
- Kingdom Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Roland Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Harbour Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Lester Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Dunnville Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunnville Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Dunnville Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 5 miles [8 km]<2> to the north of Bloomfield.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #94614 <3>
- Swinney Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Drakesville Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Breeding Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Cammack Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Sherman Chapel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Odd Fellows Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Rime Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Continue List (476 more) ...
- Fiedler Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Rudd Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- McConnell Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
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 Belknap had a population of 110 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Belknap, with the one closest to Belknap listed first.
- Drakesville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Bloomfield
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Floris
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Floris is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Floris
- Population from the 2020 Census: 143 people
- Carbon
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Carbon is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbon
- Steuben
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Steuben is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steuben
- Ormanville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Ormanville is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ormanville
- Paris
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Paris is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paris
- West Grove
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- West Grove is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Grove
- Chequest
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Chequest is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chequest
- Mark
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Mark is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mark
- Pulaski
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Pulaski is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pulaski
- Population from the 2020 Census: 291 people
- Cliffland
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Cliffland is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliffland
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Troy
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Troy is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Troy
- Eldon
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Savannah
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Savannah is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savannah
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Belknap. See our List of 1890's Communities around Belknap.
Newspapers Published in Belknap ...
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 Belknap.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Belknap, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Belknap.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Belknap:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Davis County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Appanoose County
- Jefferson County
- Keokuk County
- Mahaska County
- Monroe County
- Van Buren County
- Wapello County
- Putnam County
- Schuyler 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> | 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 from Point A (ie- Belknap) 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 Belknap, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |