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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 Birchwood Estates (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 Birchwood Estates. 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.

Name Variations for Birchwood Estates ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Birchwood Estates: Birchwood Ests.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Birchwood Estates. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Birchwood Estates.

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

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.

Birchwood Estates is located in Clay 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 Clay County: Buena Vista, Cherokee, Dickinson, Emmet, O'Brien, Osceola, Palo Alto & Pocahontas.

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

  • Clay County     (The home county of Birchwood Estates)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Birchwood Estates, with the one closest to Birchwood Estates listed first.
    • Spencer
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Langdon
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Langdon is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langdon
    • Fostoria
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Fostoria is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fostoria
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 219 people
    • Dickens
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Dickens is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickens
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 168 people
    • Everly
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Everly is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Everly
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 541 people
    • Greenville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Royal
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Rossie
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Rossie is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rossie
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
    • Gillett Grove
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Gillett Grove is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gillett Grove
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 47 people
    • Cornell
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Cornell is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornell
    • Webb
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Webb is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webb
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 126 people
    • Peterson
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
  • Buena Vista County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Birchwood Estates, with the one closest to Birchwood Estates listed first.
    • Sioux Rapids
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Linn Grove
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Marathon
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Marathon is located in Buena Vista County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marathon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 228 people
    • Rembrandt
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Albert City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Elkton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Elkton is located in Buena Vista County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkton
    • Truesdale
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Cherokee County
    • Larrabee
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Larrabee is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larrabee
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 130 people
  • Dickinson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Birchwood Estates, with the one closest to Birchwood Estates listed first.
    • Old Town
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Old Town is located in Dickinson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Town
    • Milford
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • West Okoboji
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • West Okoboji is located in Dickinson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Okoboji
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 303 people
    • Terril
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Terril is located in Dickinson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terril
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 338 people
    • Arnolds Park
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Wahpeton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Wahpeton is located in Dickinson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wahpeton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 353 people
    • Okoboji
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Spirit Lake
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Orleans
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Orleans is located in Dickinson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orleans
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 591 people
    • Superior
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Lake Park
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Emmet County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Birchwood Estates, with the one closest to Birchwood Estates listed first.
    • Wallingford
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Wallingford is located in Emmet County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallingford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 168 people
    • Estherville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Hoprig
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Hoprig is located in Emmet County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoprig
    • Gruver
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Gruver is located in Emmet County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gruver
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 82 people
  • O'Brien County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Birchwood Estates, with the one closest to Birchwood Estates listed first.
    • Moneta
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Moneta is located in O'Brien County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moneta
    • Hartley
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Hartley is located in O'Brien County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,556 people
    • Sutherland
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Primghar
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Calumet
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Calumet is located in O'Brien County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calumet
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 155 people
    • Sanborn
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Paullina
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Paullina is located in O'Brien County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paullina
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 965 people
    • Archer
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Osceola County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Birchwood Estates, with the one closest to Birchwood Estates listed first.
    • May City
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • May City is located in Osceola County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for May City
    • Harris
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Harris is located in Osceola County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 158 people
    • Melvin
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Melvin is located in Osceola County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melvin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 197 people
    • Ocheyedan
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Ocheyedan is located in Osceola County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocheyedan
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 463 people
    • Cloverdale
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Cloverdale is located in Osceola County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverdale
    • Allendorf
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Allendorf is located in Osceola County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allendorf
  • Palo Alto County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Birchwood Estates, with the one closest to Birchwood Estates listed first.
    • Ruthven
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Ayrshire
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Graettinger
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Emmetsburg
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Curlew
      (24 miles [38.6 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
    • Mallard
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Cylinder
      (30 miles [48.3 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
  • Pocahontas County
    • Laurens
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Jackson County (MN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Birchwood Estates, with the one closest to Birchwood Estates listed first.
    • Sioux Valley
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Sioux Valley is located in Jackson County (MN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sioux Valley
    • Petersburg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Petersburg is located in Jackson County (MN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersburg
  • Nobles County (MN)
    • Round Lake
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Birchwood Estates ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Birchwood Estates.

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 Birchwood Estates - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • North Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Riverside Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Fairview Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Prairie Creek Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Dickens Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Bethlehem Lutheran Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Rosehill Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Little Sioux Lutheran Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • First Reformed Church Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Lone Tree Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Milford Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (105 more) ...
    • Lincoln Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Liberty Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Logan Twp. Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 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.<3>

While we didn't find Birchwood Estates in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Birchwood Estates.

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

  • Spencer
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Dickens
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Dickens is located in Clay County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickens
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 168 people
  • Everly
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Everly is located in Clay County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Everly
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 541 people
  • Greenville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Milford
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Arnolds Park
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Okoboji
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
  • Hartley
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Hartley is located in O'Brien County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartley
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,556 people
  • Ayrshire
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Sioux Rapids
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
  • Spirit Lake
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
  • Peterson
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Linn Grove
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • May City
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • May City is located in Osceola County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for May City
    • Graettinger
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)

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

Newspapers Published in Birchwood Estates ...

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 99 newspapers that have been published in the area around Birchwood Estates.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Birchwood Estates, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Birchwood Estates.

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 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 Birchwood Estates:

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 Birchwood Estates, 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- Birchwood Estates) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.