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 Birmingham (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 Birmingham. 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.
Birmingham is located in Van Buren 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 Van Buren County: Davis, Henry, Jefferson, Lee, Clark (MO) & Scotland (MO).
Below are the counties that are near Birmingham. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Birmingham:
- Van Buren County (The home county of Birmingham)
- The following are listed by their distance from Birmingham, with the one closest to Birmingham listed first.
- Winchester
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Winchester is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winchester
- Kilbourn
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Kilbourn is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kilbourn
- Stockport
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Mount Zion
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Mount Zion is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
- Leando
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Leando is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leando
- Douds
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Douds is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douds
- Keosauqua
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Selma
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Selma is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selma
- Bonaparte
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Cantril
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Mount Sterling
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Milton
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Farmington
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Davis County
- The following are listed by their distance from Birmingham, with the one closest to Birmingham listed first.
- Chequest
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Chequest is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chequest
- Floris
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Floris is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Floris
- Population from the 2020 Census: 143 people
- Pulaski
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Pulaski is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pulaski
- Population from the 2020 Census: 291 people
- Carbon
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Carbon is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbon
- Steuben
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Steuben is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steuben
- Stiles
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Stiles is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stiles
- Bloomfield
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Drakesville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Henry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Birmingham, with the one closest to Birmingham listed first.
- Hillsboro
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Hillsboro is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsboro
- Population from the 2020 Census: 173 people
- Rome
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Rome is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rome
- Population from the 2020 Census: 117 people
- Oakland Mills
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Oakland Mills is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland Mills
- Salem
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Westwood
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Westwood is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
- Mount Pleasant
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Wayland
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Lowell
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Lowell is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowell
- Swedesburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Swedesburg is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swedesburg
- Olds
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Olds is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olds
- Population from the 2020 Census: 222 people
- New London
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Birmingham, with the one closest to Birmingham listed first.
- Libertyville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Libertyville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Libertyville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 341 people
- Fairfield
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Glasgow
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Glasgow is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glasgow
- Maharishi Vedic City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- 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
- Lockridge
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Perlee
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Perlee is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perlee
- Batavia
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Abingdon
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Abingdon is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abingdon
- Packwood
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Packwood is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Packwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 225 people
- Pleasant Plain
(19 miles [30.6 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
- Linby
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Linby is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linby
- Pekin
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Pekin is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pekin
- Keokuk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Birmingham, with the one closest to Birmingham listed first.
- Richland
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Ollie
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Ollie is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ollie
- Population from the 2020 Census: 207 people
- Nugent
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Nugent is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nugent
- Martinsburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Martinsburg is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martinsburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
- Hedrick
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Hedrick is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hedrick
- Population from the 2020 Census: 743 people
- Talleyrand
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Talleyrand is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talleyrand
- Hayesville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Hayesville is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayesville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 48 people
- Lee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Birmingham, with the one closest to Birmingham listed first.
- Big Mound
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Big Mound is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Mound
- Russellville ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Russellville is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russellville
- Russellville has also been known as:
- Doantown
- Houghton
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Houghton is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houghton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
- White Lane ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- White Lane is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Lane
- Mount Hamill
(19 miles [30.6 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
- Primrose
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Primrose is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Primrose
- Pilot Grove
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Pilot Grove is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilot Grove
- Saint Paul
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Saint Paul is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Paul
- Population from the 2020 Census: 123 people
- Croton
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Croton is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Croton
- Donnellson
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Franklin
(26 miles [41.8 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
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Charleston
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Charleston is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charleston
- Wapello County
- The following are listed by their distance from Birmingham, with the one closest to Birmingham listed first.
- Eldon
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Agency
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Cliffland
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Cliffland is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliffland
- Competine
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Competine is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Competine
- East Ottumwa
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- East Ottumwa is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Ottumwa
- Dahlonega
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Dahlonega is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dahlonega
- Ottumwa
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Highland Center
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Highland Center is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Center
- Keb ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Keb is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keb
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Birmingham, with the one closest to Birmingham listed first.
- Brighton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Rubio
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Rubio is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rubio
- Coppock
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Coppock is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coppock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 48 people
- Clark County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Birmingham, with the one closest to Birmingham listed first.
- Acasto
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Acasto is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acasto
- Anson
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Anson is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anson
- Athens
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Athens is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athens
- Chambersburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Chambersburg is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chambersburg
- Peaksville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Peaksville is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaksville
- Luray
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Luray is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luray
- Population from the 2020 Census: 94 people
- Dumas
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Dumas is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dumas
- Revere
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Scotland County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Birmingham, with the one closest to Birmingham listed first.
- Arbela
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Granger
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Granger is located in Scotland County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granger
- Population from the 2020 Census: 34 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Birmingham, see our County-by-County Page for Birmingham.
Cemeteries Near Birmingham ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Birmingham.
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 Birmingham - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Birmingham covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Birmingham, with the one closest to Birmingham listed first.
- Maple Hill Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Methodist Episcopal Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- United Presbyterian Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Clinkenbeard Family Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Tedrow Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Winchester Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Parkerville Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Smith Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Topping Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Thompson Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Steele Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steele Cemetery
- The Steele Cemetery has also been known as:
- Covenantor Cemetery
- Convenantor - Cumberland - Steele Cemetery
- Steele Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2129732 <2>
- Bethel Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (500 more) ...
- White Chapel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Kilbourne Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Wilson Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
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 Birmingham had a population of 545 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Birmingham had a population of 423 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Birmingham, with the one closest to Birmingham listed first.
- Collett
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Collett is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collett
- Winchester
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Winchester is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winchester
- Kilbourn
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Kilbourn is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kilbourn
- Mount Zion
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Mount Zion is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
- Stockport
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Leando
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Leando is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leando
- Utica
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Utica is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Utica
- Libertyville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Libertyville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Libertyville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 341 people
- Pierceville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Pierceville is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pierceville
- Fairfield
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Pittsburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Pittsburg is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittsburg
- Glasgow
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Glasgow is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glasgow
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Keosauqua
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Beckwith
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Beckwith is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beckwith
- Selma
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Selma is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selma
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Birmingham. See our List of 1890's Communities around Birmingham.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Birmingham ...
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 46 newspapers that have been published in the area around Birmingham.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Birmingham. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Birmingham and those printed in the larger area surrounding Birmingham.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<4> of Birmingham.
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 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 Birmingham:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Van Buren County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Davis County
- Henry County
- Jefferson County
- Keokuk County
- Lee County
- Wapello County
- Washington County
- Clark 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> | 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 Birmingham, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Birmingham) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |