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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 Blairstown (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 Blairstown. 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.

Blairstown is located in Benton 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 Benton County: Black Hawk, Buchanan, Iowa, Johnson, Linn, Poweshiek & Tama.

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

  • Benton County     (The home county of Blairstown)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blairstown, with the one closest to Blairstown listed first.
    • Watkins
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Watkins is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watkins
    • Luzerne
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Luzerne is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luzerne
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 92 people
    • Van Horne
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Van Horne is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Van Horne
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 646 people
    • Norway
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Newhall
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Keystone
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Belle Plaine
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Irving
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Irving is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irving
    • Atkins
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Garrison
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Garrison is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garrison
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 355 people
    • Shellsburg
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Vinton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
  • Black Hawk County
    • La Porte City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
  • Buchanan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blairstown, with the one closest to Blairstown listed first.
    • Brandon
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Brandon is located in Buchanan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 320 people
    • Hamerville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Hamerville is located in Buchanan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamerville
  • Iowa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blairstown, with the one closest to Blairstown listed first.
    • Dayton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Dayton is located in Iowa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dayton
    • Marengo
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • West Amana
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • West Amana is located in Iowa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Amana
    • South Amana
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Ladora
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Conroy
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Conroy is located in Iowa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conroy
    • Middle Amana
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Amana
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Williamsburg
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Parnell
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Millersburg
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Millersburg is located in Iowa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millersburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 139 people
    • Ambrose
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Ambrose is located in Iowa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ambrose
  • Johnson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blairstown, with the one closest to Blairstown listed first.
    • Oxford
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Swisher
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Cou Falls
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Cou Falls is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cou Falls
    • Shueyville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Shueyville is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shueyville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 655 people
    • Cosgrove
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Cosgrove is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cosgrove
    • Tiffin
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • North Liberty
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Windham
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Windham is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windham
    • Coralville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Oakdale
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Oakdale is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakdale
    • Amish
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Amish is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amish
    • Frytown
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Frytown is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frytown
  • Keokuk County
    • Aurora
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Aurora is located in Keokuk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurora
  • Linn County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blairstown, with the one closest to Blairstown listed first.
    • Walford
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Walford is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,436 people
    • Fairfax
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Grand View Village
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Grand View Village is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand View Village
    • Covington
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Covington is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Covington
    • Cedar Hills
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Cedar Hills is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Hills
    • Palo
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Cedar Rapids
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Lincolnway Village
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Lincolnway Village is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincolnway Village
    • Western
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Western is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Western
    • Hiawatha
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Louisa
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Louisa is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Louisa
    • Sunset Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Sunset Village is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Village
  • Poweshiek County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blairstown, with the one closest to Blairstown listed first.
    • Hartwick
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Hartwick is located in Poweshiek County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartwick
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 81 people
    • Victor
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Brooklyn
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Guernsey
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Deep River
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Deep River is located in Poweshiek County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deep River
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 268 people
    • Sheridan
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Sheridan is located in Poweshiek County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheridan
    • Malcom
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Tilton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Tilton is located in Poweshiek County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tilton
  • Tama County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blairstown, with the one closest to Blairstown listed first.
    • Elberon
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Chelsea
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Vining
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Vining is located in Tama County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vining
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 49 people
    • Clutier
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Long Point
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Long Point is located in Tama County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Point
    • Dysart
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Gladstone
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Gladstone is located in Tama County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladstone
    • Tama
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Toledo
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Traer
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Buckingham
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Buckingham is located in Tama County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckingham

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

Cemeteries Near Blairstown ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Blairstown.

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

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

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

  • Pleasant Hill Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Stringtown Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Old International Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Conn Pioneer Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Calvary Catholic Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Prairie Lutheran Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Dayton Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Athey Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Titler Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Mound Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • St. Patricks Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Lutheran Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (279 more) ...
    • International Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Bishop Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Salem Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)

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 Blairstown had a population of 583 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Blairstown had a population of 653 people.

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

  • Watkins
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Watkins is located in Benton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watkins
  • Luzerne
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Luzerne is located in Benton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luzerne
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 92 people
  • Marengo
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Van Horne
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Van Horne is located in Benton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Van Horne
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 646 people
  • Koszta
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Koszta is located in Iowa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Koszta
  • Norway
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Newhall
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Keystone
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • South Amana
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Belle Plaine
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Ladora
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Irving
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Irving is located in Benton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irving
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Conroy
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Conroy is located in Iowa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conroy
    • Walford
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Walford is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,436 people
    • Atkins
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Blairstown ...

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 126 newspapers that have been published in the area around Blairstown.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

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

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 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 Blairstown:

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 Blairstown, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Blairstown) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.