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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 Brighton (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 Brighton. 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 and 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.

Brighton is located in Washington 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 Washington County: Henry, Iowa, Jefferson, Johnson, Keokuk & Louisa.

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

  • Washington County     (The home county of Brighton)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brighton, with the one closest to Brighton listed first.
    • Coppock
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Coppock is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coppock
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 48 people
    • Rubio
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Rubio is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rubio
    • Washington
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • West Chester
      (11 miles [17.7 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
    • Havre
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Crawfordsville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Ainsworth
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Nira
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Wellman
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Kalona
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Kalona is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kalona
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,560 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kalona <1>
    • Riverside
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
  • Des Moines County
  • Henry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brighton, with the one closest to Brighton listed first.
    • Wayland
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Olds
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Swedesburg
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Rome
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Rome is located in Henry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rome
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 117 people
    • Westwood
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Westwood is located in Henry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
    • Oakland Mills
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Winfield
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Mount Pleasant
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Mount Union
      (23 miles [37 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
    • Hillsboro
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Hillsboro is located in Henry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsboro
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 173 people
    • Salem
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • New London
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Iowa County
  • Jefferson County
  • Johnson County
  • Keokuk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brighton, with the one closest to Brighton listed first.
    • Richland
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Talleyrand
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Keota
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Ollie
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Harper
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Harper is located in Keokuk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harper
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
    • Nugent
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Nugent is located in Keokuk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nugent
    • Kinross
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Kinross is located in Keokuk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinross
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 71 people
    • Sigourney
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Martinsburg
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Martinsburg is located in Keokuk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martinsburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
    • South English
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Hayesville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Hayesville is located in Keokuk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayesville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 48 people
    • Webster
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Webster is located in Keokuk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 71 people
    • Hedrick
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
  • Lee County
  • Louisa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brighton, with the one closest to Brighton listed first.
    • Wyman
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Cotter
      (20 miles [32.2 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
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Columbus City is located in Louisa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbus City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 371 people
    • Gladwin
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Columbus Junction
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Fredonia
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Fredonia is located in Louisa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredonia
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
    • Morning Sun
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Muscatine County
  • Van Buren County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brighton, with the one closest to Brighton listed first.
    • Birmingham
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Birmingham is located in Van Buren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birmingham
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 423 people
    • Stockport
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Winchester
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Winchester is located in Van Buren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winchester
    • Kilbourn
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Douds
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Mount Zion
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Mount Zion is located in Van Buren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
    • Leando
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Selma
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Wapello County

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

Cemeteries Near Brighton ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Brighton.

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

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

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

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 Brighton had a population of 861 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Brighton had a population of 641 people.

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

  • Pleasant Plain
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Veo
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Veo is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Veo
  • Germanville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Germanville is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Germanville
  • Coppock
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Coppock is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coppock
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 48 people
  • Grace Hill
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Grace Hill is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grace Hill
  • Perlee
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Merrimac
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Merrimac is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrimac
  • Salina
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Salina is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salina
  • Wayland
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Richland
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Noble
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Noble is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noble
  • Washington
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Beckwith
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Beckwith is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beckwith
    • West Chester
      (11 miles [17.7 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
    • Talleyrand
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Brighton ...

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 120 newspapers that have been published in the area around Brighton.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

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

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to 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 Brighton:

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