Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
So far, we found very little information about Buena Vista. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>
We've added Buena Vista to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Buena Vista, please Contact Us.
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 Buena Vista (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 Buena Vista. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Although our information shows that the community of Buena Vista is historic, it would have been located within present day Lee 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 Lee County: Des Moines, Henry, Van Buren, Hancock (IL), Henderson (IL) & Clark (MO).
Below are the counties that are near Buena Vista. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Buena Vista:
- Lee County (The home county of Buena Vista)
- The following are listed by their distance from Buena Vista, with the one closest to Buena Vista listed first.
- Keokuk
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Sandusky
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Sandusky is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandusky
- Galland
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Galland is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galland
- Montrose
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Vincennes
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Vincennes is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vincennes
- New Boston
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- New Boston is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Boston
- Argyle
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Charleston
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Charleston is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charleston
- Jeffersonville ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Jeffersonville is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeffersonville
- Fort Madison
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Donnellson
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Franklin
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Franklin is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 132 people
- Croton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Croton is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Croton
- Des Moines County
- Patterson
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Patterson is located in Des Moines County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patterson
- Henry County
- Lowell
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Lowell is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowell
- Van Buren County
- The following are listed by their distance from Buena Vista, with the one closest to Buena Vista listed first.
- Farmington
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Bonaparte
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Sterling
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Adams County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Buena Vista, with the one closest to Buena Vista listed first.
- Lima
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Meyer
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Meyer is located in Adams County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meyer
- Marcelline
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Marcelline is located in Adams County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcelline
- Loraine
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Ursa
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Mendon
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Fowler
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Ewbanks
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Ewbanks is located in Adams County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ewbanks
- Coatsburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- La Prairie
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Paloma
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Golden
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Camp Point
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Hancock County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Buena Vista, with the one closest to Buena Vista listed first.
- Warsaw
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Hamilton
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Sutter
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Sutter is located in Hancock County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sutter
- Elvaston
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Nauvoo
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Basco
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Powellton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Powellton is located in Hancock County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powellton
- Carthage
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Ferris
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Adrian
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- West Point
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- West Point is located in Hancock County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Point
- Population from the 2020 Census: 165 people
- Bentley
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Bentley is located in Hancock County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bentley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 32 people
- Niota
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Henderson County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Buena Vista, with the one closest to Buena Vista listed first.
- Lomax
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Lomax is located in Henderson County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lomax
- Population from the 2020 Census: 393 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lomax <2>
- Iowa Junction
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Iowa Junction is located in Henderson County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iowa Junction
- Terre Haute
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Terre Haute is located in Henderson County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terre Haute
- McDonough County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Buena Vista, with the one closest to Buena Vista listed first.
- Colmar
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Colmar is located in McDonough County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colmar
- VIshnu Springs ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- VIshnu Springs is located in McDonough County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for VIshnu Springs
- Clark County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Buena Vista, with the one closest to Buena Vista listed first.
- Alexandria
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Wayland
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Wayland is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 506 people
- Saint Francisville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Francisville is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Francisville
- Saint Patrick
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Patrick is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Patrick
- Clark City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Clark City is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clark City
- Dumas
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Dumas is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dumas
- Revere
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Kahoka
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Peaksville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Peaksville is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaksville
- Medill
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Medill is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medill
- Athens
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Athens is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athens
- Neeper
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Neeper is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neeper
- Anson
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Anson is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anson
- Knox County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Buena Vista, with the one closest to Buena Vista listed first.
- Forest Springs
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Forest Springs is located in Knox County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Springs
- Colony
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Colony is located in Knox County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colony
- Lewis County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Buena Vista, with the one closest to Buena Vista listed first.
- Canton
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Williamstown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Williamstown is located in Lewis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamstown
- La Grange
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Monticello
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Monticello is located in Lewis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monticello
- Population from the 2020 Census: 92 people
- Sellers
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Sellers is located in Lewis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sellers
- Weber
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Weber is located in Lewis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weber
- New Court Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- New Court Village is located in Lewis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Court Village
- Gilead
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Gilead is located in Lewis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilead
- Lewistown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Durham
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Ewing
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Scotland County (MO)
- Granger
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- 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 Buena Vista, see our County-by-County Page for Buena Vista.
Cemeteries Near Buena Vista ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Buena Vista.
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 Buena Vista - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Buena Vista covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Buena Vista, with the one closest to Buena Vista listed first.
- Buena Vista Mound Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Keokuk National Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Oakland Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Oakland Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located outside and to the southwest of Keokuk.
- The Oakland Cemetery has also been known as:
- Keokuk Oakland Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #95674 <3>
- Oiler Family Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Turner Plot Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Catholic Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Sunset Memorial Gardens
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Little Mound Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Oakland Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Lutheran Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- The Yellow Banks Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Greenwood Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Continue List (384 more) ...
- Hickory Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Wythe Congregational Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Oakwood Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
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.
Buena Vista itself is historic and was described in the Rand McNally Atlas as having railroad service and no post office.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Buena Vista, with the one closest to Buena Vista listed first.
- Alexandria
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Warsaw
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Keokuk
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Hamilton
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Mooar
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Mooar is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mooar
- Sugar Creek ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Sugar Creek is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Creek
- Sandusky
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Sandusky is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandusky
- Summitville
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Summitville is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summitville
- Gregory Landing
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Gregory Landing is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gregory Landing
- Wayland
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Wayland is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 506 people
- Sutter
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Sutter is located in Hancock County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sutter
- Elderville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Elderville is located in Hancock County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elderville
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Sonora ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Sonora is located in Hancock County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sonora
- Galland
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Galland is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galland
- Saint Francisville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Francisville is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Francisville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Buena Vista. See our List of 1890's Communities around Buena Vista.
Newspapers Published in Buena Vista ...
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 159 newspapers that have been published in the area around Buena Vista.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Buena Vista, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Buena Vista.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Buena Vista:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Lee County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Des Moines County
- Henry County
- Van Buren County
- Adams County
- Hancock County
- Henderson County
- McDonough County
- Clark County
- Knox County
- Lewis County
- Scotland County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Iowa
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Buena Vista, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Buena Vista) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |