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 Cantril (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 Cantril. 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.
Cantril 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 Cantril. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Cantril:
- Van Buren County (The home county of Cantril)
- The following are listed by their distance from Cantril, with the one closest to Cantril listed first.
- Milton
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Mount Sterling
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Keosauqua
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Kilbourn
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Kilbourn is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kilbourn
- Mount Zion
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Zion is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
- Douds
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Douds is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douds
- Leando
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Leando is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leando
- Bonaparte
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Selma
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Selma is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selma
- Winchester
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Winchester is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winchester
- Farmington
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Birmingham
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Birmingham is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birmingham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 423 people
- Stockport
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Davis County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cantril, with the one closest to Cantril listed first.
- Pulaski
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Pulaski is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pulaski
- Population from the 2020 Census: 291 people
- Stiles
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Stiles is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stiles
- Chequest
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Chequest is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chequest
- Steuben
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Steuben is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steuben
- Bloomfield
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Floris
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Floris is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Floris
- Population from the 2020 Census: 143 people
- Savannah
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Savannah is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savannah
- Mark
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Mark is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mark
- Drakesville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Carbon
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Carbon is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbon
- West Grove
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- West Grove is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Grove
- Paris
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Paris is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paris
- Henry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cantril, with the one closest to Cantril listed first.
- Hillsboro
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Hillsboro is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsboro
- Population from the 2020 Census: 173 people
- Salem
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Rome
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Rome is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rome
- Population from the 2020 Census: 117 people
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cantril, with the one closest to Cantril listed first.
- Libertyville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Libertyville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Libertyville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 341 people
- Batavia
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Fairfield
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Glasgow
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Glasgow is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glasgow
- Maharishi Vedic City
(28 miles [45.1 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
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Abingdon
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Abingdon is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abingdon
- Lee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cantril, with the one closest to Cantril listed first.
- Croton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Croton is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Croton
- Big Mound
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Big Mound is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Mound
- Primrose
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Primrose is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Primrose
- Russellville ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Russellville is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russellville
- Russellville has also been known as:
- Doantown
- Mount Hamill
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Mount Hamill is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hamill
- Former names for Mount Hamill:
- Courtwright
- Hamill
- White Lane ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- White Lane is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Lane
- Donnellson
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Houghton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Houghton is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houghton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
- Argyle
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Charleston
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Charleston is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charleston
- Vincennes
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Vincennes is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vincennes
- Franklin
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Franklin is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 132 people
- Pilot Grove
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Pilot Grove is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilot Grove
- Wapello County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cantril, with the one closest to Cantril listed first.
- Eldon
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Cliffland
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Cliffland is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliffland
- Agency
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- East Ottumwa
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- East Ottumwa is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Ottumwa
- Clark County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Cantril, with the one closest to Cantril listed first.
- Acasto
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Acasto is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acasto
- Anson
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Anson is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anson
- Chambersburg
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Chambersburg is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chambersburg
- Luray
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Luray is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luray
- Population from the 2020 Census: 94 people
- Wyaconda
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Wyaconda is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyaconda
- Population from the 2020 Census: 211 people
- Athens
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Athens is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athens
- Medill
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Medill is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medill
- Peaksville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Peaksville is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaksville
- Revere
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Kahoka
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Dumas
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Dumas is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dumas
- Clark City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Clark City is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clark City
- Neeper
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Neeper is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neeper
- Knox County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Cantril, with the one closest to Cantril listed first.
- Rutledge
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Greensburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Greensburg is located in Knox County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greensburg
- Colony
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Colony is located in Knox County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colony
- Baring
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Schuyler County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Cantril, with the one closest to Cantril listed first.
- Downing
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Downing is located in Schuyler County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downing
- Population from the 2020 Census: 341 people
- Lancaster
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Clifton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Clifton is located in Schuyler County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
- Glenwood
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Glenwood is located in Schuyler County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 201 people
- Coatsville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Coatsville is located in Schuyler County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coatsville
- Julesburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Julesburg is located in Schuyler County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Julesburg
- Queen City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Queen City is located in Schuyler County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Queen City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 607 people
- Scotland County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Cantril, with the one closest to Cantril listed first.
- Arbela
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Memphis
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Granger
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Granger is located in Scotland County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granger
- Population from the 2020 Census: 34 people
- Kilwinning
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Kilwinning is located in Scotland County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kilwinning
- Gorin
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Gorin is located in Scotland County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gorin
- South Gorin
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- South Gorin is located in Scotland County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Gorin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 93 people
- Unity
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Unity is located in Scotland County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unity
- Pleasant Retreat
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Pleasant Retreat is located in Scotland County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Retreat
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Cantril, see our County-by-County Page for Cantril.
Cemeteries Near Cantril ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Cantril.
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 Cantril - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Cantril covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Cantril, with the one closest to Cantril listed first.
- Maple Grove Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Mantoyne Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- East Home Prairie Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Mt. Olive Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- North Upton Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Phillips Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Hoskins Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Egypt Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Brown Cottage Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Sunnyside Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- White Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Wiley Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Continue List (438 more) ...
- Prall Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Boston Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Bethel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
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 Cantril had a population of 356 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Cantril had a population of 208 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Cantril, with the one closest to Cantril listed first.
- Azen
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Azen is located in Scotland County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Azen
- Milton
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Lebanon
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Lebanon is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lebanon
- Brock
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Brock is located in Scotland County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brock
- Mount Sterling
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Keosauqua
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Pittsburg
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Pittsburg is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittsburg
- Prospect Grove
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Prospect Grove is located in Scotland County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prospect Grove
- Troy
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Troy is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Troy
- Hitt
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Hitt is located in Scotland County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hitt
- Pulaski
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Pulaski is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pulaski
- Population from the 2020 Census: 291 people
- Arbela
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Continue List (20 more) ...
- Acasto
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Acasto is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acasto
- Vernon
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Vernon is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vernon
- Bentonsport
(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 Cantril. See our List of 1890's Communities around Cantril.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Cantril ...
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 171 newspapers that have been published in the area around Cantril.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Cantril. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Cantril and those printed in the larger area surrounding Cantril.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4> of Cantril.
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 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 Cantril:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Van Buren County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Davis County
- Henry County
- Jefferson County
- Lee County
- Wapello County
- Clark County
- Knox County
- Schuyler 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 Cantril, 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- Cantril) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |