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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 Carrollton (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 Carrollton. 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.

Name Variations for Carrollton ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.

Another variation: Carrolton.

  • In past government published Postal Guides, Carrollton was referred to as Carrollton Courthouse.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Carrollton. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Carrollton.

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

For more information about how community names might have been affected by the Board of Geographic Names (BGN), see our page about Placename Rules.

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 and doctors 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.

Carrollton is located in Carroll 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 Carroll County: Audubon, Calhoun, Crawford, Greene, Guthrie, Sac & Shelby.

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

  • Carroll County     (The home county of Carrollton)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Carrollton, with the one closest to Carrollton listed first.
    • Willey
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Willey is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willey
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 97 people
    • Dedham
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Coon Rapids
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Glidden
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Ralston
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Ralston is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ralston
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 72 people
    • Carroll Community Estates
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Roselle
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Roselle is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roselle
    • Carroll
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Templeton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Lidderdale
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Lidderdale is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lidderdale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 167 people
    • Halbur
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Halbur is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halbur
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 252 people
    • Lanesboro
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Lanesboro is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lanesboro
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 108 people
    • Manning
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
  • Audubon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Carrollton, with the one closest to Carrollton listed first.
    • Gray
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Ross
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Ross is located in Audubon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ross
    • Audubon
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Hamlin
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Hamlin is located in Audubon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamlin
    • Fiscus
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Fiscus is located in Audubon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fiscus
    • Exira
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Kimballton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Brayton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Calhoun County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Carrollton, with the one closest to Carrollton listed first.
    • Wightman
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Wightman is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wightman
    • Lake City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Lohrville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Yetter
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Yetter is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yetter
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 31 people
    • Rands
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Rands is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rands
    • Sherwood
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Sherwood is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherwood
    • Farnhamville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Farnhamville is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farnhamville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 335 people
    • Rinard
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Rinard is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rinard
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 48 people
  • Crawford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Carrollton, with the one closest to Carrollton listed first.
    • Westside
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Aspinwall
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Aspinwall is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aspinwall
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 40 people
    • Vail
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Vail is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vail
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 413 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vail <1>
    • Manilla
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Astor
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Astor is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Astor
    • Boyer
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Boyer is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyer
    • Deloit
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Deloit is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deloit
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 254 people
  • Dallas County
    • Dawson
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Dawson is located in Dallas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 127 people
  • Greene County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Carrollton, with the one closest to Carrollton listed first.
    • Scranton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Farlin
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Farlin is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farlin
    • Jefferson
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Churdan
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Churdan is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Churdan
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 363 people
    • Cooper
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Cooper is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooper
    • Grand Junction
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Rippey
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Rippey is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rippey
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 269 people
    • Dana
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Dana is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dana
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
    • Paton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Guthrie County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Carrollton, with the one closest to Carrollton listed first.
    • Bayard
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Bagley
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Bagley is located in Guthrie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bagley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 285 people
    • Herndon
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Herndon is located in Guthrie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herndon
    • North Branch
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • North Branch is located in Guthrie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Branch
    • Guthrie Center
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jamaica
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Yale
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Yale is located in Guthrie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 239 people
    • Panora
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Glendon
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Glendon is located in Guthrie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendon
  • Sac County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Carrollton, with the one closest to Carrollton listed first.
    • Auburn
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Grant City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Grant City is located in Sac County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant City
    • Sac City Junction ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Sac City Junction is located in Sac County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sac City Junction
    • Herring ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Herring is located in Sac County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herring
    • Wall Lake
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Wall Lake is located in Sac County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wall Lake
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 753 people
    • Lake View
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Shelby County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Carrollton, with the one closest to Carrollton listed first.
    • Botna
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Botna is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Botna
    • Irwin
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Elk Horn
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Kirkman
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Kirkman is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirkman
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 61 people

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

Cemeteries Near Carrollton ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Carrollton.

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

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

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

  • McCurdy Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Old Carrollton Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Oak Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Dedham Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Josephs Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Coon Rapids Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Union Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • West Lawn Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Lawn Cemetery
    • The West Lawn Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Glidden Cemetery
    • Merle Hay Cemetery
    • Merle Haye Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #96638 <2>
  • Elba Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Viola Center Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Tuttles Grove Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (154 more) ...
    • Orange Twp. Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Willow Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Carroll City Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)

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 in 1895, Carrollton had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Dedham
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Willey
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Willey is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willey
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 97 people
  • Coon Rapids
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Glidden
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Roselle
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Roselle is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roselle
  • Templeton
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Viola Center
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Viola Center is located in Audubon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Viola Center
  • Carroll
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Bayard
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Scranton
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Halbur
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Halbur is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halbur
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 252 people
  • Gray
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Ross
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Ross is located in Audubon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ross
    • Maple River
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Maple River is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple River
    • Kentner
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Kentner is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kentner

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

Newspapers Published in Carrollton ...

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 94 newspapers that have been published in the area around Carrollton.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Carrollton, 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 Carrollton.

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 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 Carrollton:

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 Carrollton, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Carrollton) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.