RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Iowa >> Polk County >> Rittgers CemeteryIndex...

A visit to the Rittgers Cemetery ...

Introduction ...

Note: We have organized the cemeteries in our Gazetteer based on a problem that we had while working on our own genealogy. As an example and without specifying the cemeteries involved, we found an ancestor that we believed to have been buried in one cemetery had actually been buried elsewhere.

We discovered that his burial plans had changed at the last moment and the family had scrambled to make new arrangements. By looking at nearby cemeteries, the surrounding communities and in newspapers of the period, we were finally able to locate his burial site.

Should you find yourself in the same situation, we hope that our Gazetteer helps you discover your lost ancestor.

The Location of the Rittgers Cemetery ...

We are using the following GPS coordinates (latitude and longitude) for the Rittgers Cemetery:

41.6821, -93.6840

The Rittgers Cemetery is located in Polk County<1>.

The county seat for Polk County is located in Des Moines. Des Moines lies just to the south southeast of the Rittgers Cemetery .

Open a Google Map centered on the Rittgers Cemetery.

List of nearby cemeteries ...

Based on our list of cemeteries, we know of 25 that are within 8 miles [12.9 km]<2> of the Rittgers Cemetery.<3>

We've listed the following cemeteries based on their distance from Rittgers Cemetery, with the nearest first.

For an expanded list with details, please visit our List of cemeteries.

List of neighboring communities ...

The following 25 communities are within 10 miles [16.1 km]<2> of the Rittgers Cemetery.

We've listed the following communities based on their distance from Rittgers Cemetery, with the nearest first:

For the full list of neighboring communities with details, please visit our extended List of Communities.

Nearby communities with newspapers ...

The following communities are those where newspapers have been published and are located in the vicinity of the Rittgers Cemetery. Unless otherwise noted, the following communities are located in Polk County.

More information can be found on our list of Local Newspapers for The Rittgers Cemetery.

We've listed the following communities alphabetically.

Websites to help with your research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 websites are open to everyone.

To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that might help with the Rittgers Cemetery:

  • Pages specific to Iowa:
  • Pages specific to Polk County:
  • Genealogy information for nearby counties:
  • Cemetery Information and Directories:

    • Miscellaneous References and Mentions ...

    Our approach is to add the name of a cemetery whenever we see it mentioned - usually from newspapers, old books and maps. Typically we have little information to start with, but we continue to add detail as we find it.

    We've created the following list to keep track of the sources that we found useful for the Rittgers Cemetery:

    • Referenced GNIS Records ...
    • GNIS ID #460646  (Rittgers)
      • Note: In 2021, GNIS record #460646 was archived by the USGS. It is no longer maintained by the USGS, nor can it be retrieved from their website. In the past, the GNIS record contained the following information:
      • BGN Class: cemetery
      • County: Polk
      • Est. Elev: 271 (in feet)
      • Topo Map Name: Des Moines NW
      • Location given for Rittgers:
      • Lat: 41.6824883     Lon: -93.6838316
      • Open a Google Map centered on the above location.
    • GNIS ID #2047901  (Rittgers Cemetery)
      • Note: In 2021, GNIS record #2047901 was archived by the USGS. It is no longer maintained by the USGS, nor can it be retrieved from their website. In the past, the GNIS record contained the following information:
      • BGN Class: cemetery
      • County: Polk
      • Est. Elev: 269 (in feet)
      • Topo Map Name: Des Moines NW
      • Location given for Rittgers Cemetery:
      • Lat: 41.6822105     Lon: -93.6835538
      • Open a Google Map centered on the above location.

    Footnotes ...

    <1>If you're interested in how the shape of Iowa's counties, including Polk, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
    <2>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 from Point A (ie- Rittgers Cemetery) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
    <3>While we have an extensive database of cemeteries (with over 200,000 entries), be assured that it's not complete and we're still searching for cemeteries to add.
    <4>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.
    <5>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.