A visit to the West 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 West Cemetery ...
We are using the following GPS coordinates (latitude and longitude) for the West Cemetery:
40.8447, -93.8661
Note: The GPS location that we are using for the West Cemetery can be traced back to the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS)<1>
The West Cemetery is located in Decatur County<2>.
The county seat for Decatur County is located in Leon. Leon lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<3> to the southeast of the West Cemetery .
Open a Google Map centered on the West Cemetery.
List of nearby cemeteries ...
Based on our list of cemeteries, we know of 22 that are within 8 miles [12.9 km] of the West Cemetery.<4>
We've listed the following cemeteries based on their distance from West Cemetery, with the nearest first.
- McKee Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- The McKee Cemetery is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKee Cemetery
- Munyon Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- The Munyon Cemetery is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Munyon Cemetery
- Clinton Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- The Clinton Cemetery is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinton Cemetery
- Tennessee Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- The Tennessee Cemetery is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tennessee Cemetery
- Van Wert Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Warrick Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- The Warrick Cemetery is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warrick Cemetery
- Young Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- The Young Cemetery is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Young Cemetery
- Old Funk Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- The Old Funk Cemetery is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Funk Cemetery
- Oak Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- The Oak Hill Cemetery is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Hill Cemetery
- Westervelt Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- The Westervelt Cemetery is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westervelt Cemetery
- Lacelle Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- The Lacelle Cemetery is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacelle Cemetery
- Gregg Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- The Gregg Cemetery is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gregg Cemetery
- Continue List (10 more) ...
- O'Grady Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- The O'Grady Cemetery is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for O'Grady Cemetery
- Grand River Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- The Grand River Cemetery is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand River Cemetery
- Shy Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- The Shy Cemetery is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shy Cemetery
- Woodmansee Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- The Woodmansee Cemetery is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodmansee Cemetery
- Trinity Hills Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- The Trinity Hills Cemetery is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trinity Hills Cemetery
- The Trinity Hills Cemetery has also been known as:
- Trinity Hills Lutheran Church Cemetery
- Cash Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- The Cash Cemetery is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cash Cemetery
- Decatur City Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- The Decatur City Cemetery is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decatur City Cemetery
- Palenstine Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- The Palenstine Cemetery is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palenstine Cemetery
- Kline Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- The Kline Cemetery is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kline Cemetery
- Green Bay Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- The Green Bay Cemetery is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Bay Cemetery
For an expanded list with details, please visit our List of cemeteries.
List of neighboring communities ...
The following 21 communities are within 10 miles [16.1 km]<3> of the West Cemetery.
We've listed the following communities based on their distance from West Cemetery, with the nearest first:
- Van Wert
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Van Wert is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Van Wert
- Population from the 2020 Census: 208 people
- Grand River
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Grand River is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand River
- Population from the 2020 Census: 215 people
- Green Bay ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Green Bay is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Bay
- Decatur City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Decatur City is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decatur City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 181 people
- Weldon
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Weldon is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weldon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 104 people
- Lacelle
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Lacelle is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacelle
- Beaconsfield
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Beaconsfield is located in Ringgold County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaconsfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 15 people
- Leon
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Hopeville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Hopeville is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopeville
- Ellston
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Ellston is located in Ringgold County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 38 people
- Kellerton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Garden Grove
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Garden Grove is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 200 people
- Continue List (9 more) ...
- Murray
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Murray is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murray
- Population from the 2020 Census: 681 people
- Davis City
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Davis City is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davis City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 187 people
- Le Roy
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Le Roy is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Le Roy
- Population from the 2020 Census: 14 people
- Osceola
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Lamoni
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Thayer
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Thayer is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thayer
- Population from the 2020 Census: 58 people
- Woodland
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Woodland is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland
- Tingley
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Woodburn
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
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 West Cemetery. Unless otherwise noted, the following communities are located in Decatur County.
More information can be found on our list of Local Newspapers for The West Cemetery.
We've listed the following communities alphabetically.
- Arispe
- Davis City
- Ellston
- Garden Grove
- Grand River
- Humeston
- Kellerton
- Lamoni
- Leon
- Murray
- Osceola
- Pleasanton
- Tingley
Websites to help with your 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 websites are open to everyone.
To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that might help with the West Cemetery:
- Pages specific to Iowa:
- Pages specific to Decatur 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 West Cemetery:
- Referenced GNIS Record ...
- GNIS ID #1822883 (West Cemetery)
- Note: In 2021, GNIS record #1822883 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: Decatur
- Est. Elev: 327 (in feet)
- Topo Map Name: Van Wert
- Location given for West Cemetery:
- Lat: 40.8447199 Lon: -93.8660568
- Open a Google Map centered on the above location.
Footnotes ...
| <1> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <2> | If you're interested in how the shape of Iowa's counties, including Decatur, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <3> | 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 from Point A (ie- West Cemetery) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |