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 Chelsea (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 Chelsea. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals 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.
Chelsea is located in Tama 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 Tama County: Benton, Black Hawk, Grundy, Iowa, Jasper, Marshall & Poweshiek.
Below are the counties that are near Chelsea. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Chelsea:
- Tama County (The home county of Chelsea)
- The following are listed by their distance from Chelsea, with the one closest to Chelsea listed first.
- Vining
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Vining is located in Tama County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vining
- Population from the 2020 Census: 49 people
- Long Point
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Long Point is located in Tama County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Point
- Gladstone
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Gladstone is located in Tama County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladstone
- Elberon
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Tama
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Clutier
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Toledo
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Montour
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Dysart
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Garwin
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Garwin is located in Tama County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garwin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 490 people
- Traer
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Buckingham
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Buckingham is located in Tama County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckingham
- Benton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Chelsea, with the one closest to Chelsea listed first.
- Irving
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Irving is located in Benton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irving
- Belle Plaine
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Luzerne
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Luzerne is located in Benton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luzerne
- Population from the 2020 Census: 92 people
- Keystone
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Blairstown
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Van Horne
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Van Horne is located in Benton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Van Horne
- Population from the 2020 Census: 646 people
- Garrison
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Garrison is located in Benton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garrison
- Population from the 2020 Census: 355 people
- Watkins
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Watkins is located in Benton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watkins
- Newhall
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Norway
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Vinton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Atkins
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Black Hawk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Chelsea, with the one closest to Chelsea listed first.
- Blessing
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Blessing is located in Black Hawk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blessing
- Eagle Center
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Eagle Center is located in Black Hawk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Center
- La Porte City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Voorhies
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Voorhies is located in Black Hawk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Voorhies
- Grundy County
- The following are listed by their distance from Chelsea, with the one closest to Chelsea listed first.
- Reinbeck
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Beaman
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Beaman is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 183 people
- Iowa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Chelsea, with the one closest to Chelsea listed first.
- Dayton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Dayton is located in Iowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dayton
- Ladora
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Marengo
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- West Amana
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- West Amana is located in Iowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Amana
- Conroy
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Conroy is located in Iowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conroy
- South Amana
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Middle Amana
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Millersburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Millersburg is located in Iowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millersburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 139 people
- Williamsburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Amana
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Ambrose
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Ambrose is located in Iowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ambrose
- Parnell
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Jasper County
- The following are listed by their distance from Chelsea, with the one closest to Chelsea listed first.
- Newburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Newburg is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newburg
- Oakland Acres
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Oakland Acres is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland Acres
- Population from the 2020 Census: 161 people
- Kellogg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Keokuk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Chelsea, with the one closest to Chelsea listed first.
- Aurora
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Aurora is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurora
- Gibson
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Gibson is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 59 people
- Linn County
- Walford
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Walford is located in Linn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,436 people
- Mahaska County
- Barnes City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Marshall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Chelsea, with the one closest to Chelsea listed first.
- Dunbar
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Dunbar is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunbar
- Gilman
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Gilman is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 484 people
- Le Grand
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Dillon
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Dillon is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dillon
- Ferguson
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Ferguson is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferguson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 122 people
- Green Mountain
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Green Mountain is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Mountain
- Laurel
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Laurel is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel
- Population from the 2020 Census: 234 people
- Marshalltown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Haverhill
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Poweshiek County
- The following are listed by their distance from Chelsea, with the one closest to Chelsea listed first.
- Hartwick
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Hartwick is located in Poweshiek County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartwick
- Population from the 2020 Census: 81 people
- Sheridan
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Sheridan is located in Poweshiek County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheridan
- Brooklyn
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Victor
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Malcom
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Guernsey
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Grinnell
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Deep River
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Deep River is located in Poweshiek County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deep River
- Population from the 2020 Census: 268 people
- Montezuma
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Tilton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Tilton is located in Poweshiek County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tilton
- Searsboro
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Searsboro is located in Poweshiek County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Searsboro
- Population from the 2020 Census: 145 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Chelsea, see our County-by-County Page for Chelsea.
Cemeteries Near Chelsea ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Chelsea.
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 Chelsea - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Chelsea covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Chelsea, with the one closest to Chelsea listed first.
- St. Josephs Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- IOOF Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Day Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Flatters Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Walton Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Rector Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Wilkinson Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Craig Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- National Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Holan Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Chambers Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Dvorak Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (266 more) ...
- Helena Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Stayskal Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Haven Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
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 Chelsea had a population of 318 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Chelsea had a population of 246 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Chelsea, with the one closest to Chelsea listed first.
- Haven
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Haven is located in Tama County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haven
- Vining
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Vining is located in Tama County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vining
- Population from the 2020 Census: 49 people
- Long Point
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Long Point is located in Tama County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Point
- Helena
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Helena is located in Tama County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helena
- Irving
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Irving is located in Benton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irving
- Belle Plaine
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Gladstone
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Gladstone is located in Tama County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladstone
- Hartwick
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Hartwick is located in Poweshiek County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartwick
- Population from the 2020 Census: 81 people
- Tama
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Toledo
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Sheridan
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Sheridan is located in Poweshiek County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheridan
- Koszta
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Koszta is located in Iowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Koszta
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Luzerne
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Luzerne is located in Benton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luzerne
- Population from the 2020 Census: 92 people
- Keystone
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Brooklyn
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Chelsea. See our List of 1890's Communities around Chelsea.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Chelsea ...
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 163 newspapers that have been published in the area around Chelsea.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Chelsea. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Chelsea and those printed in the larger area surrounding Chelsea.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4> of Chelsea.
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 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 Chelsea:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Tama County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Benton County
- Black Hawk County
- Grundy County
- Iowa County
- Jasper County
- Keokuk County
- Linn County
- Mahaska County
- Marshall County
- Poweshiek 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 Chelsea, 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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Chelsea) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |