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 Clara (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 Clara. 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 doctors and hospitals 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.
Clara is located in Pottawattamie 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 Pottawattamie County: Cass, Harrison, Mills, Montgomery, Shelby, Douglas (NE), Sarpy (NE) & Washington (NE).
Below are the counties that are near Clara. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Clara:
- Pottawattamie County (The home county of Clara)
- The following are listed by their distance from Clara, with the one closest to Clara listed first.
- Crescent
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Carter Lake
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Honey Creek
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Honey Creek is located in Pottawattamie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honey Creek
- Council Bluffs
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Chautauqua
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Chautauqua is located in Pottawattamie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chautauqua
- Weston
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Weston is located in Pottawattamie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weston
- Loveland
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Loveland is located in Pottawattamie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loveland
- Pigeon
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Pigeon is located in Pottawattamie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pigeon
- McClelland
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Underwood
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Dumfries
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Dumfries is located in Pottawattamie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dumfries
- Neola
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Treynor
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Harrison County
- The following are listed by their distance from Clara, with the one closest to Clara listed first.
- Missouri Valley
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- California Junction
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- California Junction is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for California Junction
- Modale
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Logan
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Yorkshire
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Yorkshire is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorkshire
- Persia
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Persia is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Persia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 281 people
- Magnolia
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Magnolia is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 170 people
- Mondamin
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Woodbine
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Orson
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Orson is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orson
- Mills County
- The following are listed by their distance from Clara, with the one closest to Clara listed first.
- Mineola
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Folsom
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Folsom is located in Mills County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Folsom
- Hentons ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Hentons is located in Mills County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hentons
- Pacific City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Pacific City is located in Mills County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pacific City
- Silver City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Silver City is located in Mills County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 246 people
- Glenwood
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Mills
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Mills is located in Mills County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mills
- Pacific Junction
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Henderson
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Malvern
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Hastings
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Hastings is located in Mills County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hastings
- Population from the 2020 Census: 149 people
- Shelby County
- The following are listed by their distance from Clara, with the one closest to Clara listed first.
- Shelby
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Portsmouth
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Tennant
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Tennant is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tennant
- Population from the 2020 Census: 63 people
- Cass County (NE)
- The following are listed by their distance from Clara, with the one closest to Clara listed first.
- Cullom
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Cullom is located in Cass County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cullom
- Cedar Creek
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Plattsmouth
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Mynard
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Mynard is located in Cass County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mynard
- Louisville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Rock Bluff
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Rock Bluff is located in Cass County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Bluff
- Murray
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- South Bend
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Dodge County (NE)
- The following are listed by their distance from Clara, with the one closest to Clara listed first.
- Telbasta
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Telbasta is located in Dodge County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Telbasta
- Fontanelle
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Fontanelle is located in Dodge County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fontanelle
- Fremont
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Douglas County (NE)
- The following are listed by their distance from Clara, with the one closest to Clara listed first.
- Home Park
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Home Park is located in Douglas County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Home Park
- Briggs
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Briggs is located in Douglas County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briggs
- Irvington
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Irvington is located in Douglas County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irvington
- Omaha
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Omaha is located in Douglas County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Omaha
- Population from the 2020 Census: 478,393 people
- Omaha has also been known as:
- Omaha City
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Omaha <1>
- Ralston
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Boys Town
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Bennington
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Millard
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Elk City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Elk City is located in Douglas County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk City
- Elkhorn
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- King Lake
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- King Lake is located in Douglas County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for King Lake
- Waterloo
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Valley
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Sarpy County (NE)
- The following are listed by their distance from Clara, with the one closest to Clara listed first.
- Avery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Avery is located in Sarpy County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avery
- Bellevue
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- La Vista
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Gilmore
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Gilmore is located in Sarpy County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilmore
- Papillion
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Portal
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Portal is located in Sarpy County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portal
- Chalco
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- La Platte
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- La Platte is located in Sarpy County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Platte
- Richfield
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Springfield
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Gretna
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Linoma Beach
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Linoma Beach is located in Sarpy County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linoma Beach
- Saunders County (NE)
- The following are listed by their distance from Clara, with the one closest to Clara listed first.
- Yutan
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Yutan is located in Saunders County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yutan
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,352 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Yutan <1>
- Wann
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Wann is located in Saunders County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wann
- Leshara
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Woodcliff
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Woodcliff is located in Saunders County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodcliff
- Washington County (NE)
- The following are listed by their distance from Clara, with the one closest to Clara listed first.
- Fort Calhoun
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- De Soto ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- De Soto is located in Washington County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Soto
- De Soto has also been known as:
- DeSoto
- Washington
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Kennard
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Blair
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Blair is located in Washington County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blair
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,948 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Blair <1>
- Arlington
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Herman
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Clara, see our County-by-County Page for Clara.
Cemeteries Near Clara ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Clara.
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 Clara - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Clara covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Clara, with the one closest to Clara listed first.
- Crescent Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Mormon Pioneer Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Evans Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Forest Lawn Memorial Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Pleasant Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Pleasant Hill Jewish Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- McIntosh Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Potters Field
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Golden Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Hazel Dell Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Reels Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Shipley Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (207 more) ...
- Springwell Danish Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Prospect Hill Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Fairview Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
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>
While we didn't find Clara in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Clara.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Clara, with the one closest to Clara listed first.
- Crescent
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Honey Creek
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Honey Creek is located in Pottawattamie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honey Creek
- Briggs
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Briggs is located in Douglas County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briggs
- Council Bluffs
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Irvington
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Irvington is located in Douglas County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irvington
- Weston
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Weston is located in Pottawattamie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weston
- Omaha
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Omaha is located in Douglas County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Omaha
- Population from the 2020 Census: 478,393 people
- Omaha has also been known as:
- Omaha City
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Omaha <1>
- Pigeon
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Pigeon is located in Pottawattamie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pigeon
- Loveland
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Loveland is located in Pottawattamie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loveland
- Fort Calhoun
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- South Omaha
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- South Omaha is located in Douglas County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Omaha
- Underwood
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Quick
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Quick is located in Pottawattamie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quick
- Avery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Avery is located in Sarpy County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avery
- Bellevue
(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 Clara. See our List of 1890's Communities around Clara.
Newspapers Published in Clara ...
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 44 newspapers that have been published in the area around Clara.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Clara, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Clara.
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 helpful 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 Clara:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Pottawattamie County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Harrison County
- Mills County
- Shelby County
- Cass County
- Dodge County
- Douglas County
- Sarpy County
- Saunders County
- Washington 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 Clara, 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 from Point A (ie- Clara) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |