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 Colwell (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 Colwell. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Colwell is located in Floyd 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 Floyd County: Bremer, Butler, Cerro Gordo, Chickasaw, Franklin, Howard, Mitchell & Worth.
Below are the counties that are near Colwell. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Colwell:
- Floyd County (The home county of Colwell)
- The following are listed by their distance from Colwell, with the one closest to Colwell listed first.
- Charles City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Floyd
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Carrville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Carrville is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carrville
- Oakwood
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Oakwood is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood
- Roseville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Roseville is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseville
- Rudd
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Aureola
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Aureola is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aureola
- Marble Rock
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Rockford
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Nora Springs
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Bremer County
- The following are listed by their distance from Colwell, with the one closest to Colwell listed first.
- Plainfield
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Horton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Horton is located in Bremer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horton
- Frederika
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Frederika is located in Bremer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frederika
- Population from the 2020 Census: 205 people
- Seigel
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Seigel is located in Bremer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seigel
- Bremer
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Bremer is located in Bremer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bremer
- Tripoli
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Waverly
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Butler County
- The following are listed by their distance from Colwell, with the one closest to Colwell listed first.
- Greene
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Clarksville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Allison
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Shell Rock
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Aredale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Bristow
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Bristow is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bristow
- Population from the 2020 Census: 147 people
- Cerro Gordo County
- The following are listed by their distance from Colwell, with the one closest to Colwell listed first.
- Rock Falls
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Rock Falls is located in Cerro Gordo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Falls
- Population from the 2020 Census: 146 people
- Portland
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Portland is located in Cerro Gordo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portland
- Cartersville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Cartersville is located in Cerro Gordo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cartersville
- Dougherty
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Dougherty is located in Cerro Gordo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dougherty
- Population from the 2020 Census: 56 people
- Plymouth Junction
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Plymouth Junction is located in Cerro Gordo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plymouth Junction
- Plymouth
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Plymouth is located in Cerro Gordo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plymouth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 361 people
- Cameron
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Cameron is located in Cerro Gordo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cameron
- Mason City Junction
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Mason City Junction is located in Cerro Gordo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason City Junction
- Mason City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Chickasaw County
- The following are listed by their distance from Colwell, with the one closest to Colwell listed first.
- Deerfield
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Deerfield is located in Chickasaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deerfield
- Bassett
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Bassett is located in Chickasaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bassett
- Population from the 2020 Census: 62 people
- Alta Vista
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- North Washington
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- North Washington is located in Chickasaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Washington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 137 people
- Chickasaw
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Chickasaw is located in Chickasaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chickasaw
- Ionia
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Bradford
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Bradford is located in Chickasaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradford
- Nashua
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- New Hampton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Jerico
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Jerico is located in Chickasaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerico
- Republic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Republic is located in Chickasaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Republic
- Lawler
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Fayette County
- The following are listed by their distance from Colwell, with the one closest to Colwell listed first.
- Waucoma
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Alpha
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Alpha is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpha
- Howard County
- The following are listed by their distance from Colwell, with the one closest to Colwell listed first.
- Elma
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Riceville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Davis Corners
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Davis Corners is located in Howard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davis Corners
- Protivin
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Chester
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Lime Springs
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Vernon Springs
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Vernon Springs is located in Howard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vernon Springs
- Cresco
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Forest City ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Forest City is located in Howard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest City
- Mitchell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Colwell, with the one closest to Colwell listed first.
- New Haven
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- New Haven is located in Mitchell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Haven
- Orchard
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Orchard is located in Mitchell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orchard
- Population from the 2020 Census: 71 people
- Osage
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Little Cedar
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Little Cedar is located in Mitchell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Cedar
- Rock Creek
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Rock Creek is located in Mitchell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Creek
- Mitchell
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Mitchell is located in Mitchell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 128 people
- McIntire
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- McIntire is located in Mitchell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McIntire
- Population from the 2020 Census: 127 people
- Meyer
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Meyer is located in Mitchell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meyer
- Stacyville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Stacyville is located in Mitchell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stacyville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 466 people
- Saint Ansgar
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Toeterville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Carpenter
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Carpenter is located in Mitchell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carpenter
- Population from the 2020 Census: 108 people
- Winneshiek County
- The following are listed by their distance from Colwell, with the one closest to Colwell listed first.
- Navan
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Navan is located in Winneshiek County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Navan
- Jackson Junction
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Jackson Junction is located in Winneshiek County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackson Junction
- Population from the 2020 Census: 54 people
- Worth County
- The following are listed by their distance from Colwell, with the one closest to Colwell listed first.
- Grafton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Bolan
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Bolan is located in Worth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolan
- Fillmore County (MN)
- York
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- York is located in Fillmore County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for York
- Mower County (MN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Colwell, with the one closest to Colwell listed first.
- Le Roy
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Johnsburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Johnsburg is located in Mower County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnsburg
- Taopi
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Taopi is located in Mower County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taopi
- Population from the 2020 Census: 65 people
- Adams
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Lyle
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Colwell, see our County-by-County Page for Colwell.
Cemeteries Near Colwell ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Colwell.
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 Colwell - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Colwell covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Colwell, with the one closest to Colwell listed first.
- Beckwith Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Deerfield Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- St. Patricks Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Stillwater Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Howardville Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Oakwood Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Riverside Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Calvary Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Rowley Hill Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowley Hill Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Rowley Hill Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<2> to the east of Bassett.
- The Rowley Hill Cemetery has also been known as:
- Rowley Hill Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #96017 <3>
- Calvary Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Reckner Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Sunnyside Memory Gardens
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Continue List (188 more) ...
- St. Peters Catholic Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Cedar View Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
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.<4>
While we didn't find Colwell in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Colwell.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Colwell, with the one closest to Colwell listed first.
- Deerfield
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Deerfield is located in Chickasaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deerfield
- Doubleday
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Doubleday is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doubleday
- Floyd
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Charles City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Bassett
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Bassett is located in Chickasaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bassett
- Population from the 2020 Census: 62 people
- Floyd Crossing
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Floyd Crossing is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Floyd Crossing
- New Haven
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- New Haven is located in Mitchell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Haven
- Chickasaw
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Chickasaw is located in Chickasaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chickasaw
- North Washington
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- North Washington is located in Chickasaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Washington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 137 people
- Alta Vista
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Elma
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Ionia
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Orchard
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Orchard is located in Mitchell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orchard
- Population from the 2020 Census: 71 people
- Devon
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Devon is located in Chickasaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Devon
- Brownville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Brownville is located in Mitchell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Colwell. See our List of 1890's Communities around Colwell.
Newspapers Published in Colwell ...
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 135 newspapers that have been published in the area around Colwell.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Colwell, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Colwell.
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 either 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 Colwell:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Floyd County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bremer County
- Butler County
- Cerro Gordo County
- Chickasaw County
- Fayette County
- Howard County
- Mitchell County
- Winneshiek County
- Worth County
- Fillmore County
- Mower 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> | 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- Colwell) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 Colwell, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |