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 Dales Ford (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 Dales Ford. 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.
Name Variations for Dales Ford ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
- A typical abbreviation for Dales Ford: Dales Frd.
- While the name of this community is Dales Ford, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Dales Ford may originally have been Dale's Ford.
Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Dales Ford might be written as Dale Ford.
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.
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 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.
Dales Ford is located in Jones 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 Jones County: Cedar, Clinton, Delaware, Dubuque, Jackson & Linn.
Below are the counties that are near Dales Ford. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Dales Ford:
- Jones County (The home county of Dales Ford)
- The following are listed by their distance from Dales Ford, with the one closest to Dales Ford listed first.
- Clay Mills
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Clay Mills is located in Jones County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clay Mills
- Monticello
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Center Junction
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Center Junction is located in Jones County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Junction
- Estimated population in 2015: 111 people
- Onslow
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Amber
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Amber is located in Jones County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amber
- Langworthy
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Langworthy is located in Jones County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langworthy
- Wyoming
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Hale
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Hale is located in Jones County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hale
- Anamosa
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Olin
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Argand
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Argand is located in Jones County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argand
- Oxford Junction
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Oxford Junction is located in Jones County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxford Junction
- Population from the 2020 Census: 480 people
- Fairview
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Fairview is located in Jones County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Cedar County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dales Ford, with the one closest to Dales Ford listed first.
- Clarence
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Stanwood
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Mechanicsville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Mechanicsville is located in Cedar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mechanicsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,116 people
- Lowden
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Tipton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Clinton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dales Ford, with the one closest to Dales Ford listed first.
- Lost Nation
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Elwood
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Elwood is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elwood
- Toronto
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Toronto is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toronto
- Population from the 2020 Census: 119 people
- Delmar
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Wheatland
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Wheatland is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheatland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 724 people
- Bliedorn ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bliedorn is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bliedorn
- Delaware County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dales Ford, with the one closest to Dales Ford listed first.
- Hopkinton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Rockville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Rockville is located in Delaware County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockville
- Delhi
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Earlville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Delaware
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Delaware is located in Delaware County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delaware
- Population from the 2020 Census: 149 people
- Golden
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Golden is located in Delaware County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golden
- Ryan
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Ehler
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Ehler is located in Delaware County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ehler
- Petersburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Petersburg is located in Delaware County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersburg
- Almoral
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Almoral is located in Delaware County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almoral
- Oneida
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Oneida is located in Delaware County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oneida
- Holy Cross
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Holy Cross is located in Delaware County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holy Cross
- Manchester
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Dubuque County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dales Ford, with the one closest to Dales Ford listed first.
- Cascade
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Fillmore
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Fillmore is located in Dubuque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fillmore
- Worthington
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Worthington is located in Dubuque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worthington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 395 people
- Bernard
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Washington Mills
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Washington Mills is located in Dubuque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washington Mills
- Farley
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Epworth
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Dyersville
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Summit Village Dyersville Park
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Peosta
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Zwingle
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Zwingle is located in Dubuque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zwingle
- Population from the 2020 Census: 93 people
- Bankston
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Bankston is located in Dubuque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bankston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 27 people
- Centralia
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Centralia is located in Dubuque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centralia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 128 people
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dales Ford, with the one closest to Dales Ford listed first.
- Canton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Canton is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canton
- Emeline
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Emeline is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emeline
- Garry Owen
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Garry Owen is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garry Owen
- Crab Town
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Crab Town is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crab Town
- Monmouth
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Monmouth is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monmouth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 154 people
- Ironhills
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Ironhills is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironhills
- Baldwin
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Buckhorn
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Buckhorn is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckhorn
- Fulton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Fulton is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulton
- Maquoketa
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Cottonville
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Cottonville is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottonville
- La Motte
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Andrew
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Linn County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dales Ford, with the one closest to Dales Ford listed first.
- Viola
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Viola is located in Linn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Viola
- Prairieburg
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Prairieburg is located in Linn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairieburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 190 people
- Springville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Central City
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Coggon
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Lisbon
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Paris ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Paris is located in Linn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paris
- Mount Vernon
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Squaw Creek Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Squaw Creek Village is located in Linn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Squaw Creek Village
- Alburnett
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Marion
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bertram
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Bertram is located in Linn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bertram
- Population from the 2020 Census: 278 people
- Jo Daviess County (IL)
- East Dubuque
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Dales Ford, see our County-by-County Page for Dales Ford.
Cemeteries Near Dales Ford ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Dales Ford.
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 Dales Ford - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Dales Ford covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Dales Ford, with the one closest to Dales Ford listed first.
- Scotch Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Scott Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- St. Johns Evangelical Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- St. Peters Temple Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Kiburz Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Zimmerman Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Four Horn Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Johnson Town Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Johnstown Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Clay Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Bowens Prairie Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- East Monticello Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (321 more) ...
- Oakwood Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Wayne Zion Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Edinburg Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 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.<4>
While we didn't find Dales Ford in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Dales Ford.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Dales Ford, with the one closest to Dales Ford listed first.
- Scotch Grove
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Temple Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Temple Hill is located in Jones County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Temple Hill
- Clay Mills
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Clay Mills is located in Jones County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clay Mills
- Cascade
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Monticello
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Center Junction
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Center Junction is located in Jones County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Junction
- Estimated population in 2015: 111 people
- Onslow
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Langworthy
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Langworthy is located in Jones County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langworthy
- Amber
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Amber is located in Jones County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amber
- Junction Switch
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Junction Switch is located in Jones County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junction Switch
- Canton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Canton is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canton
- Sand Springs
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Sand Springs is located in Delaware County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Springs
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Ozark ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Ozark is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ozark
- Fillmore
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Fillmore is located in Dubuque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fillmore
- Wyoming
(11 miles [17.7 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 Dales Ford. See our List of 1890's Communities around Dales Ford.
Newspapers Published in Dales Ford ...
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 132 newspapers that have been published in the area around Dales Ford.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Dales Ford, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Dales Ford.
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 professional and volunteer 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 Dales Ford:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Jones County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cedar County
- Clinton County
- Delaware County
- Dubuque County
- Jackson County
- Linn County
- Jo Daviess County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Iowa
Footnotes ...
| <1> | It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties). |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Dales Ford, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <5> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Dales Ford) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |