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 Decatur City (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 Decatur City. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.
Decatur City is located in Decatur 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 Decatur County: Clarke, Ringgold, Wayne, Harrison (MO) & Mercer (MO).
Below are the counties that are near Decatur City. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Decatur City:
- Decatur County (The home county of Decatur City)
- The following are listed by their distance from Decatur City, with the one closest to Decatur City listed first.
- Leon
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Davis City
(7 miles [11.3 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
- Grand River
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Grand River is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand River
- Population from the 2020 Census: 215 people
- Van Wert
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Van Wert is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Van Wert
- Population from the 2020 Census: 208 people
- Lamoni
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Woodland
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Woodland is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland
- Pleasanton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Pleasanton is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasanton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 44 people
- Garden Grove
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Garden Grove is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 200 people
- Morgan
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Morgan is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan
- Le Roy
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Le Roy is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Le Roy
- Population from the 2020 Census: 14 people
- Clarke County
- The following are listed by their distance from Decatur City, with the one closest to Decatur City listed first.
- Weldon
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Weldon is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weldon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 104 people
- Green Bay ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Green Bay is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Bay
- Lacelle
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Lacelle is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacelle
- Hopeville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Hopeville is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopeville
- Osceola
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Murray
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Murray is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murray
- Population from the 2020 Census: 681 people
- Woodburn
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Liberty
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Liberty is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
- Lucas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Decatur City, with the one closest to Decatur City listed first.
- Derby
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Derby is located in Lucas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derby
- Population from the 2020 Census: 111 people
- Lucas
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Lucas is located in Lucas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucas
- Population from the 2020 Census: 207 people
- Madison County
- Barney
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Barney is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barney
- Ringgold County
- The following are listed by their distance from Decatur City, with the one closest to Decatur City listed first.
- Kellerton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Beaconsfield
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Beaconsfield is located in Ringgold County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaconsfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 15 people
- Ellston
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Ellston is located in Ringgold County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 38 people
- Tingley
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Mount Ayr
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Diagonal
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Knowlton ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Knowlton is located in Ringgold County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knowlton
- Benton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Benton is located in Ringgold County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 40 people
- Delphos
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Delphos is located in Ringgold County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delphos
- Estimated population in 2019: 24 people
- Maloy
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Maloy is located in Ringgold County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maloy
- Population from the 2020 Census: 27 people
- Redding
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Redding is located in Ringgold County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redding
- Population from the 2020 Census: 77 people
- Union County
- The following are listed by their distance from Decatur City, with the one closest to Decatur City listed first.
- Thayer
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Thayer is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thayer
- Population from the 2020 Census: 58 people
- Arispe
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Arispe is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arispe
- Population from the 2020 Census: 96 people
- Shannon City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Shannon City is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shannon City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 69 people
- Afton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Lorimor
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Lorimor is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lorimor
- Population from the 2020 Census: 341 people
- Warren County
- New Virginia
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Wayne County
- The following are listed by their distance from Decatur City, with the one closest to Decatur City listed first.
- Humeston
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Lineville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Lineville is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lineville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 217 people
- Clio
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Clio is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clio
- Population from the 2020 Census: 73 people
- Hodge
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Hodge is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hodge
- Allerton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Corydon
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Millerton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Millerton is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 42 people
- Harrison County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Decatur City, with the one closest to Decatur City listed first.
- Akron
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Akron is located in Harrison County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Akron
- Blythedale
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Blythedale is located in Harrison County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blythedale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 183 people
- Eagleville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Cainsville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Cainsville is located in Harrison County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cainsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 272 people
- Hatfield
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Hatfield is located in Harrison County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatfield
- Ridgeway
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Mount Moriah
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Mount Moriah is located in Harrison County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Moriah
- Population from the 2020 Census: 80 people
- Gardner
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Gardner is located in Harrison County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gardner
- Mercer County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Decatur City, with the one closest to Decatur City listed first.
- Burrows
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Burrows is located in Mercer County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burrows
- South Lineville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- South Lineville is located in Mercer County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Lineville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 27 people
- Mercer
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Princeton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Ravanna
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Ravanna is located in Mercer County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ravanna
- Putnam County (MO)
- Powersville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Powersville is located in Putnam County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powersville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 54 people
- Worth County (MO)
- Allendale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Decatur City, see our County-by-County Page for Decatur City.
Cemeteries Near Decatur City ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Decatur City.
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 Decatur City - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Decatur City covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Decatur City, with the one closest to Decatur City listed first.
- Decatur City Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Waller Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Palenstine Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Trinity Hills Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- 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
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Shy Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Miller Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Leon Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Woodmansee Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Bucy Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Terre Haute Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Manchester Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (264 more) ...
- Elk Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Gore Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Davis City Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
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.<2>
While we didn't find Decatur City in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Decatur City.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Decatur City, with the one closest to Decatur City listed first.
- Kingston
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Kingston is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingston
- Leon
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Davis City
(7 miles [11.3 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
- Blockly
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Blockly is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blockly
- Grand River
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Grand River is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand River
- Population from the 2020 Census: 215 people
- Van Wert
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Van Wert is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Van Wert
- Population from the 2020 Census: 208 people
- Lamoni
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Kellerton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Weldon
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Weldon is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weldon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 104 people
- Andover
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Andover is located in Harrison County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Andover
- Pleasanton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Pleasanton is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasanton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 44 people
- Woodland
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Woodland is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- High Point
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- High Point is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Point
- Green Bay ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Green Bay is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Bay
- Beaconsfield
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Beaconsfield is located in Ringgold County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaconsfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 15 people
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Decatur City. See our List of 1890's Communities around Decatur City.
Newspapers Published in Decatur City ...
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 118 newspapers that have been published in the area around Decatur City.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Decatur City, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Decatur City.
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 Decatur City:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Decatur County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Clarke County
- Lucas County
- Madison County
- Ringgold County
- Union County
- Warren County
- Wayne County
- Harrison County
- Mercer County
- Putnam County
- Worth 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> | 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 Decatur City, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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- Decatur City) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |