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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 Denison (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 Denison. 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 Denison ...

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.

In past government published Postal Guides, Denison was referred to as Denison Courthouse.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Denison. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Denison.

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.

For more information about how community names might have been affected by the Board of Geographic Names (BGN), see our page about Placename Rules.

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 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.

Denison is located in Crawford County and is the County Seat.

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 Crawford County: Audubon, Carroll, Harrison, Ida, Monona, Sac, Shelby & Woodbury.

Below are the counties that are near Denison. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Denison:

  • Crawford County     (The home county of Denison)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Denison, with the one closest to Denison listed first.
    • Sunset Village
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Sunset Village is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Village
    • Deloit
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Deloit is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deloit
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 254 people
    • Buck Grove
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Buck Grove is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buck Grove
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 43 people
    • Arion
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Arion is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arion
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
    • Kenwood
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Vail
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Vail is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vail
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 413 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vail <1>
    • Bell
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Bell is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell
    • Dow City
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Schleswig
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Manilla
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Astor
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Astor is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Astor
    • Boyer
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Charter Oak
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Audubon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Denison, with the one closest to Denison listed first.
    • Gray
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Fiscus
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Fiscus is located in Audubon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fiscus
    • Ross
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Audubon
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Kimballton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Carroll County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Denison, with the one closest to Denison listed first.
    • Arcadia
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Arcadia is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcadia
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 531 people
    • Manning
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Halbur
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Halbur is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halbur
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 252 people
    • Roselle
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Templeton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Breda
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Carroll Community Estates
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Carroll
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Willey
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Dedham
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Lidderdale
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Harrison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Denison, with the one closest to Denison listed first.
    • Dunlap
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Woodbine
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Ida County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Denison, with the one closest to Denison listed first.
    • Arthur
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Arthur is located in Ida County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arthur
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 194 people
    • Ida Grove
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Battle Creek
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
  • Monona County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Denison, with the one closest to Denison listed first.
    • Ute
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Ute is located in Monona County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ute
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 337 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ute <1>
    • Soldier
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Mapleton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Moorhead
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Castana
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
  • Sac County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Denison, with the one closest to Denison listed first.
    • Herring ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Odebolt
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Sac City Junction ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Sac City Junction is located in Sac County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sac City Junction
    • Wall Lake
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Lake View
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Auburn
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Grant City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Grant City is located in Sac County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant City
  • Shelby County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Denison, with the one closest to Denison listed first.
    • Defiance
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Defiance is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Defiance
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 260 people
    • Botna
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Earling
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Earling is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Earling
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 403 people
    • Irwin
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Kirkman
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Kirkman is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirkman
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 61 people
    • Panama
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Westphalia
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Westphalia is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westphalia
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 117 people
    • Harlan
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Portsmouth
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Tennant
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Corley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Woodbury County

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Denison, see our County-by-County Page for Denison.

Cemeteries Near Denison ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Denison.

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 Denison - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Denison covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Denison, with the one closest to Denison listed first.

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 Denison had a population of 1,782 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Denison had a population of 8,249 people.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Denison, with the one closest to Denison listed first.

  • Deloit
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Deloit is located in Crawford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deloit
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 254 people
  • Arion
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Arion is located in Crawford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arion
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
  • Buck Grove
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Buck Grove is located in Crawford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buck Grove
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 43 people
  • Kenwood
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Bell
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Bell is located in Crawford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell
  • Vail
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Vail is located in Crawford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vail
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 413 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vail <1>
  • Dow City
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Manilla
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Astor
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Astor is located in Crawford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Astor
  • Kiron
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Charter Oak
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Defiance
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Defiance is located in Shelby County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Defiance
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 260 people
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Aspinwall
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Westside
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Manteno
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Manteno is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manteno

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Denison. See our List of 1890's Communities around Denison.

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Denison ...

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 82 newspapers that have been published in the area around Denison.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Denison. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Denison and those printed in the larger area surrounding Denison.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4> of Denison.

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 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 Denison:

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 Denison, 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- Denison) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.