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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 Douglass (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 Douglass. 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.

Douglass is located in Fayette County.

To see how the shape of Iowa's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Fayette County: Allamakee, Black Hawk, Bremer, Buchanan, Chickasaw, Clayton, Delaware & Winneshiek.

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

  • Fayette County     (The home county of Douglass)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Douglass, with the one closest to Douglass listed first.
    • West Union
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Union have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Union
      • West Union is located in Fayette County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,270 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for West Union <2>
    • Saint Lucas
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Hawkeye
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hawkeye. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawkeye
      • Hawkeye is located in Fayette County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 399 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hawkeye
      • From Douglass to Hawkeye
    • Donnan
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Donnan. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donnan
      • Donnan is located in Fayette County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Donnan
      • From Douglass to Donnan
    • Alpha
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Waucoma
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Brainard
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Randalia
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Randalia have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randalia
      • Randalia is located in Fayette County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 60 people
    • Clermont
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clermont have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clermont
      • Clermont is located in Fayette County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 580 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clermont <2>
    • Elgin
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Fayette
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fayette have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayette
      • Fayette is located in Fayette County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,378 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fayette <2>
    • Illyria
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Wadena
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Allamakee County
  • Bremer County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Douglass, with the one closest to Douglass listed first.
    • Sumner
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Tripoli
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tripoli have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tripoli
      • Tripoli is located in Bremer County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,375 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tripoli <2>
    • Frederika
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Frederika have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frederika
      • Frederika is located in Bremer County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 205 people
    • Readlyn
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Readlyn have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Readlyn
      • Readlyn is located in Bremer County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 854 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Readlyn <2>
    • Seigel
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Seigel. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seigel
      • Seigel is located in Bremer County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Seigel
      • From Douglass to Seigel
    • Knittel
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Klinger
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Buchanan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Douglass, with the one closest to Douglass listed first.
    • Stanley
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stanley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanley
      • Stanley is located in Buchanan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 120 people
    • Fairbank
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fairbank have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairbank
      • Fairbank is located in Buchanan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,132 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fairbank <2>
    • Aurora
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Aurora have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurora
      • Aurora is located in Buchanan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 162 people
    • Hazleton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Lamont
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lamont have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamont
      • Lamont is located in Buchanan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 456 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lamont <2>
  • Chickasaw County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Douglass, with the one closest to Douglass listed first.
    • Lawler
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lawler have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawler
      • Lawler is located in Chickasaw County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 422 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lawler <2>
    • Fredericksburg
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fredericksburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredericksburg
      • Fredericksburg is located in Chickasaw County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 916 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fredericksburg <2>
    • New Hampton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Jerico
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Jerico. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerico
      • Jerico is located in Chickasaw County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Jerico
      • From Douglass to Jerico
    • Republic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • North Washington
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Ionia
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Alta Vista
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alta Vista have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alta Vista
      • Alta Vista is located in Chickasaw County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 248 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alta Vista <2>
  • Clayton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Douglass, with the one closest to Douglass listed first.
    • Gunder
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Hardin
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hardin. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hardin
      • Hardin is located in Clayton County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hardin
      • From Douglass to Hardin
    • Luana
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Luana have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luana
      • Luana is located in Clayton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 276 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Luana <2>
    • Volga
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Volga have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Volga
      • Volga is located in Clayton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 193 people
    • Monona
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Farmersburg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Farmersburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmersburg
      • Farmersburg is located in Clayton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 264 people
    • Saint Olaf
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Olaf have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Olaf
      • Saint Olaf is located in Clayton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 99 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint Olaf <2>
    • Elkader
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elkader have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkader
      • Elkader is located in Clayton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,201 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elkader <2>
    • Osborne
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Watson
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Watson. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watson
      • Watson is located in Clayton County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Watson
      • From Douglass to Watson
    • Beulah
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Beulah. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beulah
      • Beulah is located in Clayton County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Beulah
      • From Douglass to Beulah
    • Clayton Center
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Mederville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Howard County
  • Winneshiek County

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

Cemeteries Near Douglass ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Douglass.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

  • Oak Ridge Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak Ridge Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oak Ridge Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Boale Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Boale Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Boale Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Windsor Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Windsor Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Windsor Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Peter Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Peter Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Peter Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • West Union Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the West Union Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the West Union Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • George Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the George Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the George Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Auburn Twp. Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Auburn Twp. Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Auburn Twp. Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Dover Twp. Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dover Twp. Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dover Twp. Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Lukes Catholic Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Lukes Catholic Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Lukes Catholic Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Eden Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Eden Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Eden Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Oak Lawn Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak Lawn Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oak Lawn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pitts Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pitts Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pitts Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (299 more) ...
    • Hawkeye Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hawkeye Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hawkeye Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • South Windsor Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the South Windsor Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the South Windsor Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Douglass had a population of 172 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Eldorado
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eldorado have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eldorado
    • Eldorado is located in Fayette County
  • West Union
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Union have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Union
    • West Union is located in Fayette County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,270 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for West Union <2>
  • Saint Lucas
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Hawkeye
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hawkeye. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawkeye
    • Hawkeye is located in Fayette County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 399 people
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Hawkeye
    • From Douglass to Hawkeye
  • Donnan
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Donnan. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donnan
    • Donnan is located in Fayette County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Donnan
    • From Douglass to Donnan
  • Dover Mills
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dover Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dover Mills
    • Dover Mills is located in Fayette County
  • Festina
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Waucoma
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Alpha
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Fort Atkinson
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Brainard
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Richfield
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Richfield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richfield
    • Richfield is located in Fayette County
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Randalia
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Randalia have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randalia
      • Randalia is located in Fayette County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 60 people
    • Ossian
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Jackson Junction
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jackson Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackson Junction
      • Jackson Junction is located in Winneshiek County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 54 people

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

Newspapers Published in Douglass ...

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 136 newspapers that have been published in the area around Douglass.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Douglass, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Douglass.

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 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 Douglass:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Douglass. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for State of Iowa: https://www.iowa.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<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 Douglass, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Douglass) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Douglass. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.0085, Longitude: -91.8717    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025