RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Iowa >> Jones County >> Downers Grove >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Downers Grove (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 Downers Grove. 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 Downers Grove ...

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 Downers Grove: Downers Grv.
  • While the name of this community is Downers Grove, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Downers Grove may originally have been Downer's Grove.

    Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Downers Grove might be written as Downer Grove.

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

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 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.

Downers Grove 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 Downers Grove. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Downers Grove:

  • Jones County     (The home county of Downers Grove)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Downers Grove, with the one closest to Downers Grove listed first.
    • Argand
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Argand is located in Jones County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argand
    • Langworthy
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Langworthy is located in Jones County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langworthy
    • Monticello
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Anamosa
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Stone City
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Stone City is located in Jones County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone City
    • Amber
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Amber is located in Jones County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amber
    • Fairview
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Fairview is located in Jones County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
    • Center Junction
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Center Junction is located in Jones County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Junction
      • Estimated population in 2015: 111 people
    • Martelle
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Martelle is located in Jones County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martelle
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 246 people
    • Morley
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Morley is located in Jones County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 110 people
    • Onslow
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Clay Mills
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Clay Mills is located in Jones County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clay Mills
  • Benton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Downers Grove, with the one closest to Downers Grove listed first.
    • Spencers Grove
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Spencers Grove is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spencers Grove
    • Urbana
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Buchanan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Downers Grove, with the one closest to Downers Grove listed first.
    • Monti
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Monti is located in Buchanan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monti
    • Quasqueton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Winthrop
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Winthrop is located in Buchanan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winthrop
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 848 people
    • Lamont
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Rowley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Cedar County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Downers Grove, with the one closest to Downers Grove listed first.
    • Mechanicsville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Mechanicsville is located in Cedar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mechanicsville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,116 people
    • Stanwood
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Clarence
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Clayton County
    • Wood
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Wood is located in Clayton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wood
  • Clinton County
    • Lost Nation
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Delaware County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Downers Grove, with the one closest to Downers Grove listed first.
    • Hopkinton
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Delhi
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Ryan
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Ryan is located in Delaware County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ryan
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 343 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ryan <2>
    • Ehler
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Ehler is located in Delaware County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ehler
    • Rockville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Rockville is located in Delaware County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockville
    • Golden
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Golden is located in Delaware County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golden
    • Delaware
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Delaware is located in Delaware County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delaware
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 149 people
    • Earlville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Robinson
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Robinson is located in Delaware County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinson
    • Manchester
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Almoral
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Almoral is located in Delaware County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almoral
    • Oneida
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Oneida is located in Delaware County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oneida
  • Dubuque County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Downers Grove, with the one closest to Downers Grove listed first.
    • Worthington
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Worthington is located in Dubuque County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worthington
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 395 people
    • Cascade
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Dyersville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Summit Village Dyersville Park
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Fillmore
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Fillmore is located in Dubuque County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fillmore
    • Farley
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • New Vienna
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • New Vienna is located in Dubuque County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Vienna
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 412 people
    • Epworth
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Bernard
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Bankston
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Bankston is located in Dubuque County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bankston
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 27 people
    • Washington Mills
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Washington Mills is located in Dubuque County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washington Mills
    • Luxemburg
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Luxemburg is located in Dubuque County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luxemburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 247 people
  • Jackson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Downers Grove, with the one closest to Downers Grove listed first.
    • Canton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Canton is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canton
    • Emeline
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Emeline is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emeline
    • Garry Owen
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Garry Owen is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garry Owen
    • Monmouth
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Monmouth is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monmouth
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 154 people
    • Crab Town
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Crab Town is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crab Town
    • Baldwin
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Ironhills
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Ironhills is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironhills
    • Buckhorn
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Buckhorn is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckhorn
  • Linn County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Downers Grove, with the one closest to Downers Grove listed first.
    • Prairieburg
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Prairieburg is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairieburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 190 people
    • Viola
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Viola is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Viola
    • Central City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Coggon
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Springville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Paris ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Paris is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paris
    • Alburnett
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Squaw Creek Village
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Squaw Creek Village is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Squaw Creek Village
    • Troy Mills
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Marion
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Lafayette
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Lafayette is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lafayette
    • Lisbon
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)

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

Cemeteries Near Downers Grove ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Downers Grove.

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 Downers Grove - one of the links might be able to help.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Downers Grove, with the one closest to Downers Grove 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.<5>

While we didn't find Downers Grove in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Downers Grove.

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

  • Castle Grove
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Castle Grove is located in Jones County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castle Grove
  • Langworthy
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Langworthy is located in Jones County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langworthy
  • Junction Switch
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Junction Switch is located in Jones County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junction Switch
  • Argand
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Argand is located in Jones County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argand
  • Monticello
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Sand Springs
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Sand Springs is located in Delaware County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Springs
  • Hopkinton
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Prairieburg
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Prairieburg is located in Linn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairieburg
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 190 people
  • Stone City
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Stone City is located in Jones County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone City
  • Anamosa
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Amber
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Amber is located in Jones County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amber
  • Waubeek
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Waubeek is located in Linn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waubeek
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Scotch Grove
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Viola
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Viola is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Viola
    • Fairview
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Fairview is located in Jones County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview

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

Newspapers Published in Downers Grove ...

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 54 newspapers that have been published in the area around Downers Grove.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Downers Grove, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Downers Grove.

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 Downers Grove:

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>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Downers Grove) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<5>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 Downers Grove, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.