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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 Duncombe (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 Duncombe. 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 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.

Duncombe is located in Webster 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 Webster County: Boone, Calhoun, Greene, Hamilton, Humboldt, Pocahontas & Wright.

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

  • Webster County     (The home county of Duncombe)
  • Boone County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Duncombe, with the one closest to Duncombe listed first.
    • Boxholm
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Boxholm have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boxholm
      • Boxholm is located in Boone County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 184 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Boxholm <3>
    • Pilot Mound
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Fraser
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fraser have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fraser
      • Fraser is located in Boone County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 103 people
    • Mackey
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Mackey. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mackey
      • Mackey is located in Boone County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Mackey
      • From Duncombe to Mackey
    • Centerville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Centerville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
      • Centerville is located in Boone County
    • Boone
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Ogden
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ogden have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogden
      • Ogden is located in Boone County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,985 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ogden <3>
    • Beaver
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beaver have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver
      • Beaver is located in Boone County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 50 people
    • Jordan
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Calhoun County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Duncombe, with the one closest to Duncombe listed first.
    • Knierim
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Knierim have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knierim
      • Knierim is located in Calhoun County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 57 people
    • Somers
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Somers have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somers
      • Somers is located in Calhoun County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 102 people
    • Farnhamville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Farnhamville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farnhamville
      • Farnhamville is located in Calhoun County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 335 people
    • Rinard
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rinard have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rinard
      • Rinard is located in Calhoun County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 48 people
    • Manson
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Manson have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manson
      • Manson is located in Calhoun County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,529 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Manson <3>
  • Franklin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Duncombe, with the one closest to Duncombe listed first.
    • Oakland
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Popejoy
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Popejoy have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Popejoy
      • Popejoy is located in Franklin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 74 people
  • Greene County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Duncombe, with the one closest to Duncombe listed first.
    • Paton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Dana
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Dana. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dana
      • Dana is located in Greene County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Dana
      • From Duncombe to Dana
  • Hamilton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Duncombe, with the one closest to Duncombe listed first.
    • Webster City
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Webster City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster City
      • Webster City is located in Hamilton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,647 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Webster City <3>
    • Kamrar
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Stratford
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stratford have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stratford
      • Stratford is located in Hamilton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 692 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Stratford <3>
    • Stanhope
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stanhope have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanhope
      • Stanhope is located in Hamilton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 394 people
    • Blairsburg
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blairsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blairsburg
      • Blairsburg is located in Hamilton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 199 people
    • Jewell
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Williams
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Ellsworth
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Randall
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Hardin County
  • Humboldt County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Duncombe, with the one closest to Duncombe listed first.
    • Thor
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Dakota City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Humboldt
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Hardy
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Pioneer
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pioneer have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pioneer
      • Pioneer is located in Humboldt County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 22 people
    • Renwick
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Arnold
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Arnold. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnold
      • Arnold is located in Humboldt County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Arnold
      • From Duncombe to Arnold
    • Rutland
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Gilmore City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gilmore City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilmore City
      • Gilmore City is located in Humboldt County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 465 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gilmore City <3>
    • Livermore
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Livermore have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Livermore
      • Livermore is located in Humboldt County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 361 people
  • Kossuth County
    • Lu Verne
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lu Verne have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lu Verne
      • Lu Verne is located in Kossuth County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 246 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lu Verne <3>
  • Story County
  • Wright County

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

Cemeteries Near Duncombe ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Duncombe.

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 Duncombe covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • St. Josephs Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Josephs Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Josephs Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Washington Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Washington Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Washington Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Washington Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Washington Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Washington Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Colfax Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Colfax Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Colfax Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Blanchard Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Blanchard Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Blanchard Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pleasant Valley Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Valley Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Valley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Border Plains Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Border Plains Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Border Plains Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Ober & Scott Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ober & Scott Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ober & Scott Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Otho Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Otho Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Otho Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hartman Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hartman Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hartman Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • West Lawn Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the West Lawn Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the West Lawn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • McGuire Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McGuire Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the McGuire Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (182 more) ...

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Duncombe had a population of 44 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Duncombe had a population of 386 people.

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

  • Brushy
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Flugstad ‑ Historic
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Flugstad have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flugstad
    • Flugstad is located in Webster County
  • Judd
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Judd have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Judd
    • Judd is located in Webster County
  • Evanston
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Border Plains
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Coalville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Kalo
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Homer
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Homer have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homer
    • Homer is located in Hamilton County
  • Otho
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Lehigh
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Vincent
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vincent have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vincent
    • Vincent is located in Webster County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 158 people
  • Webster City
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Webster City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster City
    • Webster City is located in Hamilton County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,647 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Webster City <3>
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Duncombe ...

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 153 newspapers that have been published in the area around Duncombe.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Duncombe. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Duncombe and those printed in the larger area surrounding Duncombe.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<6> of Duncombe.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Duncombe:

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

The official website for Webster County: www.webstercountyia.org/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>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.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>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.
<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 Duncombe, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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 from Point A (ie- Duncombe) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Duncombe. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.4704, Longitude: -93.9933    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025