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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 East Des Moines (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 East Des Moines. 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 East Des Moines ...

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.

For example, a typical abbreviation for East Des Moines: E. Des Moines

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 northeast 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 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.

East Des Moines is located in Polk 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 Polk County: Boone, Dallas, Jasper, Madison, Marion, Story & Warren.

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

  • Polk County     (The home county of East Des Moines)
    • The following are listed by their distance from East Des Moines, with the one closest to East Des Moines listed first.
    • Pleasant Hill
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Levey
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Levey is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Levey
    • Country Estate Village
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Rising Sun
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Rising Sun is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rising Sun
    • Des Moines
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Carlisle
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Adelphi
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Adelphi is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adelphi
    • Berwick
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Berwick is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berwick
    • Altoona
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Marquisville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Marquisville is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marquisville
    • Carney
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Carney is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carney
    • Norwalk
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Boone County
    • The following are listed by their distance from East Des Moines, with the one closest to East Des Moines listed first.
    • Madrid
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Luther
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Luther is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luther
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 133 people
  • Clarke County
    • Liberty
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Liberty is located in Clarke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
  • Dallas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from East Des Moines, with the one closest to East Des Moines listed first.
    • Booneville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Waukee
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Granger
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Van Meter
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • High Bridge
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • High Bridge is located in Dallas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Bridge
    • Dallas Center
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • DeSoto
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Adel
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Adel is located in Dallas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adel
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,607 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Adel <1>
    • Xenia
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Xenia is located in Dallas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Xenia
    • Minburn
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Minburn is located in Dallas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minburn
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 357 people
    • Woodward
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Panther
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Panther is located in Dallas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panther
  • Jasper County
    • The following are listed by their distance from East Des Moines, with the one closest to East Des Moines listed first.
    • Vandalia
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Vandalia is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vandalia
    • Oswalt
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Oswalt is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oswalt
    • Prairie City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Valeria
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Valeria is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valeria
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 58 people
    • Colfax
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Green Castle
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Green Castle is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Castle
    • Mingo
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Goddard
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Goddard is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goddard
    • Metz
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Metz is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Metz
    • Ira
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Ira is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ira
    • Monroe
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Clyde
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Clyde is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clyde
  • Madison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from East Des Moines, with the one closest to East Des Moines listed first.
    • Patterson
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Patterson is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patterson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 163 people
    • Saint Charles
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Winterset
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Truro
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Earlham
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • East Peru
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • East Peru is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Peru
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 133 people
  • Marion County
    • The following are listed by their distance from East Des Moines, with the one closest to East Des Moines listed first.
    • Swan
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Swan is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swan
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 74 people
    • Percy ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Percy is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Percy
    • Pleasantville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Cordova
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Cordova is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cordova
    • Otley
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Bauer
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Bauer is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bauer
    • Melcher - Dallas
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Melcher - Dallas is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melcher - Dallas
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,236 people
    • Knoxville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Newbern
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Newbern is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newbern
  • Story County
    • The following are listed by their distance from East Des Moines, with the one closest to East Des Moines listed first.
    • Cambridge
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Huxley
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Slater
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Maxwell
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Midvale
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Midvale is located in Story County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midvale
    • Iowa Center
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Iowa Center is located in Story County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iowa Center
    • Kelley
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Collins
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Collins is located in Story County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collins
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 472 people
    • Shipley
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Shipley is located in Story County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shipley
  • Warren County
    • The following are listed by their distance from East Des Moines, with the one closest to East Des Moines listed first.
    • Lakewood
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Lakewood is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakewood
    • Hartford
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Orillia
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Orillia is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orillia
    • Palmyra
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Palmyra is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmyra
    • Cumming
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Spring Hill
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Spring Hill is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 65 people
    • Ackworth
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Ackworth is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ackworth
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 105 people
    • Indianola
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Prole
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Prole is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prole
    • Churchville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Churchville is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Churchville
    • Sandyville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Sandyville is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandyville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 54 people
    • Martensdale
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near East Des Moines ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of East Des Moines.

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 East Des Moines - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Oakwood Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Laurel Hill Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Avon Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avon Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Avon Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southeast of Des Moines.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #94191 <2>
  • Oak Grove Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Sims Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Elm Grove Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Harvey Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Ft. Des Moines Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Rising Sun Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Oak Grove Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Stuart Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • St. Ambrose Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (302 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.<3>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, East Des Moines had railroad service and no post office.

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

  • Levey
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Levey is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Levey
  • Avon
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Avon is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avon
  • Hastie
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Hastie is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hastie
  • Rising Sun
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Rising Sun is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rising Sun
  • Des Moines
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Carlisle
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Saylor
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Saylor is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saylor
  • Adelphi
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Adelphi is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adelphi
  • Altoona
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Berwick
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Berwick is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berwick
  • Ivy
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Ivy is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivy
  • Norwalk
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Saylorville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Saylorville is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saylorville
    • Valley Junction
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Valley Junction is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Junction
    • Oralabor
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Oralabor is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oralabor

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

Newspapers Published in East Des Moines ...

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 261 newspapers that have been published in the area around East Des Moines.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of East Des Moines, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for East Des Moines.

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 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 East Des Moines:

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 East Des Moines, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- East Des Moines) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.