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 Ellmaker (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 Ellmaker. 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 northeast 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 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.
Ellmaker is located in Jefferson 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 Jefferson County: Davis, Henry, Keokuk, Van Buren, Wapello & Washington.
Below are the counties that are near Ellmaker. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Ellmaker:
- Jefferson County (The home county of Ellmaker)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ellmaker, with the one closest to Ellmaker listed first.
- Libertyville
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Libertyville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Libertyville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 341 people
- Batavia
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Fairfield
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Maharishi Vedic City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Maharishi Vedic City is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maharishi Vedic City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,288 people
- Abingdon
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Abingdon is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abingdon
- Packwood
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Packwood is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Packwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 225 people
- Linby
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Linby is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linby
- Perlee
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Perlee is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perlee
- Pekin
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Pekin is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pekin
- Glasgow
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Glasgow is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glasgow
- Pleasant Plain
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant Plain is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Plain
- Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
- Lockridge
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Davis County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ellmaker, with the one closest to Ellmaker listed first.
- Chequest
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Chequest is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chequest
- Floris
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Floris is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Floris
- Population from the 2020 Census: 143 people
- Carbon
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Carbon is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbon
- Pulaski
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Pulaski is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pulaski
- Population from the 2020 Census: 291 people
- Bloomfield
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Steuben
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Steuben is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steuben
- Drakesville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Stiles
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Stiles is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stiles
- Paris
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Paris is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paris
- Savannah
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Savannah is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savannah
- West Grove
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- West Grove is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Grove
- Henry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ellmaker, with the one closest to Ellmaker listed first.
- Rome
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Rome is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rome
- Population from the 2020 Census: 117 people
- Hillsboro
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Hillsboro is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsboro
- Population from the 2020 Census: 173 people
- Westwood
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Westwood is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
- Oakland Mills
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Oakland Mills is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland Mills
- Salem
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Wayland
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Pleasant
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Swedesburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Swedesburg is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swedesburg
- Olds
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Olds is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olds
- Population from the 2020 Census: 222 people
- Keokuk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ellmaker, with the one closest to Ellmaker listed first.
- Ollie
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Ollie is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ollie
- Population from the 2020 Census: 207 people
- Richland
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Martinsburg
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Martinsburg is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martinsburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
- Nugent
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Nugent is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nugent
- Hedrick
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Hedrick is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hedrick
- Population from the 2020 Census: 743 people
- Hayesville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Hayesville is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayesville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 48 people
- Talleyrand
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Talleyrand is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talleyrand
- Sigourney
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Harper
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Harper is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harper
- Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
- Keota
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Delta
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Delta is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delta
- Population from the 2020 Census: 313 people
- Lee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ellmaker, with the one closest to Ellmaker listed first.
- Big Mound
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Big Mound is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Mound
- Russellville ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Russellville is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russellville
- Russellville has also been known as:
- Doantown
- White Lane ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- White Lane is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Lane
- Houghton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Houghton is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houghton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
- Mount Hamill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Hamill is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hamill
- Former names for Mount Hamill:
- Courtwright
- Hamill
- Primrose
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Primrose is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Primrose
- Mahaska County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ellmaker, with the one closest to Ellmaker listed first.
- Fremont
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Cedar
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Cedar is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar
- Exeelsior
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Exeelsior is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exeelsior
- Wright
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Wright is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wright
- Van Buren County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ellmaker, with the one closest to Ellmaker listed first.
- Selma
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Selma is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selma
- Douds
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Douds is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douds
- Leando
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Leando is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leando
- Birmingham
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Birmingham is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birmingham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 423 people
- Winchester
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Winchester is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winchester
- Kilbourn
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Kilbourn is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kilbourn
- Mount Zion
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Zion is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
- Stockport
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Keosauqua
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Milton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Cantril
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Bonaparte
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Sterling
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Wapello County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ellmaker, with the one closest to Ellmaker listed first.
- Eldon
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Agency
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Competine
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Competine is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Competine
- Cliffland
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Cliffland is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliffland
- East Ottumwa
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- East Ottumwa is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Ottumwa
- Dahlonega
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Dahlonega is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dahlonega
- Highland Center
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Highland Center is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Center
- Ottumwa
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Keb ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Keb is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keb
- Bidwell
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Bidwell is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bidwell
- Kirkville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Kirkville is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirkville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 177 people
- Chillicothe
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Chillicothe is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chillicothe
- Population from the 2020 Census: 97 people
- Dudley
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Dudley is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dudley
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ellmaker, with the one closest to Ellmaker listed first.
- Rubio
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Rubio is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rubio
- Brighton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Coppock
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Coppock is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coppock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 48 people
- West Chester
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- West Chester is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Chester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 147 people
- Washington
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Clark County (MO)
- Acasto
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Acasto is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acasto
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Ellmaker, see our County-by-County Page for Ellmaker.
Cemeteries Near Ellmaker ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ellmaker.
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 Ellmaker - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Ellmaker covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Ellmaker, with the one closest to Ellmaker listed first.
- McCleary Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Fell Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Smith Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Gregg Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Brethren Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brethren Cemetery
- The Brethren Cemetery has also been known as:
- Dunkard Cemetery
- Cedar Hill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Long Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Gonferman Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- County Poor Farm Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Coon Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Batavia City Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Gantz Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Continue List (511 more) ...
- Winsell Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Steele Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steele Cemetery
- The Steele Cemetery has also been known as:
- Covenantor Cemetery
- Convenantor - Cumberland - Steele Cemetery
- Steele Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2129732 <2>
- Memorial Lawn Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
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>
While we didn't find Ellmaker in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Ellmaker.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Ellmaker, with the one closest to Ellmaker listed first.
- Libertyville
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Libertyville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Libertyville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 341 people
- Batavia
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Brookville
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Brookville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookville
- Fairfield
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Selma
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Selma is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selma
- Collett
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Collett is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collett
- Eldon
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Abingdon
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Abingdon is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abingdon
- Leando
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Leando is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leando
- Birmingham
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Birmingham is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birmingham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 423 people
- Bladensburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Bladensburg is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bladensburg
- Beckwith
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Beckwith is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beckwith
- Continue List (19 more) ...
- Packwood
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Packwood is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Packwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 225 people
- Agency
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Winchester
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Winchester is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winchester
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Ellmaker. See our List of 1890's Communities around Ellmaker.
Newspapers Published in Ellmaker ...
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 52 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ellmaker.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ellmaker, 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 Ellmaker.
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 helpful 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 Ellmaker:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Jefferson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Davis County
- Henry County
- Keokuk County
- Lee County
- Mahaska County
- Van Buren County
- Wapello County
- Washington County
- Clark County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Iowa
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 Ellmaker, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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- Ellmaker) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |