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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 Estates West (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 Estates West. 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 hospitals and doctors 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.

Estates West is located in Woodbury 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 Woodbury County: Cherokee, Ida, Monona, Plymouth, Dakota (NE), Thurston (NE) & Union (SD).

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

  • Woodbury County     (The home county of Estates West)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Estates West, with the one closest to Estates West listed first.
    • Sergeant Bluff
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Glen Ellen
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Glen Ellen is located in Woodbury County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Ellen
    • Regency of Sioux City
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Regency of Sioux City is located in Woodbury County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Regency of Sioux City
    • Sioux City
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Bronson
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Bronson is located in Woodbury County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bronson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 318 people
    • Holiday Village
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Holiday Village is located in Woodbury County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holiday Village
    • Salix
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Evergreen Village
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Evergreen Village is located in Woodbury County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen Village
    • Lawton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Lawton is located in Woodbury County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 979 people
    • Sloan
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Climbing Hill
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Climbing Hill is located in Woodbury County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Climbing Hill
    • Moville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Hornick
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Hornick is located in Woodbury County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hornick
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 210 people
  • Monona County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Estates West, with the one closest to Estates West listed first.
    • Albaton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Albaton is located in Monona County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albaton
    • Whiting
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Rodney
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Rodney is located in Monona County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodney
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 57 people
    • Onawa
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Plymouth County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Estates West, with the one closest to Estates West listed first.
    • James
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • James is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for James
    • Hinton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Millnerville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Millnerville is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millnerville
    • Merrill
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Adaville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Adaville is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adaville
    • Kingsley
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • O'Leary
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • O'Leary is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for O'Leary
    • Le Mars
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Westfield
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Brunsville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Brunsville is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brunsville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 152 people
    • Akron
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Akron is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Akron
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,454 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Akron <1>
  • Burt County (NE)
    • Decatur
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
  • Cuming County (NE)
    • Bancroft
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Dakota County (NE)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Estates West, with the one closest to Estates West listed first.
    • Dakota City
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • South Sioux City
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Homer
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Homer is located in Dakota County (NE)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homer
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 520 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Homer <1>
    • Jackson
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Hubbard
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Willis
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Willis is located in Dakota County (NE)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willis
    • Goodwin
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Goodwin is located in Dakota County (NE)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodwin
  • Dixon County (NE)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Estates West, with the one closest to Estates West listed first.
    • Waterbury
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Ponca
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Ponca is located in Dixon County (NE)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ponca
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 913 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ponca <1>
    • Emerson
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Allen
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Allen is located in Dixon County (NE)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allen
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 346 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Allen <1>
    • Martinsburg
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Martinsburg is located in Dixon County (NE)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martinsburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 87 people
    • Wakefield
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
  • Thurston County (NE)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Estates West, with the one closest to Estates West listed first.
    • Winnebago
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Walthill
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Macy
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Thurston
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Rosalie
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Rosalie is located in Thurston County (NE)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosalie
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 159 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rosalie <1>
    • Pender
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Pender is located in Thurston County (NE)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pender
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,100 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pender <1>
  • Union County (SD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Estates West, with the one closest to Estates West listed first.
    • Dakota Dunes
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • North Sioux City
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • McCook Lake
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • McCook Lake is located in Union County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCook Lake
    • Jefferson
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Elk Point
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Richland
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Richland is located in Union County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richland
      • Estimated population in 2014: 215 people

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

Cemeteries Near Estates West ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Estates West.

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 Estates West - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Woodbury Twp. Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Dakota City Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Memorial Park Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Graceland Park Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Liberty Twp. Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • St. Michaels Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Mt. Carmel Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Floyd Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Floyd Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • St. Josephs Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Floyd Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • War Eagle Grave
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (107 more) ...
    • Taylor Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • St. Cornelius Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Walnut Grove Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)

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 Estates West in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Estates West.

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

  • Sergeant Bluff
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Glen Ellen
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Glen Ellen is located in Woodbury County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Ellen
  • Dakota City
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • South Sioux City
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Covington ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Covington is located in Dakota County (NE)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Covington
  • Sioux City
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Salix
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Homer
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Homer is located in Dakota County (NE)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homer
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 520 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Homer <1>
  • Luton
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Luton is located in Woodbury County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luton
  • Leeds
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Leeds is located in Woodbury County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leeds
  • Jackson
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Hubbard
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Winnebago
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • James
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • James is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for James
    • Sloan
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Estates West ...

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 147 newspapers that have been published in the area around Estates West.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Estates West, 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 Estates West.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with 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 Estates West:

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 Estates West, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Estates West) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.