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 Foster (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 Foster. 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.
Foster is located in Monroe 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 Monroe County: Appanoose, Davis, Lucas, Mahaska, Marion, Wapello & Wayne.
Below are the counties that are near Foster. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Foster:
- Monroe County (The home county of Foster)
- The following are listed by their distance from Foster, with the one closest to Foster listed first.
- Selection
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Selection is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selection
- Albia
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Avery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Avery is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avery
- Georgetown
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Georgetown is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgetown
- Bluff Creek
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Bluff Creek is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff Creek
- Melrose
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Lovilia
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Appanoose County
- The following are listed by their distance from Foster, with the one closest to Foster listed first.
- Moravia
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Unionville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Udell
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Udell is located in Appanoose County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Udell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 44 people
- Darbyville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Darbyville is located in Appanoose County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darbyville
- Iconium
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Iconium is located in Appanoose County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iconium
- Rathbun
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Rathbun is located in Appanoose County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rathbun
- Population from the 2020 Census: 72 people
- Clarkdale
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Clarkdale is located in Appanoose County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarkdale
- Walnut City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Walnut City is located in Appanoose County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut City
- Centerville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Mystic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Mystic is located in Appanoose County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mystic
- Population from the 2020 Census: 410 people
- Orleans
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Orleans is located in Appanoose County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orleans
- Brazil
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Brazil is located in Appanoose County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brazil
- Davis County
- The following are listed by their distance from Foster, with the one closest to Foster listed first.
- Paris
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Paris is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paris
- Drakesville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- West Grove
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- West Grove is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Grove
- Carbon
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Carbon is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbon
- Bloomfield
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Floris
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Floris is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Floris
- Population from the 2020 Census: 143 people
- Mark
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Mark is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mark
- Steuben
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Steuben is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steuben
- Savannah
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Savannah is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savannah
- Chequest
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Chequest is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chequest
- Stiles
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Stiles is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stiles
- Pulaski
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Pulaski is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pulaski
- Population from the 2020 Census: 291 people
- Keokuk County
- Hedrick
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Hedrick is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hedrick
- Population from the 2020 Census: 743 people
- Lucas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Foster, with the one closest to Foster listed first.
- Zero
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Zero is located in Lucas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zero
- Olmitz
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Olmitz is located in Lucas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olmitz
- Russell
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Williamson
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Chariton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Mahaska County
- The following are listed by their distance from Foster, with the one closest to Foster listed first.
- Lakonta
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Lakonta is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakonta
- Givin
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Givin is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Givin
- Cedar
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Cedar is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar
- Beacon
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Beacon is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beacon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 488 people
- Wright
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Wright is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wright
- Evans
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Evans is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evans
- Oskaloosa
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- University Park
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- University Park is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 468 people
- Exeelsior
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Exeelsior is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exeelsior
- Fremont
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Fishville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Fishville is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fishville
- Olivet
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Olivet is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olivet
- Marion County
- The following are listed by their distance from Foster, with the one closest to Foster listed first.
- Hamilton
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Hamilton is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamilton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
- Bussey
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Bussey is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bussey
- Population from the 2020 Census: 406 people
- Marysville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Marysville is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marysville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 68 people
- Indiana
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Indiana is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indiana
- Tracy
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Tracy is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tracy
- Attica
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Attica is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Attica
- Columbia
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Columbia is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbia
- Pershing
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Pershing is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pershing
- Harvey
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Harvey is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvey
- Population from the 2020 Census: 243 people
- Wapello County
- The following are listed by their distance from Foster, with the one closest to Foster listed first.
- Blakesburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Bidwell
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Bidwell is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bidwell
- Dudley
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Dudley is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dudley
- Chillicothe
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Chillicothe is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chillicothe
- Population from the 2020 Census: 97 people
- Eddyville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Ottumwa
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Keb ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Keb is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keb
- Kirkville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Kirkville is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirkville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 177 people
- East Ottumwa
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- East Ottumwa is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Ottumwa
- Dahlonega
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Dahlonega is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dahlonega
- Cliffland
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Cliffland is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliffland
- Agency
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Wayne County
- The following are listed by their distance from Foster, with the one closest to Foster listed first.
- Confidence
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Confidence is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Confidence
- Promise City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Promise City is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Promise City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 110 people
- Seymour
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Genoa
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Genoa is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Genoa
- Millerton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Millerton is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 42 people
- Putnam County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Foster, with the one closest to Foster listed first.
- Pearl City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Pearl City is located in Putnam County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearl City
- Mendota
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Mendota is located in Putnam County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mendota
- Livonia
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Livonia is located in Putnam County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Livonia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 71 people
- Schuyler County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Foster, with the one closest to Foster listed first.
- Coatsville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Coatsville is located in Schuyler County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coatsville
- Glenwood
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Glenwood is located in Schuyler County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 201 people
- Lancaster
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Foster, see our County-by-County Page for Foster.
Cemeteries Near Foster ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Foster.
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 Foster - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Foster covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Foster, with the one closest to Foster listed first.
- Foster Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Arnold Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Hough Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Eslinger Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Hayes Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Caldwell Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Enix Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Hillcrest Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillcrest Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Hillcrest Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southwest of Moravia.
- The Hillcrest Cemetery has also been known as:
- Crist Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #181288 <2>
- Moravia Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Morans Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Sales Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Knapp Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (456 more) ...
- Trussell Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- McAllister Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Watson Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
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, Foster had a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Foster, with the one closest to Foster listed first.
- Brompton
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Brompton is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brompton
- Selection
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Selection is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selection
- Moravia
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Blakesburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Maine
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Maine is located in Appanoose County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maine
- Albia
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Maxon
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Maxon is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxon
- Unionville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Avery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Avery is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avery
- Iconium
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Iconium is located in Appanoose County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iconium
- Udell
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Udell is located in Appanoose County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Udell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 44 people
- Willard
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Willard is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willard
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Munterville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Munterville is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Munterville
- Tyrone
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Tyrone is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyrone
- Hagerty
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Hagerty is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hagerty
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Foster. See our List of 1890's Communities around Foster.
Newspapers Published in Foster ...
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 47 newspapers that have been published in the area around Foster.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Foster, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Foster.
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 either 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 Foster:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Monroe County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Appanoose County
- Davis County
- Keokuk County
- Lucas County
- Mahaska County
- Marion County
- Wapello County
- Wayne County
- Putnam County
- Schuyler 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 Foster, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Foster) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |