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 Garner (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 Garner. 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 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 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.
Garner is located in Hancock County and is the County Seat.
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 Hancock County: Cerro Gordo, Franklin, Humboldt, Kossuth, Winnebago, Worth & Wright.
Below are the counties that are near Garner. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Garner:
- Hancock County (The home county of Garner)
- The following are listed by their distance from Garner, with the one closest to Garner listed first.
- Duncan
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Duncan is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duncan
- Klemme
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Britt
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Crystal Lake
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Crystal Lake is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 228 people
- Goodell
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Goodell is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 126 people
- Kanawha
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Hutchins
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Hutchins is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hutchins
- Woden
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Corwith
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Corwith is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corwith
- Population from the 2020 Census: 245 people
- Cerro Gordo County
- The following are listed by their distance from Garner, with the one closest to Garner listed first.
- Ventura
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Clear Lake
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Meservey
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Meservey is located in Cerro Gordo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meservey
- Population from the 2020 Census: 237 people
- Thornton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Thornton is located in Cerro Gordo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thornton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 401 people
- Burchinal
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Burchinal is located in Cerro Gordo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burchinal
- Creamery
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Creamery is located in Cerro Gordo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creamery
- Swaledale
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Swaledale is located in Cerro Gordo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swaledale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 157 people
- Cameron
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Cameron is located in Cerro Gordo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cameron
- Mason City Junction
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Mason City Junction is located in Cerro Gordo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason City Junction
- Mason City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Rockwell
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Portland
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Portland is located in Cerro Gordo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portland
- Plymouth Junction
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Plymouth Junction is located in Cerro Gordo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plymouth Junction
- Floyd County
- Nora Springs
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Garner, with the one closest to Garner listed first.
- Alexander
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Alexander is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexander
- Population from the 2020 Census: 159 people
- Sheffield
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Sheffield is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheffield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,096 people
- Chapin
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Chapin is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapin
- Latimer
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Coulter
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Coulter is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coulter
- Population from the 2020 Census: 261 people
- Humboldt County
- The following are listed by their distance from Garner, with the one closest to Garner listed first.
- Renwick
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Hardy
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Hardy is located in Humboldt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hardy
- Population from the 2020 Census: 41 people
- Kossuth County
- The following are listed by their distance from Garner, with the one closest to Garner listed first.
- Wesley
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Wesley is located in Kossuth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wesley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 364 people
- German Valley
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- German Valley is located in Kossuth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for German Valley
- Titonka
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Titonka is located in Kossuth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Titonka
- Population from the 2020 Census: 433 people
- Sexton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Sexton is located in Kossuth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sexton
- Lu Verne
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Irvington
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Irvington is located in Kossuth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irvington
- Winnebago County
- The following are listed by their distance from Garner, with the one closest to Garner listed first.
- Forest City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Leland
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Leland is located in Winnebago County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 268 people
- Thompson
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Lake Mills
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Scarville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Vinje
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Vinje is located in Winnebago County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vinje
- Buffalo Center
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Rake
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Rake is located in Winnebago County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
- Worth County
- The following are listed by their distance from Garner, with the one closest to Garner listed first.
- Fertile
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Hanlontown
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hanlontown is located in Worth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanlontown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
- Joice
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Joice is located in Worth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joice
- Population from the 2020 Census: 209 people
- Bristol
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Bristol is located in Worth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bristol
- Manly
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Kensett
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Kensett is located in Worth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kensett
- Population from the 2020 Census: 249 people
- Silver Lake
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Silver Lake is located in Worth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Lake
- Bolan
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Bolan is located in Worth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolan
- Northwood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Wright County
- The following are listed by their distance from Garner, with the one closest to Garner listed first.
- Olaf
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Olaf is located in Wright County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olaf
- Belmond
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Cornelia
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Cornelia is located in Wright County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornelia
- Rowan
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Solberg ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Solberg is located in Wright County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Solberg
- Clarion
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Holmes
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Holmes is located in Wright County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holmes
- Galt
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Goldfield
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Faribault County (MN)
- Kiester
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Freeborn County (MN)
- Emmons
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Emmons is located in Freeborn County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmons
- Population from the 2020 Census: 380 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Garner, see our County-by-County Page for Garner.
Cemeteries Near Garner ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Garner.
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 Garner - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Garner covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Garner, with the one closest to Garner listed first.
- Concord Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- St. Boniface Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Liberty Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- St. John Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Calvary Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Clear Lake Twp. Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Ellington Prairie Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Ellington Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- St. Patricks Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Forest Lawn Memorial Garden
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Evergreen Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Evergreen Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the northeast of Britt.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #94704 <2>
- Continue List (163 more) ...
- National Hobo Memorial
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Madison Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Madison Twp. Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 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 Garner had a population of 679 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Garner had a population of 3,031 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Garner, with the one closest to Garner listed first.
- Miller
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Miller is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miller
- Klemme
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Hayfield
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Hayfield is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayfield
- Britt
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Clear Lake
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Forest City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Goodell
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Goodell is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 126 people
- Crystal Lake
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Crystal Lake is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 228 people
- Stilson
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Stilson is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stilson
- Fertile
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Hutchins
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Hutchins is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hutchins
- Thornton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Thornton is located in Cerro Gordo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thornton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 401 people
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Olaf
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Olaf is located in Wright County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olaf
- Swaledale
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Swaledale is located in Cerro Gordo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swaledale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 157 people
- Burchinal
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Burchinal is located in Cerro Gordo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burchinal
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Garner. See our List of 1890's Communities around Garner.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Garner ...
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 101 newspapers that have been published in the area around Garner.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Garner. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Garner and those printed in the larger area surrounding Garner.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4> of Garner.
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 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 Garner:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Hancock County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cerro Gordo County
- Floyd County
- Franklin County
- Humboldt County
- Kossuth County
- Winnebago County
- Worth County
- Wright County
- Faribault County
- Freeborn 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 Garner, 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- Garner) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |