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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 Germantown (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 Germantown. 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 Germantown ...

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.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.

Another variation: German Town.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Germantown. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Germantown.

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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Germantown is located in O'Brien 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 O'Brien County: Buena Vista, Cherokee, Clay, Dickinson, Lyon, Osceola, Plymouth & Sioux.

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

  • O'Brien County     (The home county of Germantown)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Germantown, with the one closest to Germantown listed first.
    • Paullina
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Paullina is located in O'Brien County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paullina
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 965 people
    • Calumet
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Calumet is located in O'Brien County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calumet
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 155 people
    • Archer
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Primghar
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Sutherland
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Sheldon
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Sanborn
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Hartley
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Moneta
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Moneta is located in O'Brien County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moneta
  • Buena Vista County
  • Cherokee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Germantown, with the one closest to Germantown listed first.
    • Marcus
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Cleghorn
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Cleghorn is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleghorn
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 214 people
    • Larrabee
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Meriden
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Mary Hill
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Cherokee
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Fielding
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Quimby
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Aurelia
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Washta
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
  • Clay County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Germantown, with the one closest to Germantown listed first.
    • Peterson
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Royal
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Everly
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Everly is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Everly
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 541 people
    • Rossie
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Rossie is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rossie
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
  • Lyon County
    • George
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Osceola County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Germantown, with the one closest to Germantown listed first.
    • Ashton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Melvin
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Melvin is located in Osceola County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melvin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 197 people
    • Cloverdale
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • May City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Sibley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Plymouth County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Germantown, with the one closest to Germantown listed first.
    • Remsen
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Oyens
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Oyens is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oyens
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 102 people
    • Struble
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Struble is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Struble
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 77 people
    • Le Mars
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • O'Leary
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Brunsville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Brunsville is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brunsville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 152 people
    • Kingsley
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Craig
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Craig is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craig
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 91 people
    • Merrill
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Sioux County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Germantown, with the one closest to Germantown listed first.
    • Granville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Granville is located in Sioux County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 303 people
    • Hospers
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Alton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Orange City
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Middleburg
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Boyden
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Maurice
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Maurice is located in Sioux County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maurice
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 270 people
    • Matlock
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Sioux Center
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Westbrook Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Westbrook Village is located in Sioux County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westbrook Village
    • Hull
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Hull is located in Sioux County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hull
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,296 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hull <1>
    • Perkins
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Ireton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
  • Woodbury County
    • Pierson
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Pierson is located in Woodbury County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pierson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 349 people

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

Cemeteries Near Germantown ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Germantown.

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 Germantown - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • St. John Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Prairie View Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • West Prairie View Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • St. Josephs Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Friends Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Floyd Twp. Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Holy Name Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Marcus - Amherst Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Liberty Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Hospers Memorial Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Liberty Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • St. Anthonys Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (127 more) ...
    • Hospers Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • St. Anthonys Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Pleasant Hill Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 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.<2>

While we didn't find Germantown in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Germantown.

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

  • Paullina
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Paullina is located in O'Brien County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paullina
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 965 people
  • Granville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Granville is located in Sioux County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granville
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 303 people
  • Marcus
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Cleghorn
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Cleghorn is located in Cherokee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleghorn
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 214 people
  • Hospers
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Calumet
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Calumet is located in O'Brien County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calumet
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 155 people
  • Gaza
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Gaza is located in O'Brien County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gaza
  • Archer
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Alton
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Primghar
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Newkirk
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Newkirk is located in Sioux County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newkirk
  • Remsen
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in Germantown ...

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 125 newspapers that have been published in the area around Germantown.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Germantown, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Germantown.

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 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 Germantown:

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>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 Germantown, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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- Germantown) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.