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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 Gifford (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 Gifford. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors 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.

Gifford is located in Hardin 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 Hardin County: Butler, Franklin, Grundy, Hamilton, Marshall, Story & Wright.

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

  • Hardin County     (The home county of Gifford)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gifford, with the one closest to Gifford listed first.
    • Union
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Union is located in Hardin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 373 people
    • Eldora
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Whitten
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • New Providence
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Steamboat Rock
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Hubbard
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Owasa
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Cleves
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Eagle City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Eagle City is located in Hardin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle City
    • Abbott
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Robertson
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Garden City
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Garden City is located in Hardin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
    • Sherman
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Sherman is located in Hardin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherman
  • Butler County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gifford, with the one closest to Gifford listed first.
    • Austinville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Austinville is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Austinville
    • Aplington
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Sinclair
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Parkersburg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Kesley
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • New Hartford
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Franklin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gifford, with the one closest to Gifford listed first.
    • Faulkner
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Bradford
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Bradford is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradford
    • Geneva
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Oakland
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Reeve
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Popejoy
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Popejoy is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Popejoy
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 74 people
  • Grundy County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gifford, with the one closest to Gifford listed first.
    • Conrad
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Wellsburg
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Beaman
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Beaman is located in Grundy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaman
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 183 people
    • Grundy Center
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Holland
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Buck Grove
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Buck Grove is located in Grundy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buck Grove
    • Morrison
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Fern
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Reinbeck
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Stout
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Dike
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Fredsville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Hamilton County
  • Marshall County
  • Story County
  • Tama County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gifford, with the one closest to Gifford listed first.
    • Gladbrook
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Lincoln
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Lincoln is located in Tama County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 148 people
    • Garwin
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Garwin is located in Tama County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garwin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 490 people
    • Dinsdale
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Montour
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Gifford ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Gifford.

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

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

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

  • Sheppard Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Xenia Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Francisco Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Hadley Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Hauser Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • New Providence Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Union Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Whitney Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • East Lawn Memorial Garden
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Honey Creek Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Chester Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Miller Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (235 more) ...
    • Bunch Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Eldora Training School Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Buckner Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 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.<2>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Gifford had a population of 99 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Secor ‑ Historic
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Secor is located in Hardin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Secor
  • Union
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Union is located in Hardin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 373 people
  • Whitten
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Eldora
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Lawn Hill
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Lawn Hill is located in Hardin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawn Hill
  • New Providence
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Bangor
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Liscomb
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Hughs
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Hughs is located in Hardin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hughs
  • Steamboat Rock
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Hubbard
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Bromley
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Bromley is located in Marshall County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bromley
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Minerva
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Minerva is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minerva
    • Owasa
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Saint Anthony
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Saint Anthony is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Anthony
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 101 people

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

Newspapers Published in Gifford ...

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 138 newspapers that have been published in the area around Gifford.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Gifford, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Gifford.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with 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 Gifford:

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