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 Hard Scratch (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 Hard Scratch. 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 doctors 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.
Hard Scratch is located in Harrison 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 Harrison County: Crawford, Monona, Pottawattamie, Shelby, Burt (NE) & Washington (NE).
Below are the counties that are near Hard Scratch. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Hard Scratch:
- Harrison County (The home county of Hard Scratch)
- The following are listed by their distance from Hard Scratch, with the one closest to Hard Scratch listed first.
- Logan
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Persia
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Persia is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Persia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 281 people
- Woodbine
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Magnolia
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Magnolia is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 170 people
- Yorkshire
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Yorkshire is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorkshire
- Missouri Valley
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- California Junction
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- California Junction is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for California Junction
- Modale
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Dunlap
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Mondamin
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Orson
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Orson is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orson
- Pisgah
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Crawford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hard Scratch, with the one closest to Hard Scratch listed first.
- Dow City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Arion
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Arion is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arion
- Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
- Bell
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Bell is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell
- Buck Grove
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Buck Grove is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buck Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 43 people
- Kenwood
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Kenwood is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenwood
- Astor
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Astor is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Astor
- Monona County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hard Scratch, with the one closest to Hard Scratch listed first.
- Moorhead
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Soldier
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Blencoe
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Blencoe is located in Monona County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blencoe
- Population from the 2020 Census: 196 people
- Ute
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Pottawattamie County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hard Scratch, with the one closest to Hard Scratch listed first.
- Pigeon
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Pigeon is located in Pottawattamie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pigeon
- Neola
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Loveland
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Loveland is located in Pottawattamie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loveland
- Minden
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Honey Creek
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Honey Creek is located in Pottawattamie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honey Creek
- Underwood
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Weston
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Weston is located in Pottawattamie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weston
- Crescent
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- McClelland
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Harlan Junction ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Harlan Junction is located in Pottawattamie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlan Junction
- Avoca
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Avoca is located in Pottawattamie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avoca
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,537 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Avoca <1>
- Chautauqua
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Chautauqua is located in Pottawattamie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chautauqua
- Shelby County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hard Scratch, with the one closest to Hard Scratch listed first.
- Portsmouth
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Tennant
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Tennant is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tennant
- Population from the 2020 Census: 63 people
- Panama
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Shelby
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Earling
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Earling is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Earling
- Population from the 2020 Census: 403 people
- Westphalia
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Westphalia is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westphalia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 117 people
- Corley
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Corley is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corley
- Harlan
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Kirkman
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Kirkman is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirkman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 61 people
- Defiance
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Defiance is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Defiance
- Population from the 2020 Census: 260 people
- Irwin
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Burt County (NE)
- Tekamah
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Douglas County (NE)
- The following are listed by their distance from Hard Scratch, with the one closest to Hard Scratch listed first.
- Briggs
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Briggs is located in Douglas County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briggs
- Home Park
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Home Park is located in Douglas County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Home Park
- Irvington
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Irvington is located in Douglas County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irvington
- Bennington
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Omaha
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Omaha is located in Douglas County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Omaha
- Population from the 2020 Census: 478,393 people
- Omaha has also been known as:
- Omaha City
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Omaha <1>
- Washington County (NE)
- The following are listed by their distance from Hard Scratch, with the one closest to Hard Scratch listed first.
- De Soto ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- De Soto is located in Washington County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Soto
- De Soto has also been known as:
- DeSoto
- Fort Calhoun
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Blair
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Blair is located in Washington County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blair
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,948 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Blair <1>
- Herman
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Kennard
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Washington
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Hard Scratch, see our County-by-County Page for Hard Scratch.
Cemeteries Near Hard Scratch ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Hard Scratch.
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 Hard Scratch - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Hard Scratch covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Hard Scratch, with the one closest to Hard Scratch listed first.
- Bethel Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Bethel Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 4 miles [6.4 km]<2> to the east of Logan.
- The Bethel Cemetery has also been known as:
- Bethel - Knauss Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #94244 <3>
- Henderson Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- McGavern Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Harris Grove Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Hawkins Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Linwood Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Valley View Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Logan Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Greenwood Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Ellison Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Greenwood Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Cox Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (171 more) ...
- Mefferd Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Cowan - Pardee Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Silver Hill Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
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.<4>
While we didn't find Hard Scratch in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Hard Scratch.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Hard Scratch, with the one closest to Hard Scratch listed first.
- Logan
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Beebeetown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Beebeetown is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beebeetown
- Union Burg ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Union Burg is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Burg
- Persia
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Persia is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Persia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 281 people
- Woodbine
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Missouri Valley
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Yorkshire
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Yorkshire is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorkshire
- Magnolia
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Magnolia is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 170 people
- Portsmouth
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Pigeon
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Pigeon is located in Pottawattamie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pigeon
- Loveland
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Loveland is located in Pottawattamie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loveland
- Neola
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Minden
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Honey Creek
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Honey Creek is located in Pottawattamie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honey Creek
- Panama
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Hard Scratch. See our List of 1890's Communities around Hard Scratch.
Newspapers Published in Hard Scratch ...
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 323 newspapers that have been published in the area around Hard Scratch.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Hard Scratch, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Hard Scratch.
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 professional and volunteer 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 Hard Scratch:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Harrison County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Crawford County
- Monona County
- Pottawattamie County
- Shelby County
- Burt County
- Douglas County
- Washington 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> | 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- Hard Scratch) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 Hard Scratch, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |