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 Harper (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 Harper. 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.
Harper is located in Keokuk 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 Keokuk County: Iowa, Jefferson, Mahaska, Poweshiek, Wapello & Washington.
Below are the counties that are near Harper. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Harper:
- Keokuk County (The home county of Harper)
- The following are listed by their distance from Harper, with the one closest to Harper listed first.
- Keota
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- South English
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- South English is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South English
- Population from the 2020 Census: 211 people
- Talleyrand
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Talleyrand is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talleyrand
- Kinross
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Kinross is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinross
- Population from the 2020 Census: 71 people
- Webster
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Webster is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
- Population from the 2020 Census: 71 people
- Sigourney
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Keswick
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Ollie
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Ollie is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ollie
- Population from the 2020 Census: 207 people
- Richland
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Hayesville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Hayesville is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayesville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 48 people
- Aurora
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Aurora is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurora
- Nugent
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Nugent is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nugent
- Delta
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Delta is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delta
- Population from the 2020 Census: 313 people
- Henry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harper, with the one closest to Harper listed first.
- Wayland
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Olds
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Olds is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olds
- Population from the 2020 Census: 222 people
- Iowa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harper, with the one closest to Harper listed first.
- North English
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Ambrose
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Ambrose is located in Iowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ambrose
- Millersburg
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Millersburg is located in Iowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millersburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 139 people
- Parnell
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Williamsburg
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Conroy
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Conroy is located in Iowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conroy
- Ladora
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- South Amana
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Marengo
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Middle Amana
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- West Amana
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- West Amana is located in Iowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Amana
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harper, with the one closest to Harper listed first.
- Pekin
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Pekin is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pekin
- Linby
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Linby is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linby
- Packwood
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Packwood is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Packwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 225 people
- Pleasant Plain
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Pleasant Plain is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Plain
- Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
- Abingdon
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Abingdon is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abingdon
- Perlee
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Perlee is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perlee
- Maharishi Vedic City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Maharishi Vedic City is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maharishi Vedic City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,288 people
- Fairfield
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Batavia
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Libertyville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Libertyville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Libertyville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 341 people
- Lockridge
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Johnson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harper, with the one closest to Harper listed first.
- Amish
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Amish is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amish
- Frytown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Frytown is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frytown
- Williamstown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Williamstown is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamstown
- Windham
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Windham is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windham
- Cosgrove
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Cosgrove is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cosgrove
- Oxford
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Hills
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- River Junction
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- River Junction is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Junction
- Tiffin
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Louisa County
- Cotter
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Cotter is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotter
- Population from the 2020 Census: 42 people
- Mahaska County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harper, with the one closest to Harper listed first.
- Indianapolis
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Indianapolis is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indianapolis
- Rose Hill
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Rose Hill is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 161 people
- Fremont
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Barnes City
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Exeelsior
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Exeelsior is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exeelsior
- Keomah Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Keomah Village is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keomah Village
- Population from the 2020 Census: 99 people
- Wright
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Wright is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wright
- Cedar
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Cedar is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar
- Union Mills
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Union Mills is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Mills
- University Park
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- University Park is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 468 people
- Lacey
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Lacey is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacey
- Poweshiek County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harper, with the one closest to Harper listed first.
- Tilton
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Tilton is located in Poweshiek County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tilton
- Deep River
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Deep River is located in Poweshiek County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deep River
- Population from the 2020 Census: 268 people
- Guernsey
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Montezuma
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Victor
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Wapello County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harper, with the one closest to Harper listed first.
- Competine
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Competine is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Competine
- Highland Center
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Highland Center is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Center
- Dahlonega
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Dahlonega is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dahlonega
- Agency
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Keb ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Keb is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keb
- Kirkville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Kirkville is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirkville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 177 people
- East Ottumwa
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- East Ottumwa is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Ottumwa
- Cliffland
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Cliffland is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliffland
- Ottumwa
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harper, with the one closest to Harper listed first.
- Nira
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Nira is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nira
- Rubio
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Rubio is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rubio
- West Chester
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- West Chester is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Chester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 147 people
- Wellman
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Brighton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Washington
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Kalona
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Coppock
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Coppock is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coppock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 48 people
- Havre
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Havre is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Havre
- Riverside
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Ainsworth
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Crawfordsville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Harper, see our County-by-County Page for Harper.
Cemeteries Near Harper ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Harper.
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 Harper - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Harper covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Harper, with the one closest to Harper listed first.
- St. Elizabeths Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Baden Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Bethel Methodist Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Old Bethel Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Lafayette Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Lafayette Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Center Ridge Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Stoermer Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- St.s Peter & Paul Catholic Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Keota Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Pleasant Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (393 more) ...
- Walton Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Garibaldi Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- County Home Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
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 Harper had a population of 253 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Harper had a population of 107 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Harper, with the one closest to Harper listed first.
- Keota
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Creswell
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Creswell is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creswell
- South English
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- South English is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South English
- Population from the 2020 Census: 211 people
- Talleyrand
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Talleyrand is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talleyrand
- Kinross
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Kinross is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinross
- Population from the 2020 Census: 71 people
- Sigourney
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Nira
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Nira is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nira
- Webster
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Webster is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
- Population from the 2020 Census: 71 people
- North English
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Ollie
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Ollie is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ollie
- Population from the 2020 Census: 207 people
- Keswick
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Hayesville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Hayesville is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayesville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 48 people
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Richland
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- West Chester
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- West Chester is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Chester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 147 people
- Lexington
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Lexington is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lexington
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Harper. See our List of 1890's Communities around Harper.
Newspapers Published in Harper ...
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 34 newspapers that have been published in the area around Harper.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Harper, 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 Harper.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we start with 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 Harper:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Keokuk County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Henry County
- Iowa County
- Jefferson County
- Johnson County
- Louisa County
- Mahaska County
- Poweshiek County
- Wapello 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> | 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 Harper, 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- Harper) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |