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 Hillsboro (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 Hillsboro. 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 and hospitals 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.
Hillsboro is located in Henry 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 Henry County: Des Moines, Jefferson, Lee, Louisa, Van Buren & Washington.
Below are the counties that are near Hillsboro. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Hillsboro:
- Henry County (The home county of Hillsboro)
- The following are listed by their distance from Hillsboro, with the one closest to Hillsboro listed first.
- Salem
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Oakland Mills
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Oakland Mills is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland Mills
- Westwood
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Westwood is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
- Rome
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Rome is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rome
- Population from the 2020 Census: 117 people
- Mount Pleasant
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Lowell
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Lowell is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowell
- New London
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Swedesburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Swedesburg is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swedesburg
- Wayland
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Olds
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Olds is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olds
- Population from the 2020 Census: 222 people
- Mount Union
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Union is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Union
- Estimated population in 2017: 107 people
- Winfield
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Davis County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hillsboro, with the one closest to Hillsboro listed first.
- Chequest
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Chequest is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chequest
- Pulaski
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Pulaski is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pulaski
- Population from the 2020 Census: 291 people
- Des Moines County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hillsboro, with the one closest to Hillsboro listed first.
- Danville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Danville is located in Des Moines County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 896 people
- Middletown
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Middletown is located in Des Moines County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middletown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 335 people
- Yarmouth
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Kline
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Kline is located in Des Moines County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kline
- Dodgeville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Dodgeville is located in Des Moines County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodgeville
- West Burlington
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Patterson
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Patterson is located in Des Moines County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patterson
- Sperry
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Sperry is located in Des Moines County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sperry
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hillsboro, with the one closest to Hillsboro listed first.
- Glasgow
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Glasgow is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glasgow
- Lockridge
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Fairfield
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Libertyville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Libertyville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Libertyville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 341 people
- Perlee
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Perlee is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perlee
- Maharishi Vedic City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- 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
- Pleasant Plain
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Pleasant Plain is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Plain
- Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
- Batavia
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Abingdon
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Abingdon is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abingdon
- Packwood
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Packwood is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Packwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 225 people
- Keokuk County
- Richland
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Lee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hillsboro, with the one closest to Hillsboro listed first.
- Big Mound
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Big Mound is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Mound
- Russellville ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Russellville is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russellville
- Russellville has also been known as:
- Doantown
- White Lane ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- White Lane is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Lane
- Houghton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Houghton is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houghton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
- Mount Hamill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Hamill is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hamill
- Former names for Mount Hamill:
- Courtwright
- Hamill
- Pilot Grove
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Pilot Grove is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilot Grove
- Primrose
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Primrose is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Primrose
- Saint Paul
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Saint Paul is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Paul
- Population from the 2020 Census: 123 people
- Donnellson
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Franklin
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Franklin is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 132 people
- West Point
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Croton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Croton is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Croton
- Charleston
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Charleston is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charleston
- Louisa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hillsboro, with the one closest to Hillsboro listed first.
- Wyman
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Wyman is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyman
- Morning Sun
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Van Buren County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hillsboro, with the one closest to Hillsboro listed first.
- Stockport
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Winchester
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Winchester is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winchester
- Bonaparte
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Birmingham
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Birmingham is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birmingham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 423 people
- Mount Zion
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Mount Zion is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
- Farmington
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Kilbourn
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Kilbourn is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kilbourn
- Keosauqua
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Sterling
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Douds
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Douds is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douds
- Leando
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Leando is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leando
- Cantril
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Selma
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Selma is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selma
- Wapello County
- Eldon
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hillsboro, with the one closest to Hillsboro listed first.
- Coppock
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Coppock is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coppock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 48 people
- Brighton
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Crawfordsville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Rubio
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Rubio is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rubio
- Havre
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Havre is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Havre
- Hancock County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Hillsboro, with the one closest to Hillsboro listed first.
- Nauvoo
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Niota
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Pontoosuc
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Pontoosuc is located in Hancock County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pontoosuc
- Population from the 2020 Census: 132 people
- Clark County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Hillsboro, with the one closest to Hillsboro listed first.
- Acasto
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Acasto is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acasto
- Athens
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Athens is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athens
- Anson
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Anson is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anson
- Chambersburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Chambersburg is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chambersburg
- Dumas
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Dumas is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dumas
- Peaksville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Peaksville is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaksville
- Revere
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Saint Francisville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Saint Francisville is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Francisville
- Clark City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Clark City is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clark City
- Kahoka
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Luray
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Luray is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luray
- Population from the 2020 Census: 94 people
- Medill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Medill is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medill
- Scotland County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Hillsboro, with the one closest to Hillsboro listed first.
- Granger
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Granger is located in Scotland County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granger
- Population from the 2020 Census: 34 people
- Arbela
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Hillsboro, see our County-by-County Page for Hillsboro.
Cemeteries Near Hillsboro ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Hillsboro.
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 Hillsboro - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Hillsboro covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Hillsboro, with the one closest to Hillsboro listed first.
- Hillsboro Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Bayles Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Hickory Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Hickory Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Stone - Tree Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Cottonwood Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- South Salem Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Vale Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Farnum Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Wallingford Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Lambirth Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- East Salem Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Continue List (530 more) ...
- Cedar Creek Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Cedar Creek Friends Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Spencer Cemetery
(5 miles [8 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.<3>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Hillsboro had a population of 162 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Hillsboro had a population of 173 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Hillsboro, with the one closest to Hillsboro listed first.
- Salem
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Big Mound
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Big Mound is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Mound
- Utica
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Utica is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Utica
- Houghton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Houghton is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houghton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
- Denova
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Denova is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denova
- Stockport
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Pierceville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Pierceville is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pierceville
- Mount Hamill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Hamill is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hamill
- Former names for Mount Hamill:
- Courtwright
- Hamill
- Glasgow
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Glasgow is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glasgow
- Oakland Mills
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Oakland Mills is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland Mills
- La Crew
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- La Crew is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Crew
- Winchester
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Winchester is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winchester
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Bentonsport
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Vernon
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Vernon is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vernon
- Bonaparte
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Hillsboro. See our List of 1890's Communities around Hillsboro.
Newspapers Published in Hillsboro ...
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 64 newspapers that have been published in the area around Hillsboro.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Hillsboro, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Hillsboro.
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 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 Hillsboro:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Henry County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Davis County
- Des Moines County
- Jefferson County
- Keokuk County
- Lee County
- Louisa County
- Van Buren County
- Wapello County
- Washington County
- Hancock County
- Clark County
- Scotland 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 Hillsboro, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Hillsboro) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |