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 Hillsdale (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 Hillsdale. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Hillsdale is located in Mills 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 Mills County: Fremont, Montgomery, Pottawattamie, Cass (NE) & Sarpy (NE).
Below are the counties that are near Hillsdale. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Hillsdale:
- Mills County (The home county of Hillsdale)
- The following are listed by their distance from Hillsdale, with the one closest to Hillsdale listed first.
- Malvern
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Glenwood
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Mills
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Mills is located in Mills County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mills
- Pacific Junction
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Silver City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Silver City is located in Mills County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 246 people
- Clark
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Clark is located in Mills County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clark
- Pacific City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Pacific City is located in Mills County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pacific City
- Hastings
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Hastings is located in Mills County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hastings
- Population from the 2020 Census: 149 people
- Mineola
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Folsom
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Folsom is located in Mills County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Folsom
- Hentons ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Hentons is located in Mills County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hentons
- Emerson
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Henderson
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Fremont County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hillsdale, with the one closest to Hillsdale listed first.
- Tabor
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Randolph
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Randolph is located in Fremont County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randolph
- Population from the 2020 Census: 145 people
- Bartlett
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Bartlett is located in Fremont County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bartlett
- Thurman
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Thurman is located in Fremont County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thurman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 210 people
- Anderson
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Anderson is located in Fremont County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson
- McPaul
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- McPaul is located in Fremont County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McPaul
- Imogene
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Sidney
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Percival
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Riverton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Farragut
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Payne
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Payne is located in Fremont County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Payne
- Hamburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Montgomery County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hillsdale, with the one closest to Hillsdale listed first.
- Coburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Coburg is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 39 people
- Red Oak
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Elliott
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Stanton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Page County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hillsdale, with the one closest to Hillsdale listed first.
- Essex
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Shenandoah
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Nyman
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Nyman is located in Page County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nyman
- Pottawattamie County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hillsdale, with the one closest to Hillsdale listed first.
- Dumfries
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Dumfries is located in Pottawattamie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dumfries
- Treynor
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Macedonia
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Chautauqua
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Chautauqua is located in Pottawattamie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chautauqua
- Carson
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Council Bluffs
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- McClelland
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Weston
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Weston is located in Pottawattamie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weston
- Carter Lake
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Oakland
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Crescent
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Underwood
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Hancock
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Hancock is located in Pottawattamie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hancock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 196 people
- Cass County (NE)
- The following are listed by their distance from Hillsdale, with the one closest to Hillsdale listed first.
- Rock Bluff
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Rock Bluff is located in Cass County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Bluff
- Plattsmouth
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Mynard
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Mynard is located in Cass County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mynard
- Murray
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Union
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Cullom
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Cullom is located in Cass County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cullom
- Nehawka
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Cedar Creek
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Louisville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Manley
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Weeping Water
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Avoca
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- South Bend
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Douglas County (NE)
- The following are listed by their distance from Hillsdale, with the one closest to Hillsdale listed first.
- Ralston
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Home Park
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Home Park is located in Douglas County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Home Park
- Omaha
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- 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>
- Millard
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Boys Town
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Briggs
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Briggs is located in Douglas County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briggs
- Irvington
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Irvington is located in Douglas County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irvington
- Otoe County (NE)
- The following are listed by their distance from Hillsdale, with the one closest to Hillsdale listed first.
- Wyoming
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Wyoming is located in Otoe County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyoming
- Nebraska City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Dunbar
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Otoe
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Sarpy County (NE)
- The following are listed by their distance from Hillsdale, with the one closest to Hillsdale listed first.
- La Platte
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- La Platte is located in Sarpy County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Platte
- Avery
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Avery is located in Sarpy County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avery
- Bellevue
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Gilmore
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Gilmore is located in Sarpy County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilmore
- Papillion
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- La Vista
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Richfield
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Portal
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Portal is located in Sarpy County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portal
- Springfield
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Chalco
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Gretna
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Hillsdale, see our County-by-County Page for Hillsdale.
Cemeteries Near Hillsdale ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Hillsdale.
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 Hillsdale - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Hillsdale covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Hillsdale, with the one closest to Hillsdale listed first.
- Hillsdale Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Somar Family on Wright Farm Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- County Farm Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Glenwood Resource Center Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood Resource Center Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Glenwood Resource Center Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southeast of Glenwood.
- The Glenwood Resource Center Cemetery has also been known as:
- Glenwood State School Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2435128 <2>
- State Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Linville Farm Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Estes Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Fairview Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Malvern Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Waubonsie Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- East Liberty Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Glenwood Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Glenwood Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the north of Glenwood.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #152225 <2>
- Continue List (238 more) ...
- Silver City Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Van Eaton Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Mackey Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
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 Hillsdale had a population of 193 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Hillsdale, with the one closest to Hillsdale listed first.
- Malvern
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Glenwood
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Mills
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Mills is located in Mills County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mills
- Pacific Junction
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Tabor
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Clark
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Clark is located in Mills County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clark
- White Cloud
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- White Cloud is located in Mills County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Cloud
- Silver City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Silver City is located in Mills County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 246 people
- Pacific City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Pacific City is located in Mills County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pacific City
- Strahan
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Strahan is located in Mills County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strahan
- Hastings
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Hastings is located in Mills County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hastings
- Population from the 2020 Census: 149 people
- Folsom
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Folsom is located in Mills County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Folsom
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Mineola
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Rock Bluff
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Rock Bluff is located in Cass County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Bluff
- Bartlett
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Bartlett is located in Fremont County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bartlett
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Hillsdale. See our List of 1890's Communities around Hillsdale.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Hillsdale ...
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 365 newspapers that have been published in the area around Hillsdale.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Hillsdale. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Hillsdale and those printed in the larger area surrounding Hillsdale.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4> of Hillsdale.
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 Hillsdale:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Mills County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Fremont County
- Montgomery County
- Page County
- Pottawattamie County
- Cass County
- Douglas County
- Otoe County
- Sarpy 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 Hillsdale, 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- Hillsdale) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |