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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 Hurley (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 Hurley. 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.

Hurley is located in Cerro Gordo 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 Cerro Gordo County: Butler, Floyd, Franklin, Hancock, Mitchell, Winnebago, Worth & Wright.

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

  • Cerro Gordo County     (The home county of Hurley)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hurley, with the one closest to Hurley listed first.
    • Rockwell
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Burchinal
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Burchinal is located in Cerro Gordo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burchinal
    • Swaledale
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Swaledale is located in Cerro Gordo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swaledale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 157 people
    • Cameron
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Cameron is located in Cerro Gordo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cameron
    • Cartersville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Cartersville is located in Cerro Gordo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cartersville
    • Mason City Junction
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Mason City Junction is located in Cerro Gordo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason City Junction
    • Thornton
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Thornton is located in Cerro Gordo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thornton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 401 people
    • Mason City
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Portland
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Portland is located in Cerro Gordo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portland
    • Clear Lake
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Dougherty
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Dougherty is located in Cerro Gordo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dougherty
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 56 people
    • Meservey
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Meservey is located in Cerro Gordo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meservey
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 237 people
    • Ventura
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Butler County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hurley, with the one closest to Hurley listed first.
    • Aredale
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Dumont
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Greene
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Bristow
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Bristow is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bristow
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 147 people
    • Allison
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Kesley
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Kesley is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kesley
  • Floyd County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hurley, with the one closest to Hurley listed first.
    • Rockford
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Nora Springs
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Aureola
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Aureola is located in Floyd County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aureola
    • Marble Rock
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Rudd
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Roseville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Roseville is located in Floyd County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseville
    • Oakwood
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Oakwood is located in Floyd County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood
    • Floyd
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Charles City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
  • Franklin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hurley, with the one closest to Hurley listed first.
    • Sheffield
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Sheffield is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheffield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,096 people
    • Chapin
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Chapin is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapin
    • Hampton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Hansell
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Latimer
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Alexander
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Alexander is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexander
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 159 people
    • Coulter
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Coulter is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coulter
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 261 people
    • Geneva
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Reeve
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Reeve is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeve
    • Bradford
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Bradford is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradford
    • Faulkner
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Faulkner is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Faulkner
    • Popejoy
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Popejoy is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Popejoy
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 74 people
  • Hancock County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hurley, with the one closest to Hurley listed first.
    • Klemme
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Garner
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Goodell
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Goodell is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodell
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 126 people
    • Duncan
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Duncan is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duncan
    • Kanawha
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Britt
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Britt is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Britt
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,928 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Britt <1>
  • Mitchell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hurley, with the one closest to Hurley listed first.
    • Rock Creek
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Rock Creek is located in Mitchell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Creek
    • Orchard
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Orchard is located in Mitchell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orchard
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 71 people
    • Mitchell
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Mitchell is located in Mitchell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchell
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 128 people
    • Osage
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Osage is located in Mitchell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osage
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,549 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Osage <1>
    • Saint Ansgar
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Carpenter
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Carpenter is located in Mitchell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carpenter
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 108 people
  • Winnebago County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hurley, with the one closest to Hurley listed first.
    • Forest City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Leland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Leland is located in Winnebago County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 268 people
  • Worth County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hurley, with the one closest to Hurley listed first.
    • Manly
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Fertile
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Hanlontown
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Hanlontown is located in Worth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanlontown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
    • Grafton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Kensett
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Kensett is located in Worth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kensett
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 249 people
    • Bolan
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Bolan is located in Worth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolan
    • Joice
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Joice is located in Worth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joice
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 209 people
    • Northwood
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • Bristol
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Bristol is located in Worth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bristol
  • Wright County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hurley, with the one closest to Hurley listed first.
    • Belmond
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Rowan
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Olaf
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Olaf is located in Wright County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olaf
    • Cornelia
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Cornelia is located in Wright County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornelia
    • Dows
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Solberg ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Solberg is located in Wright County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Solberg
    • Galt
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Hurley ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Hurley.

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

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

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

  • Linn Grove Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Sacred Heart Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Mt. Vernon Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Pleasant Valley Twp. Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Shobes Grove Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Hillside Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Owen's Grove Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Pleasant View Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • St. John Zion Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Richland Lutheran Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Elmwood Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • St. Josephs Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (171 more) ...
    • Memorial Park
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • IOOF Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • West Fork Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)

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>

While we didn't find Hurley in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Hurley.

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

  • Rockwell
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Swaledale
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Swaledale is located in Cerro Gordo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swaledale
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 157 people
  • Burchinal
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Burchinal is located in Cerro Gordo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burchinal
  • Cameron
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Cameron is located in Cerro Gordo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cameron
  • Sheffield
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Sheffield is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheffield
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,096 people
  • Mason City Junction
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Mason City Junction is located in Cerro Gordo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason City Junction
  • Thornton
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Thornton is located in Cerro Gordo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thornton
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 401 people
  • Portland
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Portland is located in Cerro Gordo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portland
  • Mason City
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Chapin
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Chapin is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapin
  • Clear Lake
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Rockford
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Nora Springs
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Creamery
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Creamery is located in Cerro Gordo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creamery
    • Rock Falls
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Rock Falls is located in Cerro Gordo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Falls
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 146 people

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

Newspapers Published in Hurley ...

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 54 newspapers that have been published in the area around Hurley.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Hurley, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Hurley.

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 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 Hurley:

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 Hurley, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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- Hurley) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.