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 Jacobs (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 Jacobs. 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.
Name Variations for Jacobs ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
While the name of this community is Jacobs, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Jacobs may originally have been Jacob's.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Jacobs. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Jacobs.
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.
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.
Jacobs is located in Poweshiek 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 Poweshiek County: Benton, Iowa, Jasper, Keokuk, Mahaska, Marshall & Tama.
Below are the counties that are near Jacobs. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Jacobs:
- Poweshiek County (The home county of Jacobs)
- The following are listed by their distance from Jacobs, with the one closest to Jacobs listed first.
- Malcom
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Grinnell
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Searsboro
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Searsboro is located in Poweshiek County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Searsboro
- Population from the 2020 Census: 145 people
- Montezuma
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Brooklyn
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Sheridan
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Sheridan is located in Poweshiek County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheridan
- Deep River
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Deep River is located in Poweshiek County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deep River
- Population from the 2020 Census: 268 people
- Guernsey
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Hartwick
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Hartwick is located in Poweshiek County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartwick
- Population from the 2020 Census: 81 people
- Victor
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Tilton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Tilton is located in Poweshiek County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tilton
- Benton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jacobs, with the one closest to Jacobs listed first.
- Belle Plaine
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Irving
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Irving is located in Benton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irving
- Luzerne
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Luzerne is located in Benton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luzerne
- Population from the 2020 Census: 92 people
- Iowa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jacobs, with the one closest to Jacobs listed first.
- Ambrose
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Ambrose is located in Iowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ambrose
- Ladora
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Millersburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Millersburg is located in Iowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millersburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 139 people
- Dayton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Dayton is located in Iowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dayton
- Jasper County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jacobs, with the one closest to Jacobs listed first.
- Oakland Acres
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Oakland Acres is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland Acres
- Population from the 2020 Census: 161 people
- Lynnville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Sully
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Newburg
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Newburg is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newburg
- Kellogg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Killduff
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Killduff is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Killduff
- Galesburg
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Galesburg is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galesburg
- Newton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Reasnor
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Reasnor is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reasnor
- Population from the 2020 Census: 156 people
- Lambs Grove
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Lambs Grove is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lambs Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 165 people
- Monroe
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Metz
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Metz is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Metz
- Baxter
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Keokuk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jacobs, with the one closest to Jacobs listed first.
- Gibson
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Gibson is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 59 people
- Coal Creek
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Coal Creek is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Creek
- Thornburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Thornburg is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thornburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
- What Cheer
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Aurora
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Aurora is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurora
- Keswick
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Delta
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Delta is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delta
- Population from the 2020 Census: 313 people
- Webster
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Webster is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
- Population from the 2020 Census: 71 people
- Mahaska County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jacobs, with the one closest to Jacobs listed first.
- Taintor
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Taintor is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taintor
- New Sharon
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Barnes City
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Union Mills
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Union Mills is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Mills
- Peoria
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Peoria is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peoria
- Lacey
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Lacey is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacey
- Indianapolis
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Indianapolis is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indianapolis
- Leighton
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Fishville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Fishville is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fishville
- Evans
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Evans is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evans
- Olivet
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Olivet is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olivet
- Oskaloosa
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Beacon
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Beacon is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beacon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 488 people
- Marion County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jacobs, with the one closest to Jacobs listed first.
- Pella
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Otley
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Howell ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Howell is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howell
- Cordova
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Cordova is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cordova
- Harvey
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Harvey is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvey
- Population from the 2020 Census: 243 people
- Tracy
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Tracy is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tracy
- Marshall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jacobs, with the one closest to Jacobs listed first.
- Gilman
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Gilman is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 484 people
- Dunbar
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Dunbar is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunbar
- Laurel
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Laurel is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel
- Population from the 2020 Census: 234 people
- Ferguson
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Ferguson is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferguson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 122 people
- Dillon
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Dillon is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dillon
- Le Grand
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Haverhill
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- State Center Junction
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Luray
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Luray is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luray
- Marshalltown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Melbourne
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Tama County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jacobs, with the one closest to Jacobs listed first.
- Montour
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Tama
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Long Point
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Long Point is located in Tama County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Point
- Toledo
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Chelsea
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Gladstone
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Gladstone is located in Tama County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladstone
- Vining
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Vining is located in Tama County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vining
- Population from the 2020 Census: 49 people
- Garwin
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Garwin is located in Tama County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garwin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 490 people
- Elberon
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Jacobs, see our County-by-County Page for Jacobs.
Cemeteries Near Jacobs ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Jacobs.
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 Jacobs - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Jacobs covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Jacobs, with the one closest to Jacobs listed first.
- Upper Blue Point Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Norwegian Lutheran Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Lower Blue Point Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Ewart Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Hayes Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Westfield Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Sugar Creek Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Searsboro IOOF Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- McDonald Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- West Westfield Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- West Liberty Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Little Mt. Baptist Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Continue List (312 more) ...
- Ivy Hill Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hazelwood Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazelwood Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Hazelwood Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located outside and to the southwest of Grinnell.
- The Hazelwood Cemetery has also been known as:
- Grinnell Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #95027 <3>
- Mormon Grave
(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 Jacobs in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Jacobs.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Jacobs, with the one closest to Jacobs listed first.
- Ewart
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Ewart is located in Poweshiek County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ewart
- Searsboro
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Searsboro is located in Poweshiek County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Searsboro
- Population from the 2020 Census: 145 people
- Grinnell
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Malcom
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Lynnville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Montezuma
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Sully
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Taintor
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Taintor is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taintor
- Newburg
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Newburg is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newburg
- Killduff
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Killduff is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Killduff
- Brooklyn
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Sheridan
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Sheridan is located in Poweshiek County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheridan
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Kellogg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- New Sharon
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Barnes City
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Jacobs. See our List of 1890's Communities around Jacobs.
Newspapers Published in Jacobs ...
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 70 newspapers that have been published in the area around Jacobs.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Jacobs, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Jacobs.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Jacobs:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Poweshiek County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Benton County
- Iowa County
- Jasper County
- Keokuk County
- Mahaska County
- Marion County
- Marshall County
- Tama County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Iowa
Footnotes ...
| <1> | It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties). |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Jacobs, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <5> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Jacobs) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |