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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 Janesville (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 Janesville. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Janesville is primarily located in Black Hawk County. A portion of Janesville extends into Bremer County.

To see how the shape of Iowa's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Black Hawk County: Benton, Bremer, Buchanan, Butler, Fayette, Grundy & Tama.

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

  • Black Hawk County     (The home county of Janesville)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Janesville, with the one closest to Janesville listed first.
    • Finchford
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • North Cedar
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Cedar City
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar City
      • Cedar City is located in Black Hawk County
    • Cedar Falls
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Edwards ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Waterloo
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Dewar
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Evansdale
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Evansdale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evansdale
      • Evansdale is located in Black Hawk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,734 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Evansdale <2>
    • Dunkerton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dunkerton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunkerton
      • Dunkerton is located in Black Hawk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 851 people
    • Hudson
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Elk Run Heights
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elk Run Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Run Heights
      • Elk Run Heights is located in Black Hawk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,135 people
    • Raymond
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Gilbertville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gilbertville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilbertville
      • Gilbertville is located in Black Hawk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 725 people
  • Bremer County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Janesville, with the one closest to Janesville listed first.
    • Waverly
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Denver
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Denver have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denver
      • Denver is located in Bremer County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,879 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Denver <2>
    • Bremer
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Knittel
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Klinger
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Readlyn
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Readlyn have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Readlyn
      • Readlyn is located in Bremer County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 854 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Readlyn <2>
    • Horton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Plainfield
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plainfield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainfield
      • Plainfield is located in Bremer County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 413 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Plainfield <2>
    • Seigel
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Seigel. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seigel
      • Seigel is located in Bremer County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Seigel
      • From Janesville to Seigel
    • Tripoli
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tripoli have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tripoli
      • Tripoli is located in Bremer County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,375 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tripoli <2>
    • Frederika
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Frederika have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frederika
      • Frederika is located in Bremer County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 205 people
    • Sumner
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Buchanan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Janesville, with the one closest to Janesville listed first.
    • Fairbank
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fairbank have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairbank
      • Fairbank is located in Buchanan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,132 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fairbank <2>
    • Shady Grove
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Hazleton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
  • Butler County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Janesville, with the one closest to Janesville listed first.
    • Shell Rock
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shell Rock have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shell Rock
      • Shell Rock is located in Butler County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,268 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Shell Rock <2>
    • New Hartford
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Coster
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Coster. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coster
      • Coster is located in Butler County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Coster
      • From Janesville to Coster
    • Clarksville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clarksville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarksville
      • Clarksville is located in Butler County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,333 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clarksville <2>
    • Butler Center
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Parkersburg
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Parkersburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkersburg
      • Parkersburg is located in Butler County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,913 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Parkersburg <2>
    • Sinclair
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sinclair. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sinclair
      • Sinclair is located in Butler County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Sinclair
      • From Janesville to Sinclair
    • Allison
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Allison have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allison
      • Allison is located in Butler County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 965 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Allison <2>
    • Aplington
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Aplington have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aplington
      • Aplington is located in Butler County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,039 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Aplington <2>
    • Kesley
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Greene
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Bristow
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Austinville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Austinville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Austinville
      • Austinville is located in Butler County
  • Chickasaw County
  • Fayette County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Janesville, with the one closest to Janesville listed first.
    • Oran
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oran have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oran
      • Oran is located in Fayette County
    • Westgate
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Oelwein
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Maynard
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maynard have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maynard
      • Maynard is located in Fayette County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 472 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Maynard <2>
  • Floyd County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Janesville, with the one closest to Janesville listed first.
    • Carrville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Oakwood
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Charles City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • Aureola
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Aureola have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aureola
      • Aureola is located in Floyd County
    • Marble Rock
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marble Rock have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marble Rock
      • Marble Rock is located in Floyd County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 287 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marble Rock <2>
    • Roseville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Grundy County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Janesville, with the one closest to Janesville listed first.
    • Fredsville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Dike
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Stout
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Fern
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Buck Grove
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buck Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buck Grove
      • Buck Grove is located in Grundy County
    • Reinbeck
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reinbeck have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reinbeck
      • Reinbeck is located in Grundy County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,613 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Reinbeck <2>
    • Morrison
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Holland
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holland
      • Holland is located in Grundy County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 276 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Holland <2>
    • Grundy Center
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grundy Center have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grundy Center
      • Grundy Center is located in Grundy County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,670 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Grundy Center <2>
    • Wellsburg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wellsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellsburg
      • Wellsburg is located in Grundy County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 685 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wellsburg <2>
  • Hardin County
  • Tama County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Janesville, with the one closest to Janesville listed first.
    • Dinsdale
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Lincoln
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lincoln have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln
      • Lincoln is located in Tama County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 148 people
    • Buckingham
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buckingham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckingham
      • Buckingham is located in Tama County

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

Cemeteries Near Janesville ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Janesville.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

  • Oakland Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oakland Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oakland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Newell Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Washington Chapel Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Washington Chapel Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Washington Chapel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pilot Mound Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pilot Mound Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pilot Mound Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Finchford Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Finchford Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Finchford Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Gerholdt Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gerholdt Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gerholdt Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Highland Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Highland Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Highland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Cedar Valley Memorial Gardens
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cedar Valley Memorial Gardens
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cedar Valley Memorial Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Spencer Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Spencer Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Spencer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Paul Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Paul Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Paul Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Waverly Junction Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Waverly Junction Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Waverly Junction Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Harlington Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (242 more) ...
    • Hillside Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hillside Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hillside Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Mt. Vernon Evangelical Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Vernon Evangelical Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Vernon Evangelical Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • St. Pauls Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)

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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Janesville had a population of 273 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Janesville had a population of 996 people.

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

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

Newspapers Published in Janesville ...

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 30 newspapers that have been published in the area around Janesville.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Janesville, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Janesville.

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 professional and volunteer 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 Janesville:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Janesville. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Black Hawk County: www.co.black-hawk.ia.us/

The official website for State of Iowa: https://www.iowa.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<4>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.
<5>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 Janesville, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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- Janesville) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Janesville. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.6472, Longitude: -92.4604    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025