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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 Kennedy (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 Kennedy. 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 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 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.

Kennedy is located in Dallas 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 Dallas County: Adair, Boone, Greene, Guthrie, Madison, Polk & Warren.

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

  • Dallas County     (The home county of Kennedy)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kennedy, with the one closest to Kennedy listed first.
    • Wiscotta
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Wiscotta is located in Dallas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wiscotta
    • Redfield
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Adel
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Adel is located in Dallas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adel
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,607 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Adel <1>
    • Panther
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Panther is located in Dallas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panther
    • DeSoto
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Linden
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Linden is located in Dallas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linden
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 214 people
    • Dexter
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Dallas Center
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Van Meter
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Minburn
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Minburn is located in Dallas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minburn
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 357 people
    • Waukee
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Booneville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Adair County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kennedy, with the one closest to Kennedy listed first.
    • Arbor Hill
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Arbor Hill is located in Adair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arbor Hill
    • Stanzel
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Stanzel is located in Adair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanzel
    • Hebron
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Hebron is located in Adair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hebron
    • Greenfield
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Zion
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Zion is located in Adair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zion
  • Boone County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kennedy, with the one closest to Kennedy listed first.
    • Berkley
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Berkley is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berkley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 33 people
    • Madrid
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Beaver
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Beaver is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 50 people
    • Luther
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Luther is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luther
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 133 people
    • Moingona
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Moingona is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moingona
    • Ogden
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Greene County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kennedy, with the one closest to Kennedy listed first.
    • Rippey
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Rippey is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rippey
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 269 people
    • Cooper
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Cooper is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooper
    • Grand Junction
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Guthrie County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kennedy, with the one closest to Kennedy listed first.
    • Dale
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Dale is located in Guthrie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dale
    • Stuart
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Panora
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Glendon
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Glendon is located in Guthrie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendon
    • Menlo
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Yale
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Yale is located in Guthrie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 239 people
    • Jamaica
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Guthrie Center
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Herndon
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Herndon is located in Guthrie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herndon
    • Casey
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Bagley
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Bagley is located in Guthrie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bagley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 285 people
    • Adair
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
  • Madison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kennedy, with the one closest to Kennedy listed first.
    • Earlham
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Pitzer
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Pitzer is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pitzer
    • Webster
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Webster is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
    • Winterset
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Patterson
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Patterson is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patterson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 163 people
    • Ord
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Ord is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ord
    • Macksburg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Macksburg is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macksburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 122 people
    • Saint Charles
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • East Peru
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • East Peru is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Peru
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 133 people
    • Truro
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Polk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kennedy, with the one closest to Kennedy listed first.
    • Clive
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Grimes
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Urbandale
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • West Des Moines
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Commerce
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Commerce is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Commerce
    • Herrold
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Herrold is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herrold
    • Johnston
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Windsor Heights
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Andrews
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Andrews is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Andrews
    • Norwalk
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Polk City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Polk City Junction
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Polk City Junction is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polk City Junction
  • Story County
    • Slater
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Warren County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kennedy, with the one closest to Kennedy listed first.
    • Cumming
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Orillia
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Orillia is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orillia
    • Lakewood
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Lakewood is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakewood
    • Bevington
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Churchville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Churchville is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Churchville
    • Prole
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Prole is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prole
    • Martensdale
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Spring Hill
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Spring Hill is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 65 people
    • Saint Marys
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Saint Marys is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Marys
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 127 people

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

Cemeteries Near Kennedy ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Kennedy.

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

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

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

  • Panther Creek Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Wiscotta Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Pleasant Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Harper Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • East Linn Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Longmire Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Gibson Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Bear Creek Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • McKibben Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Ellis Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Oakdale Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Panther Creek Church of the Brethren Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (244 more) ...
    • Spillers Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Odd Fellows Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Kinnick Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 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.<3>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Kennedy had a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Redfield
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Adel
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Adel is located in Dallas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adel
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,607 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Adel <1>
  • Panther
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Panther is located in Dallas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panther
  • DeSoto
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Linden
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Linden is located in Dallas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linden
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 214 people
  • Dexter
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Ortonville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Ortonville is located in Dallas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ortonville
  • Van Meter
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Dallas Center
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Minburn
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Minburn is located in Dallas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minburn
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 357 people
  • Dale
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Dale is located in Guthrie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dale
  • Stuart
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Waukee
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Booneville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Panora
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Kennedy ...

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 196 newspapers that have been published in the area around Kennedy.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Kennedy, 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 Kennedy.

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 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 Kennedy:

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 Kennedy, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Kennedy) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.