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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 Kingsley (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 Kingsley. 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 southeast 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 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 east 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.

Kingsley is located in Plymouth 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 Plymouth County: Cherokee, Sioux, Woodbury & Union (SD).

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

  • Plymouth County     (The home county of Kingsley)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kingsley, with the one closest to Kingsley listed first.
    • O'Leary
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • O'Leary is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for O'Leary
    • Remsen
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Oyens
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Oyens is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oyens
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 102 people
    • Le Mars
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Hinton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Merrill
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • James
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • James is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for James
    • Brunsville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Brunsville is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brunsville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 152 people
    • Adaville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Adaville is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adaville
    • Struble
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Struble is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Struble
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 77 people
    • Craig
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Craig is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craig
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 91 people
    • Millnerville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Millnerville is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millnerville
  • Cherokee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kingsley, with the one closest to Kingsley listed first.
    • Fielding
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Fielding is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fielding
    • Washta
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Washta is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washta
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 222 people
    • Quimby
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Quimby is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quimby
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 291 people
    • Mary Hill
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Mary Hill is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mary Hill
    • Marcus
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Cleghorn
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Cleghorn is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleghorn
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 214 people
    • Meriden
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Meriden is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meriden
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 144 people
    • Cherokee
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Aurelia
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Larrabee
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Larrabee is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larrabee
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 130 people
  • Ida County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kingsley, with the one closest to Kingsley listed first.
    • Holstein
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Battle Creek
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Galva
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Ida Grove
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Monona County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kingsley, with the one closest to Kingsley listed first.
    • Rodney
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Rodney is located in Monona County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodney
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 57 people
    • Mapleton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • O'Brien County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kingsley, with the one closest to Kingsley listed first.
    • Germantown
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Germantown is located in O'Brien County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Germantown
    • Paullina
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Paullina is located in O'Brien County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paullina
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 965 people
  • Sioux County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kingsley, with the one closest to Kingsley listed first.
    • Alton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Granville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Granville is located in Sioux County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 303 people
    • Maurice
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Maurice is located in Sioux County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maurice
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 270 people
    • Orange City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Woodbury County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kingsley, with the one closest to Kingsley listed first.
    • Pierson
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Pierson is located in Woodbury County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pierson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 349 people
    • Moville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Correctionville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Lawton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Lawton is located in Woodbury County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 979 people
    • Anthon
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Climbing Hill
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Climbing Hill is located in Woodbury County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Climbing Hill
    • Cushing
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Cushing is located in Woodbury County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cushing
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 215 people
    • Bronson
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Bronson is located in Woodbury County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bronson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 318 people
    • Evergreen Village
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Evergreen Village is located in Woodbury County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen Village
    • Holiday Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Holiday Village is located in Woodbury County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holiday Village
    • Regency of Sioux City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Regency of Sioux City is located in Woodbury County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Regency of Sioux City
    • Glen Ellen
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Glen Ellen is located in Woodbury County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Ellen
  • Dakota County (NE)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kingsley, with the one closest to Kingsley listed first.
    • South Sioux City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Dakota City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Union County (SD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kingsley, with the one closest to Kingsley listed first.
    • North Sioux City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Dakota Dunes
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • McCook Lake
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • McCook Lake is located in Union County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCook Lake
    • Jefferson
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)

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

Cemeteries Near Kingsley ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Kingsley.

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

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

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

  • St. Michaels Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Kingsley Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Elkhorn Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Church of the Brethren Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Arlington Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Union Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Fairfield Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Grand Meadow Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Pleasant Hill Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • St. Josephs Catholic Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Good Hope Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (123 more) ...
    • Family Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Lincoln Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Pleasant Hill Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Kingsley had a population of 649 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Kingsley had a population of 1,397 people.

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

  • Pierson
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Pierson is located in Woodbury County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pierson
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 349 people
  • Moville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Union Center
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Union Center is located in Plymouth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Center
  • O'Leary
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • O'Leary is located in Plymouth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for O'Leary
  • Fielding
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Fielding is located in Cherokee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fielding
  • Neptune
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Neptune is located in Plymouth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neptune
  • Correctionville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Washta
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Washta is located in Cherokee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washta
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 222 people
  • Lucky Valley ‑ Historic
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Lucky Valley is located in Woodbury County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucky Valley
  • Anthon
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
  • Remsen
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
  • Oyens
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Oyens is located in Plymouth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oyens
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 102 people
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Quimby
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Quimby is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quimby
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 291 people
    • Le Mars
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Hinton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Kingsley ...

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 144 newspapers that have been published in the area around Kingsley.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Kingsley. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Kingsley and those printed in the larger area surrounding Kingsley.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<2> of Kingsley.

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 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 Kingsley:

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