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 Kirkman (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 Kirkman. 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 doctors and 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.
Kirkman is located in Shelby 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 Shelby County: Audubon, Carroll, Cass, Crawford, Harrison & Pottawattamie.
Below are the counties that are near Kirkman. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Kirkman:
- Shelby County (The home county of Kirkman)
- The following are listed by their distance from Kirkman, with the one closest to Kirkman listed first.
- Irwin
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Harlan
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Westphalia
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Westphalia is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westphalia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 117 people
- Defiance
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Defiance is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Defiance
- Population from the 2020 Census: 260 people
- Earling
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Earling is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Earling
- Population from the 2020 Census: 403 people
- Corley
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Corley is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corley
- Panama
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Botna
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Botna is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Botna
- Tennant
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Tennant is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tennant
- Population from the 2020 Census: 63 people
- Elk Horn
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Portsmouth
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Shelby
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Audubon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Kirkman, with the one closest to Kirkman listed first.
- Fiscus
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Fiscus is located in Audubon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fiscus
- Kimballton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Gray
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Audubon
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Ross
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Ross is located in Audubon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ross
- Hamlin
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Hamlin is located in Audubon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamlin
- Brayton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Exira
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Carroll County
- The following are listed by their distance from Kirkman, with the one closest to Kirkman listed first.
- Manning
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Templeton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Halbur
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Halbur is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halbur
- Population from the 2020 Census: 252 people
- Dedham
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Roselle
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Roselle is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roselle
- Arcadia
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Arcadia is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcadia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 531 people
- Willey
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Willey is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willey
- Population from the 2020 Census: 97 people
- Cass County
- The following are listed by their distance from Kirkman, with the one closest to Kirkman listed first.
- Marne
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Atlantic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Sycamore Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Sycamore Village is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sycamore Village
- Grove City ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Grove City is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove City
- Wiota
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Lewis
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Crawford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Kirkman, with the one closest to Kirkman listed first.
- Astor
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Astor is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Astor
- Manilla
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Aspinwall
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Aspinwall is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aspinwall
- Population from the 2020 Census: 40 people
- Buck Grove
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Buck Grove is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buck Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 43 people
- Arion
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Arion is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arion
- Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
- Dow City
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Sunset Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Sunset Village is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Village
- Bell
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Bell is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell
- Denison
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Vail
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Kenwood
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Kenwood is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenwood
- Westside
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Deloit
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Deloit is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deloit
- Population from the 2020 Census: 254 people
- Guthrie County
- North Branch
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- North Branch is located in Guthrie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Branch
- Harrison County
- The following are listed by their distance from Kirkman, with the one closest to Kirkman listed first.
- Persia
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Persia is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Persia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 281 people
- Dunlap
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Yorkshire
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Yorkshire is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorkshire
- Woodbine
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Logan
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Pottawattamie County
- The following are listed by their distance from Kirkman, with the one closest to Kirkman listed first.
- Harlan Junction ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Harlan Junction is located in Pottawattamie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlan Junction
- Walnut
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Walnut is located in Pottawattamie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut
- Population from the 2020 Census: 768 people
- Avoca
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Avoca is located in Pottawattamie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avoca
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,537 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Avoca <1>
- Minden
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Hancock
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Hancock is located in Pottawattamie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hancock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 196 people
- Neola
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Oakland
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Kirkman, see our County-by-County Page for Kirkman.
Cemeteries Near Kirkman ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Kirkman.
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 Kirkman - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Kirkman covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Kirkman, with the one closest to Kirkman listed first.
- Rose Hill Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Slates Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Rabbit Hallow Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Danway Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Oak Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Harlan Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Bowmans Grove
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Poplar Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Red Line Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- St. Boniface Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Folck Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Bethlehem Lutheran Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (153 more) ...
- St. Pauls Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Union Twp. Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Merrills Grove Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 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, Kirkman had a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Kirkman had a population of 61 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Kirkman, with the one closest to Kirkman listed first.
- Irwin
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Harlan
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Westphalia
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Westphalia is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westphalia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 117 people
- Defiance
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Defiance is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Defiance
- Population from the 2020 Census: 260 people
- Fiscus
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Fiscus is located in Audubon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fiscus
- Astor
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Astor is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Astor
- Corley
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Corley is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corley
- Panama
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Botna
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Botna is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Botna
- Manilla
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Kimballton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Portsmouth
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Elk Horn
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Buck Grove
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Buck Grove is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buck Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 43 people
- Aspinwall
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Aspinwall is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aspinwall
- Population from the 2020 Census: 40 people
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Kirkman. See our List of 1890's Communities around Kirkman.
Newspapers Published in Kirkman ...
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 41 newspapers that have been published in the area around Kirkman.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Kirkman, 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 Kirkman.
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 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 Kirkman:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Shelby County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Audubon County
- Carroll County
- Cass County
- Crawford County
- Guthrie County
- Harrison County
- Pottawattamie County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Iowa
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 Kirkman, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Kirkman) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |