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 La Motte (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 La Motte. 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.
La Motte is located in Jackson 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 Jackson County: Clinton, Dubuque, Jones, Carroll (IL) & Jo Daviess (IL).
Below are the counties that are near La Motte. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to La Motte:
- Jackson County (The home county of La Motte)
- The following are listed by their distance from La Motte, with the one closest to La Motte listed first.
- Cottonville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Cottonville is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottonville
- Saint Donatus
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- North Bellevue
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- North Bellevue is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Bellevue
- Smiths
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Smiths is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smiths
- Andrew
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Bellevue
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Fulton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Fulton is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulton
- Garry Owen
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Garry Owen is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garry Owen
- Springbrook
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Crab Town
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Crab Town is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crab Town
- Ironhills
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Ironhills is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironhills
- Emeline
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Emeline is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emeline
- Clinton County
- The following are listed by their distance from La Motte, with the one closest to La Motte listed first.
- Delmar
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Elwood
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Elwood is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elwood
- Charlotte
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Lost Nation
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Goose Lake
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Goose Lake is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goose Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
- North Welton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- North Welton is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Welton
- Welton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Welton is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 148 people
- Bliedorn ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Bliedorn is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bliedorn
- Bryant
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Bryant is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryant
- Teeds Grove
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Teeds Grove is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teeds Grove
- Andover
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Andover is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Andover
- Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
- Tenmile
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Tenmile is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tenmile
- Delaware County
- Rockville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Rockville is located in Delaware County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockville
- Dubuque County
- The following are listed by their distance from La Motte, with the one closest to La Motte listed first.
- Zwingle
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Zwingle is located in Dubuque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zwingle
- Population from the 2020 Census: 93 people
- Wilkins
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Wilkins is located in Dubuque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilkins
- Washington Mills
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Washington Mills is located in Dubuque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washington Mills
- Massey
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Massey is located in Dubuque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massey
- Bernard
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Cattese
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Cattese is located in Dubuque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cattese
- Key West
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Key West is located in Dubuque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Key West
- Rockdale
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Rockdale is located in Dubuque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockdale
- Dubuque
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Peosta
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Fillmore
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Fillmore is located in Dubuque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fillmore
- Asbury
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Asbury is located in Dubuque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asbury
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,841 people
- Jones County
- The following are listed by their distance from La Motte, with the one closest to La Motte listed first.
- Clay Mills
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Clay Mills is located in Jones County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clay Mills
- Onslow
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Wyoming
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Center Junction
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Center Junction is located in Jones County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Junction
- Estimated population in 2015: 111 people
- Oxford Junction
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Oxford Junction is located in Jones County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxford Junction
- Population from the 2020 Census: 480 people
- Oxford Mills
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Oxford Mills is located in Jones County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxford Mills
- Monticello
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Hale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Hale is located in Jones County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hale
- Amber
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Amber is located in Jones County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amber
- Carroll County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from La Motte, with the one closest to La Motte listed first.
- Blackhawk
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Blackhawk is located in Carroll County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackhawk
- Arnold
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Arnold is located in Carroll County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnold
- Marcus
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Marcus is located in Carroll County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcus
- Savanna
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Ayers
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Ayers is located in Carroll County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayers
- Jo Daviess County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from La Motte, with the one closest to La Motte listed first.
- Galena Junction
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Galena Junction is located in Jo Daviess County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galena Junction
- Aiken
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Aiken is located in Jo Daviess County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aiken
- Bremen
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Bremen is located in Jo Daviess County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bremen
- Galena
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Galena is located in Jo Daviess County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galena
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,151 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Galena <1>
- East Dubuque
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Menominee
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Menominee is located in Jo Daviess County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Menominee
- Population from the 2020 Census: 241 people
- Hanover
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Elizabeth
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Scales Mound
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant Valley
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Pleasant Valley is located in Jo Daviess County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Valley
- Apple River
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Grant County (WI)
- The following are listed by their distance from La Motte, with the one closest to La Motte listed first.
- Rutledge
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Rutledge is located in Grant County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutledge
- Sinnipee ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Sinnipee is located in Grant County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sinnipee
- Hazel Green
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Hazel Green is located in Grant County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazel Green
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,219 people
- Jamestown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Jamestown is located in Grant County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
- Dickeyville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Dickeyville is located in Grant County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickeyville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,020 people
- Cuba City
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Cuba City is located in Grant County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,047 people
- Potosi
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Potosi is located in Grant County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Potosi
- Population from the 2020 Census: 668 people
- Tennyson
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Tennyson is located in Grant County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tennyson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 339 people
- Lafayette County (WI)
- The following are listed by their distance from La Motte, with the one closest to La Motte listed first.
- Benton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Benton is located in Lafayette County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 966 people
- New Diggings
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- New Diggings is located in Lafayette County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Diggings
- Etna
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Etna is located in Lafayette County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etna
- White Oak
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- White Oak is located in Lafayette County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Oak
- Fort Gratiot ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Fort Gratiot is located in Lafayette County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Gratiot
- Former name for Fort Gratiot:
- Gratiot Grove
- Shullsburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Shullsburg is located in Lafayette County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shullsburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,192 people
- Elk Grove
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Elk Grove is located in Lafayette County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Grove
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to La Motte, see our County-by-County Page for La Motte.
Cemeteries Near La Motte ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of La Motte.
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 La Motte - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for La Motte covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from La Motte, with the one closest to La Motte listed first.
- Holy Rosary Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- East Hill Catholic Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Barnholdt / Dorr Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Dorr Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- St. Theresa Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Bethel Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Bethel Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<2> to the north of Zwingle.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #94252 <3>
- Cottonville Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- St. Lawrence Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Presley Presbyterian Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Assumption Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Sweezy Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Country Poor Farm Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Continue List (311 more) ...
- Jackson County Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- French Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Rooney Cemetery
(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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that La Motte had a population of 154 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, La Motte had a population of 250 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from La Motte, with the one closest to La Motte listed first.
- Zwingle
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Zwingle is located in Dubuque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zwingle
- Population from the 2020 Census: 93 people
- Otter Creek
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Otter Creek is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otter Creek
- Cottonville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Cottonville is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottonville
- Saint Donatus
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Bennettsville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Bennettsville is located in Dubuque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bennettsville
- King
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- King is located in Dubuque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for King
- Washington Mills
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Washington Mills is located in Dubuque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washington Mills
- Andrew
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- North Bellevue
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- North Bellevue is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Bellevue
- Smiths
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Smiths is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smiths
- Massey
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Massey is located in Dubuque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massey
- Fulton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Fulton is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulton
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Bellevue
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Ballyclough
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Ballyclough is located in Dubuque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballyclough
- Galena Junction
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Galena Junction is located in Jo Daviess County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galena Junction
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around La Motte. See our List of 1890's Communities around La Motte.
Newspapers Published in La Motte ...
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 La Motte.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of La Motte, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for La Motte.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we 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 La Motte:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Jackson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Clinton County
- Delaware County
- Dubuque County
- Jones County
- Carroll County
- Jo Daviess County
- Grant County
- Lafayette 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> | 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- La Motte) 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 La Motte, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |