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 Lansing (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 Lansing. 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.
Lansing is located in Allamakee 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 Allamakee County: Clayton, Fayette, Winneshiek, Houston (MN), Crawford (WI) & Vernon (WI).
Below are the counties that are near Lansing. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Lansing:
- Allamakee County (The home county of Lansing)
- The following are listed by their distance from Lansing, with the one closest to Lansing listed first.
- Dalby
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Dalby is located in Allamakee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dalby
- Elon
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Elon is located in Allamakee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elon
- New Albin
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Lycurgus
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Lycurgus is located in Allamakee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lycurgus
- Harpers Ferry
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Waterville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Waterville is located in Allamakee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 142 people
- Waukon Junction
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Waukon Junction is located in Allamakee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waukon Junction
- Rossville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Rossville is located in Allamakee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rossville
- Waukon
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Dorchester
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Ion
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Ion is located in Allamakee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ion
- Volney
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Volney is located in Allamakee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Volney
- Quandahl
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Quandahl is located in Allamakee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quandahl
- Clayton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lansing, with the one closest to Lansing listed first.
- Watson
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Watson is located in Clayton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watson
- Marquette
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Monona
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Beulah
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Beulah is located in Clayton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beulah
- McGregor
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Hardin
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Hardin is located in Clayton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hardin
- Luana
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Farmersburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Farmersburg is located in Clayton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmersburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 264 people
- Gunder
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Gunder is located in Clayton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gunder
- Winneshiek County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lansing, with the one closest to Lansing listed first.
- Frankville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Frankville is located in Winneshiek County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frankville
- Highlandville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Highlandville is located in Winneshiek County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highlandville
- Castalia
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Castalia is located in Winneshiek County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castalia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 156 people
- Decorah
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Hesper
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Hesper is located in Winneshiek County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hesper
- Ossian
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Fillmore County (MN)
- Mabel
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Houston County (MN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Lansing, with the one closest to Lansing listed first.
- Eitzen
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Eitzen is located in Houston County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eitzen
- Population from the 2020 Census: 248 people
- Reno
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Reno is located in Houston County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reno
- Bee
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Bee is located in Houston County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bee
- Wilmington
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Wilmington is located in Houston County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmington
- Brownsville
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Brownsville is located in Houston County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 505 people
- Caledonia
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Willington Grove
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Willington Grove is located in Houston County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willington Grove
- Spring Grove
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Hokah
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Riceford
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Riceford is located in Houston County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riceford
- Crawford County (WI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Lansing, with the one closest to Lansing listed first.
- De Soto
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- De Soto is located in Crawford County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Soto
- Population from the 2020 Census: 278 people
- Ferryville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Ferryville is located in Crawford County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferryville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 173 people
- Freeman
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Freeman is located in Crawford County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman
- Rising Sun
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Rising Sun is located in Crawford County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rising Sun
- Charme
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Charme is located in Crawford County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charme
- Mount Sterling
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Mount Sterling is located in Crawford County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Sterling
- Population from the 2020 Census: 196 people
- Towerville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Towerville is located in Crawford County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Towerville
- Eastman
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Eastman is located in Crawford County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 404 people
- Gays Mills
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Gays Mills is located in Crawford County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gays Mills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 504 people
- Bell Center
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Bell Center is located in Crawford County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell Center
- Population from the 2020 Census: 114 people
- Petersburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Petersburg is located in Crawford County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersburg
- Prairie du Chien
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Prairie du Chien is located in Crawford County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie du Chien
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,531 people
- Soldiers Grove
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Soldiers Grove is located in Crawford County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soldiers Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 535 people
- Grant County (WI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Lansing, with the one closest to Lansing listed first.
- Millville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Millville is located in Grant County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millville
- Woodman
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Woodman is located in Grant County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 129 people
- Wyalusing
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Wyalusing is located in Grant County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyalusing
- Boscobel
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Boscobel is located in Grant County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boscobel
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,134 people
- La Crosse County (WI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Lansing, with the one closest to Lansing listed first.
- Shelby
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Shelby is located in La Crosse County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shelby
- Saint Joseph
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Saint Joseph is located in La Crosse County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Joseph
- Richland County (WI)
- Viola
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Viola is located in Richland County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Viola
- Population from the 2020 Census: 665 people
- Vernon County (WI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Lansing, with the one closest to Lansing listed first.
- Retreat
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Retreat is located in Vernon County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Retreat
- West Prairie
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- West Prairie is located in Vernon County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Prairie
- Purdy
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Purdy is located in Vernon County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Purdy
- Genoa
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Genoa is located in Vernon County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Genoa
- Population from the 2020 Census: 260 people
- Fargo
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Fargo is located in Vernon County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fargo
- Newton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Newton is located in Vernon County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newton
- Liberty Pole
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Liberty Pole is located in Vernon County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Pole
- Stoddard
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Stoddard is located in Vernon County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoddard
- Population from the 2020 Census: 831 people
- Chaseburg
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Chaseburg is located in Vernon County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chaseburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 291 people
- Viroqua
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Viroqua is located in Vernon County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Viroqua
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,394 people
- Readstown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Readstown is located in Vernon County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Readstown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 414 people
- Coon Valley
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Coon Valley is located in Vernon County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coon Valley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 782 people
- Liberty
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Liberty is located in Vernon County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Lansing, see our County-by-County Page for Lansing.
Cemeteries Near Lansing ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Lansing.
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 Lansing - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Lansing covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Lansing, with the one closest to Lansing listed first.
- Oak Hill Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Heminway Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Gethsemane Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Village Creek Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Faegre Prairie Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Lawrence Ridge Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- May's Prairie Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Roese Plot
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Lutheran Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Thompson Corner Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Lansing Ridge Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Center Baptist Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (285 more) ...
- Elon Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Old East Paint Creek Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Wexford Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
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 Lansing had a population of 1,668 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Lansing had a population of 933 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Lansing, with the one closest to Lansing listed first.
- De Soto
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- De Soto is located in Crawford County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Soto
- Population from the 2020 Census: 278 people
- Ferryville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Ferryville is located in Crawford County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferryville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 173 people
- Elon
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Elon is located in Allamakee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elon
- Red Mound
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Red Mound is located in Vernon County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Mound
- Victory
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Victory is located in Vernon County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victory
- New Albin
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Retreat
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Retreat is located in Vernon County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Retreat
- Lycurgus
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Lycurgus is located in Allamakee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lycurgus
- Waterville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Waterville is located in Allamakee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 142 people
- Harpers Ferry
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- West Prairie
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- West Prairie is located in Vernon County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Prairie
- Purdy
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Purdy is located in Vernon County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Purdy
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Romance
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Romance is located in Vernon County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Romance
- Waukon
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Rossville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Rossville is located in Allamakee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rossville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Lansing. See our List of 1890's Communities around Lansing.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Lansing ...
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 152 newspapers that have been published in the area around Lansing.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Lansing. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Lansing and those printed in the larger area surrounding Lansing.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4> of Lansing.
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 Lansing:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Allamakee County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Clayton County
- Winneshiek County
- Fillmore County
- Houston County
- Crawford County
- Grant County
- La Crosse County
- Richland County
- Vernon 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 Lansing, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Lansing) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |