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 Lexington (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 Lexington. 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 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.
Lexington is located in Washington 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 Washington County: Henry, Iowa, Jefferson, Johnson, Keokuk & Louisa.
Below are the counties that are near Lexington. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Lexington:
- Washington County (The home county of Lexington)
- The following are listed by their distance from Lexington, with the one closest to Lexington listed first.
- West Chester
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- West Chester is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Chester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 147 people
- Wellman
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Nira
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Nira is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nira
- Kalona
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Washington
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Riverside
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Rubio
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Rubio is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rubio
- Havre
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Havre is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Havre
- Brighton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Ainsworth
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Coppock
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Coppock is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coppock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 48 people
- Crawfordsville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Cedar County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lexington, with the one closest to Lexington listed first.
- Downey
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Downey is located in Cedar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downey
- Centerdale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Centerdale is located in Cedar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerdale
- West Branch
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Henry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lexington, with the one closest to Lexington listed first.
- Wayland
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Olds
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Olds is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olds
- Population from the 2020 Census: 222 people
- Swedesburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Swedesburg is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swedesburg
- Winfield
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Rome
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Rome is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rome
- Population from the 2020 Census: 117 people
- Iowa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lexington, with the one closest to Lexington listed first.
- North English
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Parnell
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Millersburg
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Millersburg is located in Iowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millersburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 139 people
- Williamsburg
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Ambrose
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Ambrose is located in Iowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ambrose
- Conroy
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Conroy is located in Iowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conroy
- Amana
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Middle Amana
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- South Amana
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- West Amana
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- West Amana is located in Iowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Amana
- Marengo
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lexington, with the one closest to Lexington listed first.
- Pleasant Plain
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Pleasant Plain is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Plain
- Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
- Perlee
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Perlee is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perlee
- Packwood
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Packwood is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Packwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 225 people
- Linby
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Linby is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linby
- Pekin
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Pekin is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pekin
- Maharishi Vedic City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Maharishi Vedic City is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maharishi Vedic City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,288 people
- Lockridge
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Abingdon
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Abingdon is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abingdon
- Fairfield
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Johnson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lexington, with the one closest to Lexington listed first.
- Amish
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Amish is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amish
- Frytown
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Frytown is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frytown
- Williamstown
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Williamstown is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamstown
- Windham
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Windham is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windham
- River Junction
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- River Junction is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Junction
- Cosgrove
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Cosgrove is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cosgrove
- Hills
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Lone Tree
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- University Heights
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- University Heights is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University Heights
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,025 people
- Oxford
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Tiffin
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Iowa City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Keokuk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lexington, with the one closest to Lexington listed first.
- Keota
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Kinross
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Kinross is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinross
- Population from the 2020 Census: 71 people
- Talleyrand
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Talleyrand is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talleyrand
- Harper
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Harper is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harper
- Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
- South English
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- South English is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South English
- Population from the 2020 Census: 211 people
- Richland
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Webster
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Webster is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
- Population from the 2020 Census: 71 people
- Ollie
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Ollie is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ollie
- Population from the 2020 Census: 207 people
- Sigourney
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Keswick
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Nugent
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Nugent is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nugent
- Aurora
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Aurora is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurora
- Louisa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lexington, with the one closest to Lexington listed first.
- Gladwin
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Gladwin is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladwin
- Cotter
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Cotter is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotter
- Population from the 2020 Census: 42 people
- Wyman
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Wyman is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyman
- Columbus City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Columbus City is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbus City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 371 people
- Columbus Junction
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Fredonia
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Fredonia is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredonia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
- Letts
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Muscatine County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lexington, with the one closest to Lexington listed first.
- Conesville
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Conesville is located in Muscatine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conesville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 427 people
- Nichols
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Nichols is located in Muscatine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nichols
- Population from the 2020 Census: 358 people
- West Liberty
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Poweshiek County
- Tilton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Tilton is located in Poweshiek County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tilton
- Wapello County
- Competine
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Competine is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Competine
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Lexington, see our County-by-County Page for Lexington.
Cemeteries Near Lexington ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Lexington.
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 Lexington - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Lexington covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Lexington, with the one closest to Lexington listed first.
- Lexington Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Roberts Chapel Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Pilot Grove Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Center Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- West Chester Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Craven Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Taylor Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Westminister Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Philips Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Mennonite Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Wellman Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Pleasant Plain Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Continue List (407 more) ...
- Wassonville Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Richmond Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Coffman Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
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.<2>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Lexington had a population of 141 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Lexington, with the one closest to Lexington listed first.
- West Chester
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- West Chester is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Chester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 147 people
- Wellman
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Richmond
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Richmond is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmond
- Keota
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Nira
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Nira is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nira
- Kalona
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Grace Hill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Grace Hill is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grace Hill
- Washington
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Amish
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Amish is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amish
- Talleyrand
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Talleyrand is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talleyrand
- Green Center
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Green Center is located in Iowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Center
- Kinross
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Kinross is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinross
- Population from the 2020 Census: 71 people
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Creswell
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Creswell is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creswell
- Harper
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Harper is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harper
- Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
- Riverside
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Lexington. See our List of 1890's Communities around Lexington.
Newspapers Published in Lexington ...
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 177 newspapers that have been published in the area around Lexington.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Lexington, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Lexington.
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 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 Lexington:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Washington County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cedar County
- Henry County
- Iowa County
- Jefferson County
- Johnson County
- Keokuk County
- Louisa County
- Muscatine County
- Poweshiek County
- Wapello 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> | 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 Lexington, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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- Lexington) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |