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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 Luther (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 Luther. 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.

Luther is located in Boone County.

To see how the shape of Iowa's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Boone County: Dallas, Greene, Hamilton, Polk, Story & Webster.

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

  • Boone County     (The home county of Luther)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Luther, with the one closest to Luther listed first.
    • Jordan
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Moingona
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Madrid
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Boone
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Centerville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Centerville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
      • Centerville is located in Boone County
    • Ogden
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ogden have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogden
      • Ogden is located in Boone County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,985 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ogden <1>
    • Fraser
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fraser have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fraser
      • Fraser is located in Boone County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 103 people
    • Mackey
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Mackey. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mackey
      • Mackey is located in Boone County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Mackey
      • From Luther to Mackey
    • Berkley
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Berkley. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berkley
      • Berkley is located in Boone County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 33 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Berkley
      • From Luther to Berkley
    • Pilot Mound
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Beaver
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beaver have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver
      • Beaver is located in Boone County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 50 people
    • Boxholm
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Boxholm have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boxholm
      • Boxholm is located in Boone County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 184 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Boxholm <1>
  • Dallas County
  • Greene County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Luther, with the one closest to Luther listed first.
    • Rippey
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Grand Junction
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grand Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Junction
      • Grand Junction is located in Greene County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 757 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Grand Junction <1>
    • Dana
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Dana. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dana
      • Dana is located in Greene County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Dana
      • From Luther to Dana
    • Paton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Cooper
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cooper. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooper
      • Cooper is located in Greene County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Cooper
      • From Luther to Cooper
    • Jefferson
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jefferson have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson
      • Jefferson is located in Greene County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,075 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jefferson <1>
  • Guthrie County
  • Hamilton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Luther, with the one closest to Luther listed first.
    • Stratford
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stratford have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stratford
      • Stratford is located in Hamilton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 692 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Stratford <1>
    • Randall
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Stanhope
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stanhope have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanhope
      • Stanhope is located in Hamilton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 394 people
    • Jewell
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Ellsworth
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Kamrar
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Hardin County
    • Garden City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garden City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
      • Garden City is located in Hardin County
  • Jasper County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Luther, with the one closest to Luther listed first.
    • Clyde
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Clyde. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clyde
      • Clyde is located in Jasper County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Clyde
      • From Luther to Clyde
    • Mingo
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Valeria
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Valeria have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valeria
      • Valeria is located in Jasper County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 58 people
  • Polk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Luther, with the one closest to Luther listed first.
    • Sheldahl
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Polk City Junction
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Polk City
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Alleman
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Andrews
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Herrold
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Grimes
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Elkhart
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Johnston
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Johnston have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnston
      • Johnston is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 23,092 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Johnston <1>
    • Ankeny
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ankeny have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ankeny
      • Ankeny is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 70,068 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ankeny <1>
    • Loring
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Carney
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Carney. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carney
      • Carney is located in Polk County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Carney
      • From Luther to Carney
    • Saylorville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saylorville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saylorville
      • Saylorville is located in Polk County
  • Story County
  • Webster County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Luther, with the one closest to Luther listed first.
    • Dayton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Lanyon
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Harcourt
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harcourt have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harcourt
      • Harcourt is located in Webster County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 278 people
    • Lehigh
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Burnside
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Palm Grove
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Luther ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Luther.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

  • Hull Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hull Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hull Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Garden Prairie Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Garden Prairie Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Garden Prairie Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Squire Boone Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Squire Boone Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Squire Boone Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • James Gildea Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the James Gildea Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the James Gildea Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Fairview Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Sarah Dinwoodie Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sarah Dinwoodie Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sarah Dinwoodie Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Dalander Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Olive Branch Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Olive Branch Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Olive Branch Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sparks Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sparks Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sparks Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Liberty Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Liberty Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Liberty Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Cassel Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Hillsdale Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (248 more) ...
    • Oak Grove Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak Grove Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oak Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Linwood Park Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Leatham Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Leatham Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Leatham Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Luther had a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Luther had a population of 133 people.

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

  • Madrid
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Moingona
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Boone
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Kelley
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Ontario
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ontario have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ontario
    • Ontario is located in Story County
  • Woodward
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • High Bridge
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for High Bridge. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Bridge
    • High Bridge is located in Dallas County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to High Bridge
    • From Luther to High Bridge
  • Sheldahl
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Slater
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Ames
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Ogden
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ogden have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogden
    • Ogden is located in Boone County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,985 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ogden <1>
  • Bouton
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bouton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bouton
    • Bouton is located in Dallas County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 125 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bouton <1>
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Polk City Junction
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Huxley
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Huxley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huxley
      • Huxley is located in Story County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,270 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Huxley <1>
    • Gilbert
      (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 Luther. See our List of 1890's Communities around Luther.

Newspapers Published in Luther ...

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 184 newspapers that have been published in the area around Luther.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Luther, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Luther.

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 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 Luther:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Luther. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Boone County: www.co.boone.ia.us/

The official website for State of Iowa: https://www.iowa.gov/

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 location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<3>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<4>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.
<5>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 Luther, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Luther) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Luther. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.9675, Longitude: -93.8191       In this case, the coordinates for Luther have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025