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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 Mackey (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 Mackey. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Mackey 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 Mackey. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Mackey:

  • Boone County     (The home county of Mackey)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mackey, with the one closest to Mackey listed first.
    • Jordan
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Boone
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Centerville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • 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
    • Fraser
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • 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
    • Moingona
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Pilot Mound
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Luther
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Luther. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luther
      • Luther is located in Boone County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 133 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Luther
      • From Mackey to Luther
    • Ogden
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • 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>
    • Boxholm
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • 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>
    • Madrid
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Beaver
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • 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
    • Berkley
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • 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 Mackey to Berkley
  • Dallas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mackey, with the one closest to Mackey listed first.
    • Xenia
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • High Bridge
      (23 miles [37 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 Mackey to High Bridge
    • Woodward
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Bouton
      (25 miles [40.2 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>
    • Granger
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Perry
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Greene County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mackey, with the one closest to Mackey listed first.
    • Dana
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • 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 Mackey to Dana
    • Paton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Grand Junction
      (26 miles [41.8 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>
    • Rippey
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Hamilton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mackey, with the one closest to Mackey listed first.
    • Stanhope
      (8 miles [12.9 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
    • Randall
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Jewell
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Stratford
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • 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>
    • Ellsworth
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Kamrar
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Webster City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Webster City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster City
      • Webster City is located in Hamilton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,647 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Webster City <1>
    • Blairsburg
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blairsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blairsburg
      • Blairsburg is located in Hamilton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 199 people
    • Williams
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
  • Hardin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mackey, with the one closest to Mackey listed first.
    • Garden City
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • 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
    • Radcliffe
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Hubbard
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hubbard have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hubbard
      • Hubbard is located in Hardin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 793 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hubbard <1>
    • Buckeye
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buckeye have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckeye
      • Buckeye is located in Hardin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
    • New Providence
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for New Providence. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Providence
      • New Providence is located in Hardin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to New Providence
      • From Mackey to New Providence
  • Marshall County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mackey, with the one closest to Mackey listed first.
    • Saint Anthony
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Anthony have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Anthony
      • Saint Anthony is located in Marshall County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 101 people
    • Clemons
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clemons have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clemons
      • Clemons is located in Marshall County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 141 people
  • Polk County
  • Story County
  • Webster County
  • Wright County

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

Cemeteries Near Mackey ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Mackey.

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 Mackey covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

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 Mackey had a population of 56 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Rosendale
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rosendale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosendale
    • Rosendale is located in Hamilton County
  • Gilbert
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Stanhope
    (8 miles [12.9 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
  • Story City
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Boone
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Ontario
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • 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
  • Randall
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Ames
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Jewell
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Stratford
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • 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>
  • Moingona
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Roland
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (18 more) ...

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Mackey. See our List of 1890's Communities around Mackey.

Newspapers Published in Mackey ...

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 157 newspapers that have been published in the area around Mackey.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Mackey, 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 Mackey.

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 Mackey:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Mackey. 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 Mackey, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Mackey) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Mackey. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.1664, Longitude: -93.7568       In this case, the coordinates for Mackey have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025