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 Marcus (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 Marcus. 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 and doctors 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.
Marcus is located in Cherokee 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 Cherokee County: Buena Vista, Clay, Ida, O'Brien, Plymouth, Sac, Sioux & Woodbury.
Below are the counties that are near Marcus. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Marcus:
- Cherokee County (The home county of Marcus)
- The following are listed by their distance from Marcus, with the one closest to Marcus listed first.
- Cleghorn
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Cleghorn is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleghorn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 214 people
- Mary Hill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Mary Hill is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mary Hill
- Meriden
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Meriden is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meriden
- Population from the 2020 Census: 144 people
- Fielding
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Fielding is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fielding
- Cherokee
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Larrabee
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Larrabee is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larrabee
- Population from the 2020 Census: 130 people
- Quimby
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Quimby is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quimby
- Population from the 2020 Census: 291 people
- Washta
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Washta is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washta
- Population from the 2020 Census: 222 people
- Aurelia
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Buena Vista County
- The following are listed by their distance from Marcus, with the one closest to Marcus listed first.
- Elkton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Elkton is located in Buena Vista County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkton
- Alta
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Alta is located in Buena Vista County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alta
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,916 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alta <1>
- Linn Grove
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Clay County
- Peterson
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Ida County
- The following are listed by their distance from Marcus, with the one closest to Marcus listed first.
- Holstein
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Galva
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- O'Brien County
- The following are listed by their distance from Marcus, with the one closest to Marcus listed first.
- Germantown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Germantown is located in O'Brien County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Germantown
- Paullina
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Paullina is located in O'Brien County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paullina
- Population from the 2020 Census: 965 people
- Calumet
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Calumet is located in O'Brien County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calumet
- Population from the 2020 Census: 155 people
- Sutherland
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Archer
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Primghar
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Sheldon
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Sanborn
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Hartley
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hartley is located in O'Brien County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,556 people
- Moneta
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Moneta is located in O'Brien County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moneta
- Plymouth County
- The following are listed by their distance from Marcus, with the one closest to Marcus listed first.
- Remsen
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Oyens
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Oyens is located in Plymouth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oyens
- Population from the 2020 Census: 102 people
- O'Leary
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- O'Leary is located in Plymouth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for O'Leary
- Kingsley
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Le Mars
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Struble
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Struble is located in Plymouth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Struble
- Population from the 2020 Census: 77 people
- Brunsville
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Brunsville is located in Plymouth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brunsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 152 people
- Merrill
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Craig
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Craig is located in Plymouth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craig
- Population from the 2020 Census: 91 people
- Hinton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Adaville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Adaville is located in Plymouth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adaville
- Sioux County
- The following are listed by their distance from Marcus, with the one closest to Marcus listed first.
- Granville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Granville is located in Sioux County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 303 people
- Alton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Hospers
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Orange City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Maurice
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Maurice is located in Sioux County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maurice
- Population from the 2020 Census: 270 people
- Middleburg
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Middleburg is located in Sioux County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middleburg
- Sioux Center
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Westbrook Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Westbrook Village is located in Sioux County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westbrook Village
- Boyden
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Boyden is located in Sioux County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyden
- Population from the 2020 Census: 682 people
- Ireton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Matlock
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Hull
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Woodbury County
- The following are listed by their distance from Marcus, with the one closest to Marcus listed first.
- Pierson
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Pierson is located in Woodbury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pierson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 349 people
- Correctionville
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Cushing
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Cushing is located in Woodbury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cushing
- Population from the 2020 Census: 215 people
- Moville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Anthon
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Lawton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Lawton is located in Woodbury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 979 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Marcus, see our County-by-County Page for Marcus.
Cemeteries Near Marcus ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Marcus.
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 Marcus - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Marcus covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Marcus, with the one closest to Marcus listed first.
- Holy Name Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Marcus - Amherst Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Trinity Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Mary Hill Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Meriden Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Liberty Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Marys Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Marys Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southwest of Remsen.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #96194 <2>
- Remsen Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Remsen Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Remsen Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southwest of Remsen.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #95928 <2>
- Pleasant Hill Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- St. John Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- St. Josephs Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Continue List (129 more) ...
- Rock Twp. Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Prairie View Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- West Prairie View Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
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 Marcus had a population of 671 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Marcus had a population of 1,055 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Marcus, with the one closest to Marcus listed first.
- Cleghorn
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Cleghorn is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleghorn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 214 people
- Remsen
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Meriden
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Meriden is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meriden
- Population from the 2020 Census: 144 people
- Granville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Granville is located in Sioux County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 303 people
- Fielding
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Fielding is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fielding
- Paullina
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Paullina is located in O'Brien County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paullina
- Population from the 2020 Census: 965 people
- Oyens
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Oyens is located in Plymouth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oyens
- Population from the 2020 Census: 102 people
- Cherokee
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Larrabee
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Larrabee is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larrabee
- Population from the 2020 Census: 130 people
- Carnes
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Carnes is located in Sioux County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carnes
- O'Leary
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- O'Leary is located in Plymouth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for O'Leary
- Union Center
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Union Center is located in Plymouth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Center
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Quimby
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Quimby is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quimby
- Population from the 2020 Census: 291 people
- Calumet
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Calumet is located in O'Brien County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calumet
- Population from the 2020 Census: 155 people
- Alton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Marcus. See our List of 1890's Communities around Marcus.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Marcus ...
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 119 newspapers that have been published in the area around Marcus.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Marcus. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Marcus and those printed in the larger area surrounding Marcus.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4> of Marcus.
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 websites either 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 Marcus:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Cherokee County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Buena Vista County
- Clay County
- Ida County
- O'Brien County
- Plymouth County
- Sioux County
- Woodbury 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 Marcus, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Marcus) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |