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 Merrimac (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 Merrimac. 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.
Merrimac is located in Jefferson 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 Jefferson County: Davis, Henry, Keokuk, Van Buren, Wapello & Washington.
Below are the counties that are near Merrimac. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Merrimac:
- Jefferson County (The home county of Merrimac)
- The following are listed by their distance from Merrimac, with the one closest to Merrimac listed first.
- Lockridge
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Pleasant Plain
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Pleasant Plain is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Plain
- Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
- Perlee
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Perlee is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perlee
- Glasgow
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Glasgow is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glasgow
- Fairfield
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Maharishi Vedic City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- 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
- Libertyville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Libertyville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Libertyville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 341 people
- Packwood
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Packwood is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Packwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 225 people
- Abingdon
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Abingdon is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abingdon
- Linby
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Linby is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linby
- Pekin
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Pekin is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pekin
- Batavia
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Des Moines County
- The following are listed by their distance from Merrimac, with the one closest to Merrimac listed first.
- Yarmouth
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Danville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Danville is located in Des Moines County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 896 people
- Kline
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Kline is located in Des Moines County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kline
- Dodgeville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Dodgeville is located in Des Moines County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodgeville
- Mediapolis
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Middletown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Middletown is located in Des Moines County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middletown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 335 people
- Sperry
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Sperry is located in Des Moines County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sperry
- Henry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Merrimac, with the one closest to Merrimac listed first.
- Wayland
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Rome
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Rome is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rome
- Population from the 2020 Census: 117 people
- Olds
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Olds is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olds
- Population from the 2020 Census: 222 people
- Swedesburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Swedesburg is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swedesburg
- Westwood
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Westwood is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
- Oakland Mills
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Oakland Mills is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland Mills
- Mount Pleasant
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Winfield
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Mount Union
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Mount Union is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Union
- Estimated population in 2017: 107 people
- Hillsboro
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Hillsboro is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsboro
- Population from the 2020 Census: 173 people
- Salem
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- New London
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Lowell
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Lowell is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowell
- Johnson County
- River Junction
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- River Junction is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Junction
- Keokuk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Merrimac, with the one closest to Merrimac listed first.
- Richland
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Talleyrand
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Talleyrand is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talleyrand
- Ollie
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Ollie is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ollie
- Population from the 2020 Census: 207 people
- Keota
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Harper
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Harper is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harper
- Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
- Nugent
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Nugent is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nugent
- Martinsburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Martinsburg is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martinsburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
- Kinross
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Kinross is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinross
- Population from the 2020 Census: 71 people
- Hayesville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Hayesville is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayesville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 48 people
- Sigourney
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Lee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Merrimac, with the one closest to Merrimac listed first.
- Houghton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Houghton is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houghton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
- Russellville ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Russellville is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russellville
- Russellville has also been known as:
- Doantown
- White Lane ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- White Lane is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Lane
- Big Mound
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Big Mound is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Mound
- Mount Hamill
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Mount Hamill is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hamill
- Former names for Mount Hamill:
- Courtwright
- Hamill
- Pilot Grove
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Pilot Grove is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilot Grove
- Saint Paul
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Saint Paul is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Paul
- Population from the 2020 Census: 123 people
- Primrose
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Primrose is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Primrose
- West Point
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Franklin
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Franklin is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 132 people
- Louisa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Merrimac, with the one closest to Merrimac listed first.
- Wyman
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Wyman is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyman
- Cotter
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Cotter is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotter
- Population from the 2020 Census: 42 people
- Columbus City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Columbus City is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbus City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 371 people
- Columbus Junction
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Fredonia
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Fredonia is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredonia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
- Gladwin
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Gladwin is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladwin
- Morning Sun
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Wapello
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Wapello is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wapello
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,999 people
- Grandview
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Grandview is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
- Population from the 2020 Census: 519 people
- Letts
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Muscatine County
- Conesville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Conesville is located in Muscatine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conesville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 427 people
- Van Buren County
- The following are listed by their distance from Merrimac, with the one closest to Merrimac listed first.
- Stockport
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Birmingham
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Birmingham is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birmingham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 423 people
- Winchester
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Winchester is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winchester
- Kilbourn
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Kilbourn is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kilbourn
- Mount Zion
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Zion is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
- Douds
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Douds is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douds
- Bonaparte
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Leando
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Leando is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leando
- Keosauqua
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Selma
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Selma is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selma
- Farmington
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Wapello County
- The following are listed by their distance from Merrimac, with the one closest to Merrimac listed first.
- Competine
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Competine is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Competine
- Eldon
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Merrimac, with the one closest to Merrimac listed first.
- Coppock
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Coppock is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coppock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 48 people
- Brighton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Crawfordsville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Havre
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Havre is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Havre
- Washington
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Rubio
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Rubio is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rubio
- Ainsworth
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- West Chester
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- West Chester is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Chester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 147 people
- Kalona
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Wellman
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Nira
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Nira is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nira
- Riverside
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Merrimac, see our County-by-County Page for Merrimac.
Cemeteries Near Merrimac ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Merrimac.
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 Merrimac - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Merrimac covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Merrimac, with the one closest to Merrimac listed first.
- German Methodist Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Union Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Hope Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Messer Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Roth Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Green Mound Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Haynes Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Kurtz Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Shively Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- St. Peter's & Paul's German Catholic Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Germanville Catholic Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- St. Johns Lutheran Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (480 more) ...
- German Lutheran Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Armstrong Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Worhies Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
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 Merrimac had a population of 39 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Merrimac, with the one closest to Merrimac listed first.
- Germanville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Germanville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Germanville
- Trenton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Trenton is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trenton
- Wayland
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Coppock
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Coppock is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coppock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 48 people
- Salina
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Salina is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salina
- Lockridge
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Rome
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Rome is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rome
- Population from the 2020 Census: 117 people
- Noble
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Noble is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noble
- Brighton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Traxler ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Traxler is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Traxler
- Pleasant Plain
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Pleasant Plain is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Plain
- Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
- Beckwith
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Beckwith is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beckwith
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Swedesburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Swedesburg is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swedesburg
- Olds
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Olds is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olds
- Population from the 2020 Census: 222 people
- Perlee
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Perlee is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perlee
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Merrimac. See our List of 1890's Communities around Merrimac.
Newspapers Published in Merrimac ...
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 209 newspapers that have been published in the area around Merrimac.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Merrimac, 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 Merrimac.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Merrimac:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Jefferson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Des Moines County
- Henry County
- Johnson County
- Keokuk County
- Lee County
- Louisa County
- Muscatine County
- Van Buren County
- Wapello County
- Washington 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 Merrimac, 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' (or 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- Merrimac) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |