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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 Midvale (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 Midvale. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Midvale is located in Story 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 Story County: Boone, Hamilton, Hardin, Jasper, Marshall & Polk.

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

  • Story County     (The home county of Midvale)
  • Boone County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Midvale, with the one closest to Midvale listed first.
    • Luther
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • 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 Midvale to Luther
    • Madrid
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Jordan
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Boone
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Moingona
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Mackey
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • 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 Midvale to Mackey
    • Centerville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Centerville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
      • Centerville is located in Boone County
    • Ogden
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ogden have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <2>
    • Fraser
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fraser have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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
    • Berkley
      (25 miles [40.2 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 Midvale to Berkley
    • Pilot Mound
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Beaver
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beaver have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Boxholm have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <2>
  • Dallas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Midvale, with the one closest to Midvale listed first.
    • High Bridge
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • 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 Midvale to High Bridge
    • Xenia
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Granger
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Woodward
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Bouton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bouton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <2>
    • Dallas Center
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Minburn
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Perry
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Waukee
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Adel
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Adel have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adel
      • Adel is located in Dallas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,607 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Adel <2>
    • Panther
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Panther. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panther
      • Panther is located in Dallas County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Panther
      • From Midvale to Panther
  • Greene County
    • Rippey
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Hamilton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Midvale, with the one closest to Midvale listed first.
    • Randall
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Ellsworth
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Jewell
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Stanhope
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stanhope have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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
    • Stratford
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stratford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <2>
  • Hardin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Midvale, with the one closest to Midvale listed first.
    • Garden City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garden City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
      • Garden City is located in Hardin County
    • Radcliffe
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Hubbard
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hubbard have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <2>
  • Jasper County
  • Marshall County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Midvale, with the one closest to Midvale listed first.
    • Rhodes
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rhodes have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rhodes
      • Rhodes is located in Marshall County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 298 people
    • State Center
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for State Center have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for State Center
      • State Center is located in Marshall County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,432 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for State Center <2>
    • Malta
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Malta have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malta
      • Malta is located in Marshall County
    • Saint Anthony
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Anthony have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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
    • Melbourne
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Clemons
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clemons have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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
    • State Center Junction
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for State Center Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for State Center Junction
      • State Center Junction is located in Marshall County
    • LaMoille
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Polk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Midvale, with the one closest to Midvale listed first.
    • Sheldahl
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Alleman
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Polk City Junction
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Elkhart
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Loring
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Polk City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Ankeny
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ankeny have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <2>
    • Andrews
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Herrold
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Carney
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • 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 Midvale to Carney
    • Johnston
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Johnston have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <2>
    • Saylorville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saylorville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saylorville
      • Saylorville is located in Polk County
    • Berwick
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Berwick. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berwick
      • Berwick is located in Polk County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Berwick
      • From Midvale to Berwick
  • Warren County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Midvale, with the one closest to Midvale listed first.
    • Lakewood
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Orillia
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Orillia. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orillia
      • Orillia is located in Warren County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Orillia
      • From Midvale to Orillia

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

Cemeteries Near Midvale ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Midvale.

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

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

  • Lincoln Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lincoln Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lincoln Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Walnut Grove Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Walnut Grove Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Walnut Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Ballard Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ballard Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ballard Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bethany Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bethany Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bethany Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Fjelberg Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fjelberg Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fjelberg Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Palestine Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Palestine Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Palestine Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Cambridge Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cambridge Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cambridge Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Memorial Gardens Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Memorial Gardens Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Memorial Gardens Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sheldahl Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Bethlehem Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Sunday Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sunday Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sunday Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Slater Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Slater Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Slater Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (274 more) ...

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.<6>

While we didn't find Midvale in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Midvale.

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

  • Huxley
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Huxley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <2>
  • Kelley
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Slater
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Cambridge
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cambridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambridge
    • Cambridge is located in Story County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 796 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cambridge <2>
  • Ames
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Sheldahl
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Ontario
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ontario have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ontario
    • Ontario is located in Story County
  • Polk City Junction
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Elkhart
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Iowa Center
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Nevada
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Madrid
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Crocker
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crocker have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crocker
      • Crocker is located in Polk County
    • Maxwell
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Luther
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • 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 Midvale to Luther

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

Newspapers Published in Midvale ...

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 234 newspapers that have been published in the area around Midvale.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Midvale, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Midvale.

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 Midvale:

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

The official website for Story County: www.storycounty.com/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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>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- Midvale) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Midvale. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.9295, Longitude: -93.6103    
<5>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.
<6>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 Midvale, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025