RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Iowa >> Woodbury County >> Midway >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Midway (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 Midway. 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 doctors and hospitals 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.

Midway is located in Woodbury 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 Woodbury County: Cherokee, Ida, Monona, Plymouth, Dakota (NE), Thurston (NE) & Union (SD).

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

  • Woodbury County     (The home county of Midway)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Midway, with the one closest to Midway listed first.
    • Correctionville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Cushing
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Cushing is located in Woodbury County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cushing
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 215 people
    • Anthon
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Danbury
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Oto
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Oto is located in Woodbury County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oto
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 101 people
    • Pierson
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Pierson is located in Woodbury County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pierson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 349 people
    • Smithland
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Climbing Hill
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Climbing Hill is located in Woodbury County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Climbing Hill
    • Moville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Hornick
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Hornick is located in Woodbury County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hornick
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 210 people
    • Bronson
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Bronson is located in Woodbury County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bronson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 318 people
    • Lawton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Lawton is located in Woodbury County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 979 people
    • Sloan
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
  • Buena Vista County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Midway, with the one closest to Midway listed first.
    • Alta
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • 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>
    • Casino Beach
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Casino Beach is located in Buena Vista County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casino Beach
  • Cherokee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Midway, with the one closest to Midway listed first.
    • Washta
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Washta is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washta
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 222 people
    • Quimby
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Quimby is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quimby
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 291 people
    • Fielding
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Fielding is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fielding
    • Mary Hill
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Mary Hill is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mary Hill
    • Cherokee
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Aurelia
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Meriden
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Meriden is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meriden
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 144 people
    • Cleghorn
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Cleghorn is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleghorn
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 214 people
  • Crawford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Midway, with the one closest to Midway listed first.
    • Ricketts
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Ricketts is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ricketts
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
    • Schleswig
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Charter Oak
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Kiron
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Kenwood
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Kenwood is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenwood
    • Boyer
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Boyer is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyer
    • Deloit
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Deloit is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deloit
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 254 people
    • Bell
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Bell is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell
  • Ida County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Midway, with the one closest to Midway listed first.
    • Battle Creek
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Holstein
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Ida Grove
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Galva
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Arthur
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Arthur is located in Ida County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arthur
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 194 people
  • Monona County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Midway, with the one closest to Midway listed first.
    • Mapleton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Rodney
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Rodney is located in Monona County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodney
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 57 people
    • Ute
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Ute is located in Monona County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ute
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 337 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ute <1>
    • Castana
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Soldier
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Turin
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Whiting
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Onawa
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Plymouth County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Midway, with the one closest to Midway listed first.
    • Kingsley
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • O'Leary
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • O'Leary is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for O'Leary
  • Sac County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Midway, with the one closest to Midway listed first.
    • Schaller
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Odebolt
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Odebolt is located in Sac County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Odebolt
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 933 people
    • Early
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Herring ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Herring is located in Sac County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herring

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

Cemeteries Near Midway ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Midway.

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 Midway - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • St. Paul Lutheran Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Rock Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Mt. Hope Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Cushing Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Correctionville Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Battle Twp. Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Oak Hill Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • St. Joseph's Catholic Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Danbury Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • St. Patricks Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (119 more) ...
    • Norwegian Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Lucky Valley Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Oto Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)

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 in 1895, Midway had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Correctionville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Battle Creek
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Cushing
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Cushing is located in Woodbury County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cushing
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 215 people
  • Anthon
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Danbury
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Oto
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Oto is located in Woodbury County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oto
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 101 people
  • Lucky Valley ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Lucky Valley is located in Woodbury County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucky Valley
  • Holstein
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Ida Grove
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Pierson
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Pierson is located in Woodbury County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pierson
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 349 people
  • Smithland
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Mapleton
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Washta
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Washta is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washta
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 222 people
    • Rodney
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Rodney is located in Monona County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodney
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 57 people
    • Climbing Hill
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Climbing Hill is located in Woodbury County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Climbing Hill

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

Newspapers Published in Midway ...

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 77 newspapers that have been published in the area around Midway.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Midway, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Midway.

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 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 Midway:

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 Midway, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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 from Point A (ie- Midway) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.