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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 Morgan (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 Morgan. 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 southwest 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 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 west 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.

Morgan is located in Decatur 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 Decatur County: Clarke, Ringgold, Wayne, Harrison (MO) & Mercer (MO).

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

  • Decatur County     (The home county of Morgan)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Morgan, with the one closest to Morgan listed first.
    • Woodland
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Pleasanton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Davis City
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Leon
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Decatur City
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Decatur City is located in Decatur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decatur City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 181 people
    • Garden Grove
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Garden Grove is located in Decatur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Grove
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 200 people
    • Lamoni
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Le Roy
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Van Wert
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Grand River
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Grand River is located in Decatur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand River
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 215 people
  • Clarke County
  • Lucas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Morgan, with the one closest to Morgan listed first.
    • Derby
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Derby is located in Lucas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derby
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 111 people
    • Lucas
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Ringgold County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Morgan, with the one closest to Morgan listed first.
    • Kellerton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Beaconsfield
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Beaconsfield is located in Ringgold County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaconsfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 15 people
    • Ellston
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Ellston is located in Ringgold County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellston
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 38 people
  • Wayne County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Morgan, with the one closest to Morgan listed first.
    • Lineville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Lineville is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lineville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 217 people
    • Clio
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Hodge
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Hodge is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hodge
    • Allerton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Humeston
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Corydon
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Millerton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Millerton is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 42 people
    • Genoa
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Promise City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Seymour
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
  • Grundy County (MO)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Morgan, with the one closest to Morgan listed first.
    • Spickard
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Tindall
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Harrison County (MO)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Morgan, with the one closest to Morgan listed first.
    • Akron
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Cainsville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Blythedale
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Blythedale is located in Harrison County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blythedale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 183 people
    • Eagleville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Mount Moriah
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Mount Moriah is located in Harrison County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Moriah
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 80 people
    • Ridgeway
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Gardner
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Hatfield
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Hatfield is located in Harrison County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatfield
  • Mercer County (MO)
  • Putnam County (MO)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Morgan, with the one closest to Morgan listed first.
    • Powersville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Powersville is located in Putnam County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powersville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 54 people
    • Lucerne
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Lucerne is located in Putnam County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucerne
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 80 people
    • Saint John
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
  • Sullivan County (MO)

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

Cemeteries Near Morgan ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Morgan.

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

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

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

  • Union Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Fugate Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • White Oak Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Moore Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Yingling Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Elm Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Gatliff Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Logan Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Shields Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Dale Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Gammill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Cowles Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (274 more) ...
    • St. Marys Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Hollers Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Corder Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 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 in 1895, Morgan had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Wataga
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Wataga is located in Mercer County (MO)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wataga
  • Adel
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Adel is located in Mercer County (MO)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adel
  • Lineville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Lineville is located in Wayne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lineville
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 217 people
  • Pleasanton
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Woodland
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Saline
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Saline is located in Mercer County (MO)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saline
  • Big Spring ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Big Spring is located in Wayne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Spring
  • Blockly
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Blockly is located in Decatur County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blockly
  • Mercer
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Burrows
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Clio
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Davis City
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Alvord ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Alvord is located in Mercer County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alvord
    • Ilia ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Ilia is located in Mercer County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ilia
    • Leon
      (10 miles [16.1 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 Morgan. See our List of 1890's Communities around Morgan.

Newspapers Published in Morgan ...

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 89 newspapers that have been published in the area around Morgan.

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

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Morgan:

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 Morgan, 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- Morgan) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.