Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
So far, we found very little information about Morgin Valley. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>
We've added Morgin Valley to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Morgin Valley, please Contact Us.
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 Morgin Valley (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 Morgin Valley. 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.
Name Variations for Morgin Valley ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Morgin Valley: Morgin Vly. (or less commonly used: Morgin Vally. or Morgin Vlly.)
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.
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.
Although our information shows that the community of Morgin Valley is historic, it would have been located within present day Marion 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 Marion County: Jasper, Lucas, Mahaska, Monroe, Polk, Poweshiek & Warren.
Below are the counties that are near Morgin Valley. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Morgin Valley:
- Marion County (The home county of Morgin Valley)
- The following are listed by their distance from Morgin Valley, with the one closest to Morgin Valley listed first.
- Swan
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Swan is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swan
- Population from the 2020 Census: 74 people
- Percy ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Percy is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Percy
- Pleasantville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Cordova
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Cordova is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cordova
- Otley
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Knoxville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Melcher - Dallas
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Melcher - Dallas is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melcher - Dallas
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,236 people
- Howell ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Howell is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howell
- Bauer
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Bauer is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bauer
- Pella
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Pershing
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Pershing is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pershing
- Attica
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Attica is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Attica
- Clarke County
- Liberty
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Liberty is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
- Dallas County
- Booneville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Jasper County
- The following are listed by their distance from Morgin Valley, with the one closest to Morgin Valley listed first.
- Vandalia
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Vandalia is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vandalia
- Prairie City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Monroe
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Colfax
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Oswalt
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Oswalt is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oswalt
- Metz
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Metz is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Metz
- Reasnor
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Reasnor is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reasnor
- Population from the 2020 Census: 156 people
- Goddard
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Goddard is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goddard
- Valeria
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Valeria is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valeria
- Population from the 2020 Census: 58 people
- Green Castle
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Green Castle is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Castle
- Galesburg
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Galesburg is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galesburg
- Lambs Grove
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Lambs Grove is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lambs Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 165 people
- Lucas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Morgin Valley, with the one closest to Morgin Valley listed first.
- Williamson
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Olmitz
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Olmitz is located in Lucas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olmitz
- Madison County
- Saint Charles
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Mahaska County
- The following are listed by their distance from Morgin Valley, with the one closest to Morgin Valley listed first.
- Peoria
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Peoria is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peoria
- Olivet
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Olivet is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olivet
- Leighton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Taintor
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Taintor is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taintor
- Fishville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Fishville is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fishville
- Marshall County
- Rhodes
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Rhodes is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rhodes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 298 people
- Polk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Morgin Valley, with the one closest to Morgin Valley listed first.
- Runnells
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Adelphi
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Adelphi is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adelphi
- Carlisle
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Mitchellville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Rising Sun
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Rising Sun is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rising Sun
- Levey
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Levey is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Levey
- Pleasant Hill
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Altoona
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Santiago
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Santiago is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santiago
- Bondurant
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Country Estate Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Berwick
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Berwick is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berwick
- Story County
- The following are listed by their distance from Morgin Valley, with the one closest to Morgin Valley listed first.
- Collins
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Collins is located in Story County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collins
- Population from the 2020 Census: 472 people
- Maxwell
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Iowa Center
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Iowa Center is located in Story County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iowa Center
- Cambridge
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Warren County
- The following are listed by their distance from Morgin Valley, with the one closest to Morgin Valley listed first.
- Hartford
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Palmyra
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Palmyra is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmyra
- Sandyville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Sandyville is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandyville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 54 people
- Ackworth
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Ackworth is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ackworth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 105 people
- Clarkson ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Clarkson is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarkson
- Milo
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Indianola
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Spring Hill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Spring Hill is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 65 people
- Lakewood
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Lakewood is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakewood
- Lacona
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Liberty Center
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Liberty Center is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Center
- Orillia
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Orillia is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orillia
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Morgin Valley, see our County-by-County Page for Morgin Valley.
Cemeteries Near Morgin Valley ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Morgin Valley.
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 Morgin Valley - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Morgin Valley covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Morgin Valley, with the one closest to Morgin Valley listed first.
- Murray Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Swan Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Hughes Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Pleasant Hill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Moore Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Wheeling Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Vandalia Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Spurgeon Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Griffis Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Rhinehart Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Lowman Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Hartford Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Continue List (326 more) ...
- Black Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Dunreath Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Spry Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
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.
Morgin Valley itself is historic and was described in the Rand McNally Atlas as having a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Morgin Valley, with the one closest to Morgin Valley listed first.
- Swan
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Swan is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swan
- Population from the 2020 Census: 74 people
- Percy ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Percy is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Percy
- Vandalia
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Vandalia is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vandalia
- Runnells
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Ford
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Ford is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ford
- Hartford
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Pleasantville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Adelphi
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Adelphi is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adelphi
- Palmyra
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Palmyra is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmyra
- Prairie City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Sandyville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Sandyville is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandyville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 54 people
- Monroe
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Ivy
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Ivy is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivy
- Carlisle
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Cordova
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Cordova is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cordova
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Morgin Valley. See our List of 1890's Communities around Morgin Valley.
Newspapers Published in Morgin Valley ...
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 51 newspapers that have been published in the area around Morgin Valley.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Morgin Valley, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Morgin Valley.
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 Morgin Valley:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Marion County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Clarke County
- Dallas County
- Jasper County
- Lucas County
- Madison County
- Mahaska County
- Marshall County
- Polk County
- Story County
- Warren County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Iowa
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Morgin Valley, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <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 drawn from Point A (ie- Morgin Valley) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |