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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 Murphy (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 Murphy. 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 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.

Murphy is located in Jasper 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 Jasper County: Mahaska, Marion, Marshall, Polk, Poweshiek, Story & Tama.

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

  • Jasper County     (The home county of Murphy)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Murphy, with the one closest to Murphy listed first.
    • Newton
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Killduff
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Killduff is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Killduff
    • Kellogg
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Lambs Grove
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Lambs Grove is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lambs Grove
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 165 people
    • Reasnor
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Reasnor is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reasnor
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 156 people
    • Galesburg
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Galesburg is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galesburg
    • Oakland Acres
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Oakland Acres is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland Acres
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 161 people
    • Sully
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Metz
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Metz is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Metz
    • Lynnville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Monroe
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Goddard
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Goddard is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goddard
    • Baxter
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Mahaska County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Murphy, with the one closest to Murphy listed first.
    • Peoria
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Peoria is located in Mahaska County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peoria
    • Taintor
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Taintor is located in Mahaska County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taintor
    • New Sharon
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Olivet
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Olivet is located in Mahaska County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olivet
    • Lacey
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Lacey is located in Mahaska County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacey
    • Leighton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Union Mills
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Union Mills is located in Mahaska County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Mills
    • Fishville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Fishville is located in Mahaska County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fishville
    • Evans
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Evans is located in Mahaska County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evans
    • Barnes City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Beacon
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Beacon is located in Mahaska County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beacon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 488 people
    • Oskaloosa
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Marion County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Murphy, with the one closest to Murphy listed first.
    • Otley
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Cordova
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Cordova is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cordova
    • Pella
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Pella is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pella
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,266 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pella <1>
    • Percy ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Percy is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Percy
    • Howell ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Howell is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howell
    • Swan
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Swan is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swan
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 74 people
    • Harvey
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Harvey is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvey
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 243 people
    • Knoxville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Pleasantville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Tracy
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Tracy is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tracy
    • Pershing
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Pershing is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pershing
    • Attica
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Attica is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Attica
  • Marshall County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Murphy, with the one closest to Murphy listed first.
    • Laurel
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Laurel is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 234 people
    • Gilman
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Gilman is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilman
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 484 people
    • Haverhill
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • State Center Junction
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • State Center Junction is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for State Center Junction
    • Ferguson
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Ferguson is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferguson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 122 people
    • Melbourne
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Dunbar
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Dunbar is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunbar
    • Rhodes
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Rhodes is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rhodes
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 298 people
    • Malta
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Malta is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malta
    • Dillon
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Dillon is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dillon
    • Luray
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Luray is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luray
    • LaMoille
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • LaMoille is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for LaMoille
    • Le Grand
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
  • Polk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Murphy, with the one closest to Murphy listed first.
    • Mitchellville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Santiago
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Santiago is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santiago
    • Runnells
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Adelphi
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Adelphi is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adelphi
    • Bondurant
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Loring
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Loring is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loring
    • Altoona
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Rising Sun
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Rising Sun is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rising Sun
    • Carlisle
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Pleasant Hill
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Berwick
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Berwick is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berwick
    • Country Estate Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Elkhart
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Poweshiek County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Murphy, with the one closest to Murphy listed first.
    • Searsboro
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Searsboro is located in Poweshiek County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Searsboro
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 145 people
    • Grinnell
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Malcom
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Montezuma
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Sheridan
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Sheridan is located in Poweshiek County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheridan
    • Brooklyn
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
  • Story County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Murphy, with the one closest to Murphy listed first.
    • Collins
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Collins is located in Story County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collins
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 472 people
    • Maxwell
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Iowa Center
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Iowa Center is located in Story County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iowa Center
    • Colo
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Tama County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Murphy, with the one closest to Murphy listed first.
    • Montour
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Tama
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Toledo
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Warren County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Murphy, with the one closest to Murphy listed first.
    • Hartford
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Palmyra
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Palmyra is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmyra
    • Sandyville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Sandyville is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandyville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 54 people

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

Cemeteries Near Murphy ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Murphy.

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

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

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

  • Jasper County Burying Ground
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Slagel Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Adamson Grove Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Mt. Zion Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Livingston Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Pleasant View Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Memorial Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Palo Alto Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Saums Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Antle Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Center Friends Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Hewitt Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (318 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.<3>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Murphy had a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Killduff
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Killduff is located in Jasper County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Killduff
  • Newton
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Coal Siding ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Coal Siding is located in Jasper County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Siding
  • Kellogg
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Reasnor
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Reasnor is located in Jasper County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reasnor
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 156 people
  • Galesburg
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Galesburg is located in Jasper County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galesburg
  • Sully
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Metz
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Metz is located in Jasper County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Metz
  • Monroe
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Lynnville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Otley
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Prairie City
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Searsboro
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Searsboro is located in Poweshiek County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Searsboro
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 145 people
    • Grinnell
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Baxter
      (14 miles [22.5 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 Murphy. See our List of 1890's Communities around Murphy.

Newspapers Published in Murphy ...

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 42 newspapers that have been published in the area around Murphy.

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

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 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 Murphy:

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 Murphy, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Murphy) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.