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 Nichols (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 Nichols. 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 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.
Nichols is located in Muscatine 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 Muscatine County: Cedar, Johnson, Louisa, Scott & Rock Island (IL).
Below are the counties that are near Nichols. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Nichols:
- Muscatine County (The home county of Nichols)
- The following are listed by their distance from Nichols, with the one closest to Nichols listed first.
- West Liberty
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Conesville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Conesville is located in Muscatine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conesville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 427 people
- Atalissa
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Fruitland
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Fruitland is located in Muscatine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruitland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 966 people
- Moscow
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Moscow is located in Muscatine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moscow
- Muscatine
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Wilton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- South Towne Park
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- South Towne Park is located in Muscatine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Towne Park
- Fairport
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Fairport is located in Muscatine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairport
- Pine Mills ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Pine Mills is located in Muscatine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Mills
- Pleasant Prairie
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Pleasant Prairie is located in Muscatine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Prairie
- Midway Beach
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Midway Beach is located in Muscatine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway Beach
- Cedar County
- The following are listed by their distance from Nichols, with the one closest to Nichols listed first.
- Downey
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Downey is located in Cedar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downey
- Centerdale
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Centerdale is located in Cedar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerdale
- Springdale
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Springdale is located in Cedar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springdale
- West Branch
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Rochester
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Rochester is located in Cedar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochester
- Lime City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Lime City is located in Cedar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lime City
- Former names for Lime City:
- Lime Kilns
- Munn
- Cedar Valley
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Cedar Valley is located in Cedar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Valley
- Buchanan
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Buchanan is located in Cedar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buchanan
- Cedar Bluff
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Cedar Bluff is located in Cedar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Bluff
- Tipton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Sunbury
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Sunbury is located in Cedar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunbury
- Bennett
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Bennett is located in Cedar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bennett
- Population from the 2020 Census: 373 people
- Henry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Nichols, with the one closest to Nichols listed first.
- Winfield
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Olds
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Olds is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olds
- Population from the 2020 Census: 222 people
- Swedesburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Swedesburg is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swedesburg
- Mount Union
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Mount Union is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Union
- Estimated population in 2017: 107 people
- Wayland
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Johnson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Nichols, with the one closest to Nichols listed first.
- Lone Tree
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- River Junction
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- River Junction is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Junction
- Hills
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Midway ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Midway is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
- Oasis
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Oasis is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oasis
- Iowa City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Elmira
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Elmira is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmira
- University Heights
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- University Heights is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University Heights
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,025 people
- Morse
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Morse is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morse
- Coralville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Oakdale
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Oakdale is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakdale
- Frytown
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Frytown is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frytown
- Linn County
- The following are listed by their distance from Nichols, with the one closest to Nichols listed first.
- Lisbon
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Ely
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Louisa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Nichols, with the one closest to Nichols listed first.
- Letts
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Gladwin
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Gladwin is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladwin
- Fredonia
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Fredonia is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredonia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
- Columbus Junction
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Columbus City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Columbus City is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbus City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 371 people
- Grandview
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Grandview is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
- Population from the 2020 Census: 519 people
- Cotter
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Cotter is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotter
- Population from the 2020 Census: 42 people
- Wapello
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Wapello is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wapello
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,999 people
- Wyman
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Wyman is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyman
- Morning Sun
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Elrick Junction
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Elrick Junction is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elrick Junction
- Oakville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Scott County
- The following are listed by their distance from Nichols, with the one closest to Nichols listed first.
- Durant
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- New Liberty
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- New Liberty is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Liberty
- Population from the 2020 Census: 143 people
- Blue Grass
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Buffalo
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Walcott
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Nichols, with the one closest to Nichols listed first.
- Riverside
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Ainsworth
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Kalona
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Crawfordsville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Havre
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Havre is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Havre
- Washington
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Wellman
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- West Chester
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- West Chester is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Chester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 147 people
- Coppock
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Coppock is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coppock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 48 people
- Mercer County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Nichols, with the one closest to Nichols listed first.
- Eliza
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Eliza is located in Mercer County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eliza
- Petersville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Petersville is located in Mercer County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersville
- Mannon
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Mannon is located in Mercer County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mannon
- New Boston
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Marston
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Marston is located in Mercer County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marston
- Joy
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Joy is located in Mercer County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joy
- Population from the 2020 Census: 377 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Joy <1>
- Rock Island County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Nichols, with the one closest to Nichols listed first.
- Illinois City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Illinois City is located in Rock Island County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Illinois City
- Buffalo Prairie
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Edgington
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Edgington is located in Rock Island County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgington
- Andalusia
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Nichols, see our County-by-County Page for Nichols.
Cemeteries Near Nichols ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Nichols.
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 Nichols - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Nichols covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Nichols, with the one closest to Nichols listed first.
- Nichols Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Watkins Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Rogers Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Lone Tree Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Lenz Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- South Prairie Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Brockway Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Mt. Calvary Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Smith Family Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Conesville Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (333 more) ...
- Oak Ridge Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Lone Tree Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Forbes Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 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 Nichols had a population of 237 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Nichols had a population of 358 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Nichols, with the one closest to Nichols listed first.
- West Liberty
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Lone Tree
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Conesville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Conesville is located in Muscatine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conesville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 427 people
- Downey
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Downey is located in Cedar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downey
- Atalissa
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- River Junction
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- River Junction is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Junction
- Port Allen ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Port Allen is located in Muscatine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Allen
- Letts
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Centerdale
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Centerdale is located in Cedar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerdale
- Iowa Junction ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Iowa Junction is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iowa Junction
- Fruitland
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Fruitland is located in Muscatine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruitland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 966 people
- Midway ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Midway is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Fredonia
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Fredonia is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredonia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
- Moscow
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Moscow is located in Muscatine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moscow
- Springdale
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Springdale is located in Cedar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springdale
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Nichols. See our List of 1890's Communities around Nichols.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Nichols ...
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 185 newspapers that have been published in the area around Nichols.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Nichols. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Nichols and those printed in the larger area surrounding Nichols.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4> of Nichols.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with 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 Nichols:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Muscatine County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cedar County
- Henry County
- Johnson County
- Linn County
- Louisa County
- Scott County
- Washington County
- Mercer County
- Rock Island County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Iowa
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 Nichols, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Nichols) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |