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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 Olds (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 Olds. 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 hospitals and doctors 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.

Olds is located in Henry 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 Henry County: Des Moines, Jefferson, Lee, Louisa, Van Buren & Washington.

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

  • Henry County     (The home county of Olds)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Olds, with the one closest to Olds listed first.
    • Swedesburg
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Winfield
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Wayland
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Mount Union
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Mount Union is located in Henry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Union
      • Estimated population in 2017: 107 people
    • Mount Pleasant
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Westwood
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Westwood is located in Henry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
    • Rome
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Rome is located in Henry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rome
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 117 people
    • Oakland Mills
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • New London
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Salem
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Lowell
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Hillsboro
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Hillsboro is located in Henry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsboro
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 173 people
  • Des Moines County
  • Jefferson County
  • Johnson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Olds, with the one closest to Olds listed first.
    • River Junction
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Lone Tree
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Hills
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Amish
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Keokuk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Olds, with the one closest to Olds listed first.
    • Richland
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Talleyrand
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Keota
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Ollie
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Harper
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Harper is located in Keokuk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harper
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
  • Lee County
  • Louisa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Olds, with the one closest to Olds listed first.
    • Wyman
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Cotter
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Cotter is located in Louisa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotter
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 42 people
    • Columbus City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Columbus City is located in Louisa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbus City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 371 people
    • Columbus Junction
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Morning Sun
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Fredonia
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Fredonia is located in Louisa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredonia
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
    • Gladwin
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Wapello
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Grandview
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Grandview is located in Louisa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 519 people
    • Letts
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Elrick Junction
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Oakville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
  • Muscatine County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Olds, with the one closest to Olds listed first.
    • Conesville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Fruitland
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Nichols
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Nichols is located in Muscatine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nichols
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 358 people
  • Van Buren County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Olds, with the one closest to Olds listed first.
    • Stockport
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Winchester
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Winchester is located in Van Buren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winchester
    • Birmingham
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Birmingham is located in Van Buren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birmingham
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 423 people
  • Washington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Olds, with the one closest to Olds listed first.
    • Crawfordsville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Havre
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Coppock
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Coppock is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coppock
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 48 people
    • Ainsworth
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Washington
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Brighton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • West Chester
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • West Chester is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Chester
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 147 people
    • Rubio
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Rubio is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rubio
    • Riverside
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Kalona
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Kalona is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kalona
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,560 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kalona <1>
    • Wellman
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Nira
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Mercer County (IL)
    • New Boston
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)

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

Cemeteries Near Olds ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Olds.

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

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

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

  • North Wayne Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Swedesburg Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Friends Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Asbury Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Tallman Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Richie Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Center Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Old Finley Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Baptist Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Finley Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Beauchamp Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Sugar Creek Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (457 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.<2>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Olds had a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Olds had a population of 222 people.

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

  • Swedesburg
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Noble
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Noble is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noble
  • Winfield
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Wyman
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Crawfordsville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Wayland
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Trenton
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Trenton is located in Henry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trenton
  • Traxler ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Traxler is located in Henry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Traxler
  • Havre
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Merrimac
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Merrimac is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrimac
  • Mount Union
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Mount Union is located in Henry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Union
    • Estimated population in 2017: 107 people
  • Coppock
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Coppock is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coppock
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 48 people
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in Olds ...

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 171 newspapers that have been published in the area around Olds.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Olds, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Olds.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Olds:

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>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 Olds, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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 from Point A (ie- Olds) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.