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 Orton (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 Orton. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals 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.
Orton is located in Harrison 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 Harrison County: Crawford, Monona, Pottawattamie, Shelby, Burt (NE) & Washington (NE).
Below are the counties that are near Orton. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Orton:
- Harrison County (The home county of Orton)
- The following are listed by their distance from Orton, with the one closest to Orton listed first.
- Logan
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Missouri Valley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Magnolia
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Magnolia is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 170 people
- California Junction
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- California Junction is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for California Junction
- Modale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Woodbine
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Persia
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Persia is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Persia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 281 people
- Yorkshire
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Yorkshire is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorkshire
- Mondamin
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Orson
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Orson is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orson
- Pisgah
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Little Sioux
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Crawford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Orton, with the one closest to Orton listed first.
- Dow City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Arion
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Arion is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arion
- Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
- Bell
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Bell is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell
- Monona County
- The following are listed by their distance from Orton, with the one closest to Orton listed first.
- Moorhead
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Soldier
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Blencoe
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Blencoe is located in Monona County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blencoe
- Population from the 2020 Census: 196 people
- Turin
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Pottawattamie County
- The following are listed by their distance from Orton, with the one closest to Orton listed first.
- Loveland
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Loveland is located in Pottawattamie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loveland
- Pigeon
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Pigeon is located in Pottawattamie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pigeon
- Honey Creek
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Honey Creek is located in Pottawattamie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honey Creek
- Neola
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Crescent
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Underwood
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Minden
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Weston
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Weston is located in Pottawattamie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weston
- McClelland
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Chautauqua
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Chautauqua is located in Pottawattamie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chautauqua
- Carter Lake
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Council Bluffs
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Shelby County
- The following are listed by their distance from Orton, with the one closest to Orton listed first.
- Portsmouth
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Tennant
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Tennant is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tennant
- Population from the 2020 Census: 63 people
- Shelby
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Panama
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Earling
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Earling is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Earling
- Population from the 2020 Census: 403 people
- Westphalia
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Westphalia is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westphalia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 117 people
- Corley
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Corley is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corley
- Harlan
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Kirkman
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Kirkman is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirkman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 61 people
- Defiance
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Defiance is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Defiance
- Population from the 2020 Census: 260 people
- Burt County (NE)
- Tekamah
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Dodge County (NE)
- Telbasta
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Telbasta is located in Dodge County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Telbasta
- Douglas County (NE)
- The following are listed by their distance from Orton, with the one closest to Orton listed first.
- Home Park
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Home Park is located in Douglas County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Home Park
- Briggs
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Briggs is located in Douglas County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briggs
- Irvington
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Irvington is located in Douglas County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irvington
- Bennington
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Omaha
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Omaha is located in Douglas County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Omaha
- Population from the 2020 Census: 478,393 people
- Omaha has also been known as:
- Omaha City
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Omaha <1>
- Boys Town
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Elk City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Elk City is located in Douglas County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk City
- Ralston
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Sarpy County (NE)
- The following are listed by their distance from Orton, with the one closest to Orton listed first.
- Avery
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Avery is located in Sarpy County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avery
- Bellevue
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- La Vista
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Washington County (NE)
- The following are listed by their distance from Orton, with the one closest to Orton listed first.
- De Soto ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- De Soto is located in Washington County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Soto
- De Soto has also been known as:
- DeSoto
- Fort Calhoun
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Blair
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Blair is located in Washington County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blair
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,948 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Blair <1>
- Herman
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Kennard
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Washington
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Arlington
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Admah ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Admah is located in Washington County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Admah
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Orton, see our County-by-County Page for Orton.
Cemeteries Near Orton ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Orton.
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 Orton - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Orton covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Orton, with the one closest to Orton listed first.
- Greenwood Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Linwood Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Logan Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Old Frazier Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Mt. Carmel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Rose Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Harris Grove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- McGavern Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove Cemetery
- The Oak Grove Cemetery has also been known as:
- Old Town Cemetery
- St. John Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #95638 <2>
- Calhoun Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Henderson Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Bethel Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Bethel Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 4 miles [6.4 km]<3> to the east of Logan.
- The Bethel Cemetery has also been known as:
- Bethel - Knauss Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #94244 <2>
- Continue List (174 more) ...
- Branson Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Magnolia Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Greenwood Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 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.<4>
While we didn't find Orton in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Orton.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Orton, with the one closest to Orton listed first.
- Logan
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Missouri Valley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Beebeetown
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Beebeetown is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beebeetown
- Loveland
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Loveland is located in Pottawattamie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loveland
- Magnolia
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Magnolia is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 170 people
- California Junction
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- California Junction is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for California Junction
- Pigeon
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Pigeon is located in Pottawattamie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pigeon
- Union Burg ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Union Burg is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Burg
- Modale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Honey Creek
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Honey Creek is located in Pottawattamie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honey Creek
- Woodbine
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Yorkshire
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Yorkshire is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorkshire
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Persia
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Persia is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Persia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 281 people
- Neola
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Mondamin
(13 miles [20.9 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 Orton. See our List of 1890's Communities around Orton.
Newspapers Published in Orton ...
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 357 newspapers that have been published in the area around Orton.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Orton, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Orton.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we start 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 Orton:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Harrison County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Crawford County
- Monona County
- Pottawattamie County
- Shelby County
- Burt County
- Dodge County
- Douglas County
- Sarpy County
- Washington 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> | 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- Orton) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <4> | 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 Orton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |