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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 Oswalt (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 Oswalt. 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.

Oswalt is located in Jasper County.

To see how the shape of Iowa's counties 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 Oswalt. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Oswalt:

  • Jasper County     (The home county of Oswalt)
  • Boone County
  • Dallas County
  • Mahaska County
  • Marion County
  • Marshall County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oswalt, with the one closest to Oswalt listed first.
    • Rhodes
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rhodes have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rhodes
      • Rhodes is located in Marshall County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 298 people
    • Melbourne
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Malta
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Malta have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malta
      • Malta is located in Marshall County
    • State Center Junction
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for State Center Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for State Center Junction
      • State Center Junction is located in Marshall County
    • State Center
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for State Center have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for State Center
      • State Center is located in Marshall County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,432 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for State Center <2>
    • Laurel
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Laurel have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel
      • Laurel is located in Marshall County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 234 people
    • Haverhill
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Haverhill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haverhill
      • Haverhill is located in Marshall County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 168 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Haverhill <2>
    • Luray
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Luray. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luray
      • Luray is located in Marshall County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Luray
      • From Oswalt to Luray
    • LaMoille
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Ferguson
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ferguson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferguson
      • Ferguson is located in Marshall County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 122 people
    • Clemons
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clemons have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clemons
      • Clemons is located in Marshall County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 141 people
    • Saint Anthony
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Anthony have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Anthony
      • Saint Anthony is located in Marshall County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 101 people
    • Gilman
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Polk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oswalt, with the one closest to Oswalt listed first.
    • Mitchellville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mitchellville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchellville
      • Mitchellville is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,273 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mitchellville <2>
    • Santiago
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Santiago. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santiago
      • Santiago is located in Polk County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Santiago
      • From Oswalt to Santiago
    • Bondurant
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bondurant have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bondurant
      • Bondurant is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,293 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bondurant <2>
    • Altoona
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Altoona have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altoona
      • Altoona is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 19,503 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Altoona <2>
    • Loring
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Rising Sun
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rising Sun. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rising Sun
      • Rising Sun is located in Polk County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Rising Sun
      • From Oswalt to Rising Sun
    • Pleasant Hill
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
      • Pleasant Hill is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,025 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pleasant Hill <2>
    • Berwick
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Berwick. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berwick
      • Berwick is located in Polk County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Berwick
      • From Oswalt to Berwick
    • Elkhart
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Runnells
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Adelphi
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Adelphi. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adelphi
      • Adelphi is located in Polk County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Adelphi
      • From Oswalt to Adelphi
    • Country Estate Village
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Country Estate Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Estate Village
      • Country Estate Village is located in Polk County
    • Ankeny
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ankeny have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ankeny
      • Ankeny is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 70,068 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ankeny <2>
  • Poweshiek County
  • Story County
  • Warren County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oswalt, with the one closest to Oswalt listed first.
    • Hartford
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hartford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartford
      • Hartford is located in Warren County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 780 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hartford <2>
    • Palmyra
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Sandyville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Lakewood
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Ackworth
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ackworth have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ackworth
      • Ackworth is located in Warren County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 105 people
    • Orillia
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Orillia. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orillia
      • Orillia is located in Warren County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Orillia
      • From Oswalt to Orillia
    • Indianola
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Spring Hill
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
      • Spring Hill is located in Warren County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 65 people
    • Cumming
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cumming have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumming
      • Cumming is located in Warren County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 413 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cumming <2>
    • Milo
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Prole
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prole have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prole
      • Prole is located in Warren County

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

Cemeteries Near Oswalt ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Oswalt.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

  • Shipp Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Shipp Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Shipp Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • McKeever Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McKeever Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the McKeever Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mitchellville Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mitchellville Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mitchellville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Colfax Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Highland Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Highland Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Highland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Fisher Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fisher Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fisher Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Greencastle Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Greencastle Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Greencastle Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sams Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sams Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sams Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Slaughter Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Slaughter Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Slaughter Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Franklin Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Prairie Belle Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Prairie Belle Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Prairie Belle Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Kelley Family Burial Ground
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Kelley Family Burial Ground
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Kelley Family Burial Ground have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (288 more) ...
    • Rorabaugh Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rorabaugh Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rorabaugh Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Graham Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Graham Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Graham Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Westview Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Westview Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Westview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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.<5>

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

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

  • Valeria
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Valeria have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valeria
    • Valeria is located in Jasper County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 58 people
  • Mitchellville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mitchellville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchellville
    • Mitchellville is located in Polk County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,273 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mitchellville <2>
  • Colfax
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Green Castle
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Mingo
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Santiago
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Santiago. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santiago
    • Santiago is located in Polk County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Santiago
    • From Oswalt to Santiago
  • Prairie City
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Ira
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Metz
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Bondurant
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bondurant have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bondurant
    • Bondurant is located in Polk County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,293 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bondurant <2>
  • Altoona
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Altoona have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altoona
    • Altoona is located in Polk County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 19,503 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Altoona <2>
  • Ivy
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ivy have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivy
    • Ivy is located in Polk County
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Vandalia
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Clyde
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Clyde. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clyde
      • Clyde is located in Jasper County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Clyde
      • From Oswalt to Clyde
    • Rising Sun
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rising Sun. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rising Sun
      • Rising Sun is located in Polk County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Rising Sun
      • From Oswalt to Rising Sun

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

Newspapers Published in Oswalt ...

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 48 newspapers that have been published in the area around Oswalt.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Oswalt, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Oswalt.

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 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 Oswalt:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Oswalt. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for State of Iowa: https://www.iowa.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<4>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.
<5>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 Oswalt, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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 from Point A (ie- Oswalt) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Oswalt. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.6961, Longitude: -93.2977    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025