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 Otter Creek (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 Otter Creek. 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.
Name Variations for Otter Creek ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
Another variation: Ottercreek.
- A typical abbreviation for Otter Creek: Otter Crk. (or less commonly used: Otter Ck. or Otter Cr.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Otter Creek. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Otter Creek.
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.
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.
Otter Creek is located in Jackson 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 Jackson County: Clinton, Dubuque, Jones, Carroll (IL) & Jo Daviess (IL).
Below are the counties that are near Otter Creek. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Otter Creek:
- Jackson County (The home county of Otter Creek)
- The following are listed by their distance from Otter Creek, with the one closest to Otter Creek listed first.
- Cottonville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Cottonville is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottonville
- La Motte
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Fulton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Fulton is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulton
- Andrew
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Crab Town
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Crab Town is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crab Town
- Ironhills
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Ironhills is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironhills
- Garry Owen
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Garry Owen is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garry Owen
- Emeline
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Emeline is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emeline
- Saint Donatus
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Maquoketa
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Springbrook
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bellevue
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Buckhorn
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Buckhorn is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckhorn
- Cedar County
- Lowden
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Clinton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otter Creek, with the one closest to Otter Creek listed first.
- Delmar
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Elwood
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Elwood is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elwood
- Lost Nation
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- North Welton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- North Welton is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Welton
- Charlotte
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Bliedorn ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Bliedorn is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bliedorn
- Welton
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Welton is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 148 people
- Goose Lake
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Goose Lake is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goose Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
- Toronto
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Toronto is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toronto
- Population from the 2020 Census: 119 people
- Bryant
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Bryant is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryant
- Teeds Grove
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Teeds Grove is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teeds Grove
- Tenmile
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Tenmile is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tenmile
- Andover
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Andover is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Andover
- Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
- Delaware County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otter Creek, with the one closest to Otter Creek listed first.
- Rockville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Rockville is located in Delaware County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockville
- Hopkinton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Dubuque County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otter Creek, with the one closest to Otter Creek listed first.
- Zwingle
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Zwingle is located in Dubuque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zwingle
- Population from the 2020 Census: 93 people
- Washington Mills
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Washington Mills is located in Dubuque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washington Mills
- Bernard
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Wilkins
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Wilkins is located in Dubuque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilkins
- Fillmore
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Fillmore is located in Dubuque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fillmore
- Key West
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Key West is located in Dubuque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Key West
- Massey
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Massey is located in Dubuque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massey
- Cattese
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Cattese is located in Dubuque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cattese
- Rockdale
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Rockdale is located in Dubuque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockdale
- Peosta
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Centralia
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Centralia is located in Dubuque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centralia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 128 people
- Cascade
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Dubuque
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Jones County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otter Creek, with the one closest to Otter Creek listed first.
- Clay Mills
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Clay Mills is located in Jones County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clay Mills
- Onslow
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Wyoming
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Center Junction
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Center Junction is located in Jones County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Junction
- Estimated population in 2015: 111 people
- Oxford Junction
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Oxford Junction is located in Jones County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxford Junction
- Population from the 2020 Census: 480 people
- Oxford Mills
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Oxford Mills is located in Jones County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxford Mills
- Hale
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Hale is located in Jones County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hale
- Monticello
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Amber
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Amber is located in Jones County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amber
- Langworthy
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Langworthy is located in Jones County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langworthy
- Olin
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Carroll County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Otter Creek, with the one closest to Otter Creek listed first.
- Arnold
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Arnold is located in Carroll County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnold
- Blackhawk
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Blackhawk is located in Carroll County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackhawk
- Marcus
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Marcus is located in Carroll County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcus
- Savanna
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Jo Daviess County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Otter Creek, with the one closest to Otter Creek listed first.
- Aiken
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Aiken is located in Jo Daviess County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aiken
- Galena Junction
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Galena Junction is located in Jo Daviess County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galena Junction
- East Dubuque
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Bremen
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Bremen is located in Jo Daviess County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bremen
- Galena
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Galena is located in Jo Daviess County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galena
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,151 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Galena <1>
- Menominee
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Menominee is located in Jo Daviess County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Menominee
- Population from the 2020 Census: 241 people
- Hanover
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Elizabeth
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Scales Mound
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Grant County (WI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Otter Creek, with the one closest to Otter Creek listed first.
- Rutledge
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Rutledge is located in Grant County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutledge
- Sinnipee ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Sinnipee is located in Grant County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sinnipee
- Hazel Green
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Hazel Green is located in Grant County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazel Green
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,219 people
- Jamestown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Jamestown is located in Grant County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
- Dickeyville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Dickeyville is located in Grant County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickeyville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,020 people
- Cuba City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Cuba City is located in Grant County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,047 people
- Lafayette County (WI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Otter Creek, with the one closest to Otter Creek listed first.
- Benton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Benton is located in Lafayette County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 966 people
- New Diggings
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- New Diggings is located in Lafayette County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Diggings
- Etna
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Etna is located in Lafayette County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etna
- White Oak
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- White Oak is located in Lafayette County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Oak
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Otter Creek, see our County-by-County Page for Otter Creek.
Cemeteries Near Otter Creek ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Otter Creek.
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 Otter Creek - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Otter Creek covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Otter Creek, with the one closest to Otter Creek listed first.
- St. Lawrence Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Sweezy Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Said Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Beedle Farm Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Beedle Farm Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Country Poor Farm Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Jackson County Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Cottonville Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Barnholdt / Dorr Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Dorr Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Holy Rosary Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Assumption Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (326 more) ...
- Bethel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Bethel Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<2> to the north of Zwingle.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #94252 <3>
- Sutton Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- East Hill Catholic Cemetery
(5 miles [8 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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Otter Creek had a population of 91 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Otter Creek, with the one closest to Otter Creek listed first.
- Zwingle
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Zwingle is located in Dubuque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zwingle
- Population from the 2020 Census: 93 people
- Cottonville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Cottonville is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottonville
- La Motte
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Fulton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Fulton is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulton
- Washington Mills
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Washington Mills is located in Dubuque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washington Mills
- Andrew
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Ironhills
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Ironhills is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironhills
- Bennettsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Bennettsville is located in Dubuque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bennettsville
- Emeline
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Emeline is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emeline
- Bernard
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Ozark ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Ozark is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ozark
- Maquoketa
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Springbrook
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Saint Donatus
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Canton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Canton is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canton
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Otter Creek. See our List of 1890's Communities around Otter Creek.
Newspapers Published in Otter Creek ...
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 116 newspapers that have been published in the area around Otter Creek.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Otter Creek, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Otter Creek.
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 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 Otter Creek:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Jackson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cedar County
- Clinton County
- Delaware County
- Dubuque County
- Jones County
- Carroll County
- Jo Daviess County
- Grant County
- Lafayette 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> | 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 from Point A (ie- Otter Creek) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <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 Otter Creek, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |