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 Packard (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 Packard. 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 and doctors 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.
Packard is located in Butler 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 Butler County: Black Hawk, Bremer, Cerro Gordo, Chickasaw, Floyd, Franklin, Grundy & Hardin.
Below are the counties that are near Packard. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Packard:
- Butler County (The home county of Packard)
- The following are listed by their distance from Packard, with the one closest to Packard listed first.
- Greene
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Clarksville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Allison
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Butler Center
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Butler Center is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butler Center
- Bristow
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Bristow is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bristow
- Population from the 2020 Census: 147 people
- Coster
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Coster is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coster
- Shell Rock
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Dumont
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Aredale
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Kesley
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Kesley is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kesley
- Parkersburg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Aplington
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Black Hawk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Packard, with the one closest to Packard listed first.
- Finchford
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Finchford is located in Black Hawk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Finchford
- Janesville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- North Cedar
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- North Cedar is located in Black Hawk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Cedar
- Cedar City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Cedar City is located in Black Hawk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar City
- Cedar Falls
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Edwards ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Edwards is located in Black Hawk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwards
- Bremer County
- The following are listed by their distance from Packard, with the one closest to Packard listed first.
- Plainfield
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Horton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Horton is located in Bremer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horton
- Waverly
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Bremer
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Bremer is located in Bremer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bremer
- Seigel
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Seigel is located in Bremer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seigel
- Frederika
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Frederika is located in Bremer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frederika
- Population from the 2020 Census: 205 people
- Denver
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Tripoli
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Knittel
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Knittel is located in Bremer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knittel
- Readlyn
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Klinger
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Klinger is located in Bremer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Klinger
- Cerro Gordo County
- The following are listed by their distance from Packard, with the one closest to Packard listed first.
- Dougherty
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Dougherty is located in Cerro Gordo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dougherty
- Population from the 2020 Census: 56 people
- Cartersville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Cartersville is located in Cerro Gordo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cartersville
- Rockwell
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Portland
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Portland is located in Cerro Gordo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portland
- Cameron
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Cameron is located in Cerro Gordo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cameron
- Mason City Junction
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Mason City Junction is located in Cerro Gordo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason City Junction
- Rock Falls
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Rock Falls is located in Cerro Gordo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Falls
- Population from the 2020 Census: 146 people
- Swaledale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Swaledale is located in Cerro Gordo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swaledale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 157 people
- Chickasaw County
- The following are listed by their distance from Packard, with the one closest to Packard listed first.
- Nashua
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Bradford
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Bradford is located in Chickasaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradford
- Chickasaw
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Chickasaw is located in Chickasaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chickasaw
- Bassett
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Bassett is located in Chickasaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bassett
- Population from the 2020 Census: 62 people
- Ionia
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Republic
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Republic is located in Chickasaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Republic
- Deerfield
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Deerfield is located in Chickasaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deerfield
- North Washington
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- North Washington is located in Chickasaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Washington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 137 people
- New Hampton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Fredericksburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Alta Vista
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Floyd County
- The following are listed by their distance from Packard, with the one closest to Packard listed first.
- Aureola
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Aureola is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aureola
- Marble Rock
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Oakwood
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Oakwood is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood
- Roseville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Roseville is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseville
- Carrville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Carrville is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carrville
- Charles City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Rockford
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Floyd
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Rudd
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Colwell
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Nora Springs
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Packard, with the one closest to Packard listed first.
- Hansell
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Geneva
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Faulkner
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Faulkner is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Faulkner
- Chapin
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Chapin is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapin
- Hampton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Sheffield
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Sheffield is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheffield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,096 people
- Reeve
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Reeve is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeve
- Bradford
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Bradford is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradford
- Grundy County
- The following are listed by their distance from Packard, with the one closest to Packard listed first.
- Stout
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Stout is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stout
- Population from the 2020 Census: 214 people
- Buck Grove
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Buck Grove is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buck Grove
- Fern
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Fern is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fern
- Fredsville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Fredsville is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredsville
- Dike
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Wellsburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Hardin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Packard, with the one closest to Packard listed first.
- Ackley
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Abbott
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Abbott is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbott
- Cleves
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Cleves is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleves
- Mitchell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Packard, with the one closest to Packard listed first.
- Orchard
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Orchard is located in Mitchell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orchard
- Population from the 2020 Census: 71 people
- Rock Creek
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Rock Creek is located in Mitchell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Creek
- New Haven
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- New Haven is located in Mitchell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Haven
- Osage
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Packard, see our County-by-County Page for Packard.
Cemeteries Near Packard ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Packard.
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 Packard - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Packard covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Packard, with the one closest to Packard listed first.
- Coldwater Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Brethren Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Hardemen Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Rose Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- St. Marys Catholic Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Wilmar Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- South Vilmar Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Lynwood Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Jungling Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Old Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Pleasant Valley Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Pleasant Hill Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (211 more) ...
- Pleasant Grove Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Butler County Poor Farm Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Ligget 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.<3>
While we didn't find Packard in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Packard.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Packard, with the one closest to Packard listed first.
- Greene
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Clarksville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Powersville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Powersville is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powersville
- Allison
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Plainfield
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Bristow
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Bristow is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bristow
- Population from the 2020 Census: 147 people
- Butler Center
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Butler Center is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butler Center
- Marble Rock
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Nashua
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Coster
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Coster is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coster
- Shell Rock
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Horton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Horton is located in Bremer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horton
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Dumont
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Bradford
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Bradford is located in Chickasaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradford
- Aredale
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Packard. See our List of 1890's Communities around Packard.
Newspapers Published in Packard ...
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 108 newspapers that have been published in the area around Packard.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Packard, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Packard.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Packard:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Butler County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Black Hawk County
- Bremer County
- Cerro Gordo County
- Chickasaw County
- Floyd County
- Franklin County
- Grundy County
- Hardin County
- Mitchell 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 Packard, 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' (or 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- Packard) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |