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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 Pekin (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 Pekin. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Pekin is primarily located in Jefferson County. A portion of Pekin extends into Keokuk 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 Jefferson County: Davis, Henry, Keokuk, Van Buren, Wapello & Washington.

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

  • Jefferson County     (The home county of Pekin)
  • Davis County
  • Henry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pekin, with the one closest to Pekin listed first.
    • Wayland
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Rome
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Rome is located in Henry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rome
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 117 people
    • Westwood
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Westwood is located in Henry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
  • Iowa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pekin, with the one closest to Pekin listed first.
    • North English
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Ambrose
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Ambrose is located in Iowa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ambrose
    • Millersburg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Parnell
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Keokuk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pekin, with the one closest to Pekin listed first.
    • Nugent
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Nugent is located in Keokuk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nugent
    • Ollie
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Martinsburg
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Martinsburg is located in Keokuk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martinsburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
    • Hedrick
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Richland
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Hayesville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Hayesville is located in Keokuk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayesville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 48 people
    • Sigourney
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Talleyrand
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Harper
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Harper is located in Keokuk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harper
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
    • Delta
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Keota
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Webster
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Webster is located in Keokuk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 71 people
  • Mahaska County
  • Monroe County
  • Poweshiek County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pekin, with the one closest to Pekin listed first.
    • Tilton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Deep River
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Deep River is located in Poweshiek County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deep River
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 268 people
  • Van Buren County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pekin, with the one closest to Pekin listed first.
    • Selma
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Douds
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Birmingham
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Birmingham is located in Van Buren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birmingham
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 423 people
    • Leando
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Winchester
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Winchester is located in Van Buren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winchester
    • Kilbourn
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Stockport
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Mount Zion
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Mount Zion is located in Van Buren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
  • Wapello County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pekin, with the one closest to Pekin listed first.
    • Competine
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Highland Center
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Agency
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Dahlonega
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • East Ottumwa
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Cliffland
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Ottumwa
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Keb ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Keb is located in Wapello County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keb
    • Eldon
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Kirkville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Kirkville is located in Wapello County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirkville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 177 people
    • Chillicothe
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Chillicothe is located in Wapello County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chillicothe
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 97 people
    • Bidwell
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Bidwell is located in Wapello County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bidwell
  • Washington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pekin, with the one closest to Pekin listed first.
    • Rubio
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Rubio is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rubio
    • Brighton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • West Chester
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • West Chester is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Chester
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 147 people
    • Coppock
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Coppock is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coppock
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 48 people
    • Nira
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Washington
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Wellman
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Havre
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)

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

Cemeteries Near Pekin ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Pekin.

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

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

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

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 in 1895, Pekin had a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Ioka ‑ Historic
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Ioka is located in Keokuk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ioka
  • Nugent
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Nugent is located in Keokuk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nugent
  • Competine
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Packwood
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Ollie
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Martinsburg
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Martinsburg is located in Keokuk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martinsburg
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
  • Abingdon
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Hedrick
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Brookville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Brookville is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookville
  • Richland
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Hayesville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Hayesville is located in Keokuk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayesville
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 48 people
  • Bladensburg
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Bladensburg is located in Wapello County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bladensburg
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in Pekin ...

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 54 newspapers that have been published in the area around Pekin.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Pekin, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Pekin.

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 Pekin:

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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Pekin) 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 Pekin, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.