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 Persia (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 Persia. 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 hospitals and doctors 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.
Persia 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 Persia. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Persia:
- Harrison County (The home county of Persia)
- The following are listed by their distance from Persia, with the one closest to Persia listed first.
- Yorkshire
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Yorkshire is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorkshire
- Woodbine
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Logan
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Missouri Valley
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Magnolia
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Magnolia is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 170 people
- Dunlap
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- California Junction
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- California Junction is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for California Junction
- Modale
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Mondamin
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Orson
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Orson is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orson
- Pisgah
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Little Sioux
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Audubon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Persia, with the one closest to Persia listed first.
- Kimballton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Fiscus
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Fiscus is located in Audubon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fiscus
- Cass County
- Marne
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Crawford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Persia, with the one closest to Persia listed first.
- Dow City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Buck Grove
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Buck Grove is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buck Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 43 people
- Astor
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Astor is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Astor
- Arion
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Arion is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arion
- Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
- Bell
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Bell is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell
- Manilla
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Kenwood
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Kenwood is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenwood
- Sunset Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Sunset Village is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Village
- Mills County
- Mineola
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Monona County
- The following are listed by their distance from Persia, with the one closest to Persia listed first.
- Moorhead
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Soldier
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Pottawattamie County
- The following are listed by their distance from Persia, with the one closest to Persia listed first.
- Minden
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Neola
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Harlan Junction ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Harlan Junction is located in Pottawattamie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlan Junction
- Avoca
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Avoca is located in Pottawattamie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avoca
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,537 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Avoca <1>
- Pigeon
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Pigeon is located in Pottawattamie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pigeon
- Underwood
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Hancock
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Hancock is located in Pottawattamie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hancock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 196 people
- Loveland
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Loveland is located in Pottawattamie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loveland
- McClelland
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Honey Creek
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Honey Creek is located in Pottawattamie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honey Creek
- Weston
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Weston is located in Pottawattamie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weston
- Walnut
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Walnut is located in Pottawattamie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut
- Population from the 2020 Census: 768 people
- Crescent
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Shelby County
- The following are listed by their distance from Persia, with the one closest to Persia listed first.
- Portsmouth
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Tennant
(6 miles [9.7 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
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Panama
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Corley
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Corley is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corley
- Harlan
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Westphalia
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Westphalia is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westphalia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 117 people
- Earling
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Earling is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Earling
- Population from the 2020 Census: 403 people
- Kirkman
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Kirkman is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirkman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 61 people
- Defiance
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Defiance is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Defiance
- Population from the 2020 Census: 260 people
- Irwin
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Elk Horn
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Botna
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Botna is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Botna
- Douglas County (NE)
- The following are listed by their distance from Persia, with the one closest to Persia listed first.
- Home Park
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Home Park is located in Douglas County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Home Park
- Briggs
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Briggs is located in Douglas County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briggs
- Irvington
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Irvington is located in Douglas County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irvington
- Washington County (NE)
- The following are listed by their distance from Persia, with the one closest to Persia listed first.
- Fort Calhoun
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- De Soto ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- De Soto is located in Washington County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Soto
- De Soto has also been known as:
- DeSoto
- Blair
(29 miles [46.7 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>
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Persia, see our County-by-County Page for Persia.
Cemeteries Near Persia ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Persia.
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 Persia - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Persia covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Persia, with the one closest to Persia listed first.
- Lytle Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Chambers Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Schley Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Valley View Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Cox Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Graybill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Spears Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Champlin Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Cass Twp. Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Hawkins Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Ellison Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (162 more) ...
- Henderson Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Minden Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Shelby Twp. Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
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.<2>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Persia had a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Persia had a population of 281 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Persia, with the one closest to Persia listed first.
- Union Burg ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Union Burg is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Burg
- Yorkshire
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Yorkshire is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorkshire
- Portsmouth
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Minden
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Shelby
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Neola
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Beebeetown
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Beebeetown is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beebeetown
- Panama
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Harlan Junction ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Harlan Junction is located in Pottawattamie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlan Junction
- Corley
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Corley is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corley
- Woodbine
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Logan
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Pigeon
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Pigeon is located in Pottawattamie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pigeon
- Avoca
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Avoca is located in Pottawattamie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avoca
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,537 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Avoca <1>
- Harlan
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Persia. See our List of 1890's Communities around Persia.
Newspapers Published in Persia ...
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 84 newspapers that have been published in the area around Persia.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Persia, 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 Persia.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to 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 Persia:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Harrison County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Audubon County
- Cass County
- Crawford County
- Mills County
- Monona County
- Pottawattamie County
- Shelby County
- Douglas 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> | 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 Persia, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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- Persia) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |