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 Petersburg (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 Petersburg. 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 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.
Petersburg is located in Muscatine 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 Muscatine County: Cedar, Johnson, Louisa, Scott & Rock Island (IL).
Below are the counties that are near Petersburg. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Petersburg:
- Muscatine County (The home county of Petersburg)
- The following are listed by their distance from Petersburg, with the one closest to Petersburg listed first.
- Stockton
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Stockton is located in Muscatine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stockton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 189 people
- Pleasant Prairie
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Pleasant Prairie is located in Muscatine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Prairie
- Midway Beach
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Midway Beach is located in Muscatine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway Beach
- Pine Mills ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Pine Mills is located in Muscatine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Mills
- Fairport
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Fairport is located in Muscatine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairport
- South Towne Park
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- South Towne Park is located in Muscatine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Towne Park
- Wilton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Moscow
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Moscow is located in Muscatine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moscow
- Muscatine
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Atalissa
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Fruitland
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Fruitland is located in Muscatine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruitland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 966 people
- West Liberty
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Nichols
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Nichols is located in Muscatine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nichols
- Population from the 2020 Census: 358 people
- Cedar County
- The following are listed by their distance from Petersburg, with the one closest to Petersburg listed first.
- Sunbury
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Sunbury is located in Cedar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunbury
- Bennett
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Bennett is located in Cedar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bennett
- Population from the 2020 Census: 373 people
- Lime City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Lime City is located in Cedar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lime City
- Former names for Lime City:
- Lime Kilns
- Munn
- Rochester
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Rochester is located in Cedar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochester
- Lowden
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Tipton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Springdale
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Springdale is located in Cedar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springdale
- Cedar Valley
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Cedar Valley is located in Cedar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Valley
- Clarence
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Buchanan
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Buchanan is located in Cedar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buchanan
- Centerdale
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Centerdale is located in Cedar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerdale
- Downey
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Downey is located in Cedar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downey
- Stanwood
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Clinton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Petersburg, with the one closest to Petersburg listed first.
- Calamus
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Calamus is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calamus
- Population from the 2020 Census: 397 people
- Wheatland
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Wheatland is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheatland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 724 people
- Grand Mound
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- De Witt
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Bliedorn ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Bliedorn is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bliedorn
- Toronto
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Toronto is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toronto
- Population from the 2020 Census: 119 people
- North Welton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- North Welton is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Welton
- Welton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Welton is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 148 people
- Folletts
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Folletts is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Folletts
- Lost Nation
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Shaffton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Shaffton is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaffton
- Low Moor
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Elwood
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Elwood is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elwood
- Jones County
- The following are listed by their distance from Petersburg, with the one closest to Petersburg listed first.
- Oxford Mills
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Oxford Mills is located in Jones County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxford Mills
- Oxford Junction
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Oxford Junction is located in Jones County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxford Junction
- Population from the 2020 Census: 480 people
- Louisa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Petersburg, with the one closest to Petersburg listed first.
- Letts
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Grandview
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Grandview is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
- Population from the 2020 Census: 519 people
- Scott County
- The following are listed by their distance from Petersburg, with the one closest to Petersburg listed first.
- Walcott
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Blue Grass
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Hickory Grove
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Hickory Grove is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Grove
- Durant
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Maysville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Maysville is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maysville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 181 people
- Buffalo
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Davenport
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- New Liberty
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- New Liberty is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Liberty
- Population from the 2020 Census: 143 people
- Donahue
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Dixon
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Dixon is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 249 people
- Eldridge
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Bettendorf
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Big Rock
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Big Rock is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Rock
- Henry County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Petersburg, with the one closest to Petersburg listed first.
- Briar Bluff
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Briar Bluff is located in Henry County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briar Bluff
- Colona
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Green Rock
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Green Rock is located in Henry County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Rock
- Cleveland
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Cleveland is located in Henry County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleveland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 178 people
- Dayton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Dayton is located in Henry County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dayton
- Orion
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Hickory Hills
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Hickory Hills is located in Henry County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Hills
- Morristown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Morristown is located in Henry County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morristown
- Lynn Center
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Ophiem
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Ophiem is located in Henry County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ophiem
- Osco
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Mercer County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Petersburg, with the one closest to Petersburg listed first.
- Marston
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Marston is located in Mercer County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marston
- Petersville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Petersville is located in Mercer County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersville
- Preemption
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Eliza
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Eliza is located in Mercer County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eliza
- Matherville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Sherrard
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Mannon
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Mannon is located in Mercer County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mannon
- Shale City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Shale City is located in Mercer County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shale City
- Aledo
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Gilchrist
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Gilchrist is located in Mercer County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilchrist
- Joy
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Joy is located in Mercer County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joy
- Population from the 2020 Census: 377 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Joy <1>
- Viola
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Griffin
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Griffin is located in Mercer County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffin
- Rock Island County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Petersburg, with the one closest to Petersburg listed first.
- Andalusia
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Rock Island
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Edgington
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Edgington is located in Rock Island County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgington
- Illinois City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Illinois City is located in Rock Island County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Illinois City
- Milan
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Milan is located in Rock Island County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milan
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,945 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Milan <1>
- Taylor Ridge
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Moline
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Moline is located in Rock Island County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moline
- Population from the 2020 Census: 41,065 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moline <1>
- Buffalo Prairie
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Oak Grove
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Oak Grove is located in Rock Island County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 585 people
- Coyne Center
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Coyne Center is located in Rock Island County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coyne Center
- Reynolds
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- East Moline
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- East Moline is located in Rock Island County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Moline
- Population from the 2020 Census: 20,473 people
- Coal Valley
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Petersburg, see our County-by-County Page for Petersburg.
Cemeteries Near Petersburg ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Petersburg.
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 Petersburg - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Petersburg covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Petersburg, with the one closest to Petersburg listed first.
- Walcott Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Kisenmacher Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Parr Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Blue Grass Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Durant Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Montpelier Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- O'Toole Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Melpine Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Dodge Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Nye Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- St. Peter's Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Rose Hill Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (313 more) ...
- Asbury Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Friday Family Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Maysville 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.<2>
While we didn't find Petersburg in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Petersburg.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Petersburg, with the one closest to Petersburg listed first.
- Blue Grass
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Walcott
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Stockton
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Stockton is located in Muscatine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stockton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 189 people
- Pleasant Prairie
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Pleasant Prairie is located in Muscatine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Prairie
- Montpelier
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Montpelier is located in Muscatine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montpelier
- Jamestown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Jamestown is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
- Durant
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Pine Mills ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Pine Mills is located in Muscatine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Mills
- Buffalo
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Andalusia
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Fairport
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Fairport is located in Muscatine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairport
- New Liberty
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- New Liberty is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Liberty
- Population from the 2020 Census: 143 people
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Davenport
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Donahue
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Summit
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Summit is located in Muscatine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Petersburg. See our List of 1890's Communities around Petersburg.
Newspapers Published in Petersburg ...
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 126 newspapers that have been published in the area around Petersburg.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Petersburg, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Petersburg.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Petersburg:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Muscatine County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cedar County
- Clinton County
- Jones County
- Louisa County
- Scott County
- Henry County
- Mercer County
- Rock Island 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 Petersburg, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Petersburg) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |