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 Pettis (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 Pettis. 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.
Pettis is located in Sac 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 Sac County: Buena Vista, Calhoun, Carroll, Cherokee, Crawford, Ida & Pocahontas.
Below are the counties that are near Pettis. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Pettis:
- Sac County (The home county of Pettis)
- The following are listed by their distance from Pettis, with the one closest to Pettis listed first.
- Sac City
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Grant City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Grant City is located in Sac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant City
- Lake View
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Auburn
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Sac City Junction ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Sac City Junction is located in Sac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sac City Junction
- Wall Lake
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Wall Lake is located in Sac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wall Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 753 people
- Early
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Nemaha
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Nemaha is located in Sac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nemaha
- Population from the 2020 Census: 80 people
- Herring ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Herring is located in Sac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herring
- Odebolt
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Odebolt is located in Sac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Odebolt
- Population from the 2020 Census: 933 people
- Schaller
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Buena Vista County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pettis, with the one closest to Pettis listed first.
- Newell
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Juniata
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Juniata is located in Buena Vista County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Juniata
- Lakeside
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Lakeside is located in Buena Vista County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeside
- Population from the 2020 Census: 690 people
- Casino Beach
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Casino Beach is located in Buena Vista County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casino Beach
- Storm Lake
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Truesdale
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Albert City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Alta
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Alta is located in Buena Vista County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alta
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,916 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alta <1>
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pettis, with the one closest to Pettis listed first.
- Lytton
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Lytton is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lytton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 285 people
- Yetter
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Yetter is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yetter
- Population from the 2020 Census: 31 people
- Sherwood
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Sherwood is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherwood
- Lake City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Jolley
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Jolley is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jolley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 37 people
- Rockwell City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Twin Lakes
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Twin Lakes is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Lakes
- Pomeroy
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Rands
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Rands is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rands
- Wightman
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Wightman is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wightman
- Lohrville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Manson
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Carroll County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pettis, with the one closest to Pettis listed first.
- Breda
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Breda is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Breda
- Population from the 2020 Census: 471 people
- Lanesboro
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Lanesboro is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lanesboro
- Population from the 2020 Census: 108 people
- Lidderdale
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Lidderdale is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lidderdale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 167 people
- Arcadia
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Arcadia is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcadia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 531 people
- Carroll Community Estates
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Carroll
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Glidden
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Halbur
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Halbur is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halbur
- Population from the 2020 Census: 252 people
- Roselle
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Roselle is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roselle
- Willey
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Willey is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willey
- Population from the 2020 Census: 97 people
- Ralston
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Ralston is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ralston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 72 people
- Crawford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pettis, with the one closest to Pettis listed first.
- Boyer
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Boyer is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyer
- Westside
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Kiron
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Vail
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Deloit
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Deloit is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deloit
- Population from the 2020 Census: 254 people
- Schleswig
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Greene County
- Churdan
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Churdan is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Churdan
- Population from the 2020 Census: 363 people
- Ida County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pettis, with the one closest to Pettis listed first.
- Arthur
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Arthur is located in Ida County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arthur
- Population from the 2020 Census: 194 people
- Galva
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Ida Grove
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Pocahontas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pettis, with the one closest to Pettis listed first.
- Fonda
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Varina
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Varina is located in Pocahontas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Varina
- Population from the 2020 Census: 64 people
- Palmer
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Pocahontas
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Webster County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pettis, with the one closest to Pettis listed first.
- Slifer
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Slifer is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slifer
- Barnum
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Barnum is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnum
- Population from the 2020 Census: 181 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Pettis, see our County-by-County Page for Pettis.
Cemeteries Near Pettis ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Pettis.
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 Pettis - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Pettis covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Pettis, with the one closest to Pettis listed first.
- St. Peters Lutheran Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Emmanuel Lutheran Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Lutheran Emanuel Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Cory Grove Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Ferguson Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Oakland Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Cedar Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Oakland Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Oakland Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the north of Sac City.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #95687 <2>
- Grant Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Grant City Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Oak Lawn Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Continue List (140 more) ...
- Garfield Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- St. John Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Wall Lake Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
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 Pettis in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Pettis.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Pettis, with the one closest to Pettis listed first.
- Sac City
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Lake View
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Grant City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Grant City is located in Sac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant City
- Auburn
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Carnarvon
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Wall Lake
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Wall Lake is located in Sac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wall Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 753 people
- Lake City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Early
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Breda
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Breda is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Breda
- Population from the 2020 Census: 471 people
- Jolley
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Jolley is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jolley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 37 people
- Mount Carmel
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Mount Carmel is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Carmel
- Kentner
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Kentner is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kentner
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Rockwell City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Fonda
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Odebolt
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Odebolt is located in Sac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Odebolt
- Population from the 2020 Census: 933 people
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Pettis. See our List of 1890's Communities around Pettis.
Newspapers Published in Pettis ...
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 115 newspapers that have been published in the area around Pettis.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Pettis, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Pettis.
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 Pettis:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Sac County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Buena Vista County
- Calhoun County
- Carroll County
- Crawford County
- Greene County
- Ida County
- Pocahontas County
- Webster 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 Pettis, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Pettis) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |