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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 Philby (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 Philby. 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.

Philby is located in O'Brien 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 O'Brien County: Buena Vista, Cherokee, Clay, Dickinson, Lyon, Osceola, Plymouth & Sioux.

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

  • O'Brien County     (The home county of Philby)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Philby, with the one closest to Philby listed first.
    • Archer
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Sheldon
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Germantown
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Germantown is located in O'Brien County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Germantown
    • Paullina
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Paullina is located in O'Brien County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paullina
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 965 people
    • Primghar
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Sanborn
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Calumet
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Calumet is located in O'Brien County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calumet
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 155 people
    • Sutherland
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Hartley
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Hartley is located in O'Brien County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,556 people
    • Moneta
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Moneta is located in O'Brien County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moneta
  • Buena Vista County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Philby, with the one closest to Philby listed first.
    • Elkton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Elkton is located in Buena Vista County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkton
    • Linn Grove
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Cherokee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Philby, with the one closest to Philby listed first.
    • Marcus
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Cleghorn
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Cleghorn is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleghorn
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 214 people
    • Larrabee
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Larrabee is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larrabee
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 130 people
    • Meriden
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Meriden is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meriden
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 144 people
    • Mary Hill
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Mary Hill is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mary Hill
    • Cherokee
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Fielding
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Fielding is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fielding
    • Aurelia
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Clay County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Philby, with the one closest to Philby listed first.
    • Everly
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Everly is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Everly
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 541 people
    • Peterson
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Royal
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
  • Lyon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Philby, with the one closest to Philby listed first.
    • George
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Little Rock
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Doon
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Edna
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Edna is located in Lyon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edna
    • Rock Rapids
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Osceola County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Philby, with the one closest to Philby listed first.
    • Ashton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Melvin
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Melvin is located in Osceola County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melvin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 197 people
    • Cloverdale
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Cloverdale is located in Osceola County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverdale
    • Sibley
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • May City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • May City is located in Osceola County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for May City
    • Allendorf
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Allendorf is located in Osceola County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allendorf
    • Ocheyedan
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Ocheyedan is located in Osceola County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocheyedan
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 463 people
  • Plymouth County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Philby, with the one closest to Philby listed first.
    • Remsen
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Oyens
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Oyens is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oyens
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 102 people
    • Struble
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Struble is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Struble
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 77 people
    • Le Mars
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Craig
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Craig is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craig
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 91 people
    • O'Leary
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • O'Leary is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for O'Leary
    • Brunsville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Brunsville is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brunsville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 152 people
  • Sioux County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Philby, with the one closest to Philby listed first.
    • Hospers
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Granville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Granville is located in Sioux County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 303 people
    • Alton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Boyden
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Boyden is located in Sioux County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyden
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 682 people
    • Matlock
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Middleburg
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Middleburg is located in Sioux County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middleburg
    • Orange City
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Hull
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Hull is located in Sioux County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hull
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,296 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hull <1>
    • Sioux Center
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Westbrook Village
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Westbrook Village is located in Sioux County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westbrook Village
    • Maurice
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Maurice is located in Sioux County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maurice
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 270 people
    • Perkins
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Perkins is located in Sioux County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perkins
    • Rock Valley
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
  • Nobles County (MN)
    • Bigelow
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Bigelow is located in Nobles County (MN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bigelow
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 226 people

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

Cemeteries Near Philby ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Philby.

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

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

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

  • Floyd Twp. Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Hospers Memorial Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Hospers Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • St. Anthonys Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • St. Patricks Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • East Lawn Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • St. Josephs Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Paul Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • St. John Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Prairie View Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • West Prairie View Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Pleasant Hill Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (116 more) ...
    • St. Anthonys Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Newkirk Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Friends Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 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>

While we didn't find Philby in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Philby.

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

  • Archer
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Hospers
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Granville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Granville is located in Sioux County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granville
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 303 people
  • Sheldon
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Paullina
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Paullina is located in O'Brien County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paullina
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 965 people
  • Newkirk
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Newkirk is located in Sioux County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newkirk
  • Primghar
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Sanborn
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Alton
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Gaza
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Gaza is located in O'Brien County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gaza
  • Ritter
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Ritter is located in O'Brien County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ritter
  • Orange City
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Matlock
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Boyden
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Boyden is located in Sioux County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyden
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 682 people
    • Middleburg
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Middleburg is located in Sioux County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middleburg

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

Newspapers Published in Philby ...

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 145 newspapers that have been published in the area around Philby.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Philby, 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 Philby.

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 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 Philby:

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 Philby, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Philby) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.