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 Pittsburg (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 Pittsburg. 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 southeast 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 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 east 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.
Pittsburg is located in Van Buren 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 Van Buren County: Davis, Henry, Jefferson, Lee, Clark (MO) & Scotland (MO).
Below are the counties that are near Pittsburg. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Pittsburg:
- Van Buren County (The home county of Pittsburg)
- The following are listed by their distance from Pittsburg, with the one closest to Pittsburg listed first.
- Keosauqua
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Kilbourn
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Kilbourn is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kilbourn
- Mount Zion
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Zion is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
- Leando
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Leando is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leando
- Winchester
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Winchester is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winchester
- Douds
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Douds is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douds
- Cantril
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Birmingham
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Birmingham is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birmingham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 423 people
- Mount Sterling
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Bonaparte
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Milton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Stockport
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Davis County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pittsburg, with the one closest to Pittsburg listed first.
- Chequest
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Chequest is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chequest
- Pulaski
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Pulaski is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pulaski
- Population from the 2020 Census: 291 people
- Floris
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Floris is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Floris
- Population from the 2020 Census: 143 people
- Stiles
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Stiles is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stiles
- Steuben
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Steuben is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steuben
- Bloomfield
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Carbon
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Carbon is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbon
- Drakesville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Savannah
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Savannah is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savannah
- Mark
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Mark is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mark
- West Grove
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- West Grove is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Grove
- Henry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pittsburg, with the one closest to Pittsburg listed first.
- Hillsboro
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Hillsboro is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsboro
- Population from the 2020 Census: 173 people
- Salem
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Rome
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Rome is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rome
- Population from the 2020 Census: 117 people
- Oakland Mills
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Oakland Mills is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland Mills
- Westwood
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Westwood is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
- Mount Pleasant
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Lowell
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Lowell is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowell
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pittsburg, with the one closest to Pittsburg listed first.
- Libertyville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Libertyville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Libertyville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 341 people
- Glasgow
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Glasgow is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glasgow
- Fairfield
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Batavia
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Maharishi Vedic City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Maharishi Vedic City is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maharishi Vedic City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,288 people
- Lockridge
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Perlee
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Perlee is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perlee
- Abingdon
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Abingdon is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abingdon
- Packwood
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Packwood is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Packwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 225 people
- Linby
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Linby is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linby
- Pleasant Plain
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Pleasant Plain is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Plain
- Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
- Pekin
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Pekin is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pekin
- Keokuk County
- Richland
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Lee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pittsburg, with the one closest to Pittsburg listed first.
- Big Mound
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Big Mound is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Mound
- Russellville ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Russellville is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russellville
- Russellville has also been known as:
- Doantown
- Mount Hamill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Mount Hamill is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hamill
- Former names for Mount Hamill:
- Courtwright
- Hamill
- Primrose
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Primrose is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Primrose
- White Lane ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- White Lane is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Lane
- Croton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Croton is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Croton
- Houghton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Houghton is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houghton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
- Donnellson
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Pilot Grove
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Pilot Grove is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilot Grove
- Saint Paul
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Saint Paul is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Paul
- Population from the 2020 Census: 123 people
- Franklin
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Franklin is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 132 people
- Argyle
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Wapello County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pittsburg, with the one closest to Pittsburg listed first.
- Eldon
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Agency
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Cliffland
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Cliffland is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliffland
- East Ottumwa
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- East Ottumwa is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Ottumwa
- Competine
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Competine is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Competine
- Ottumwa
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Dahlonega
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Dahlonega is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dahlonega
- Washington County
- Brighton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Clark County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Pittsburg, with the one closest to Pittsburg listed first.
- Acasto
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Acasto is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acasto
- Anson
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Anson is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anson
- Chambersburg
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Chambersburg is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chambersburg
- Athens
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Athens is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athens
- Luray
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Luray is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luray
- Population from the 2020 Census: 94 people
- Peaksville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Peaksville is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaksville
- Revere
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Wyaconda
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Wyaconda is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyaconda
- Population from the 2020 Census: 211 people
- Dumas
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Dumas is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dumas
- Medill
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Medill is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medill
- Kahoka
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Clark City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Clark City is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clark City
- Knox County (MO)
- Rutledge
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Schuyler County (MO)
- Downing
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Downing is located in Schuyler County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downing
- Population from the 2020 Census: 341 people
- Scotland County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Pittsburg, with the one closest to Pittsburg listed first.
- Arbela
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Granger
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Granger is located in Scotland County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granger
- Population from the 2020 Census: 34 people
- Memphis
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Kilwinning
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Kilwinning is located in Scotland County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kilwinning
- Gorin
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Gorin is located in Scotland County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gorin
- South Gorin
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- South Gorin is located in Scotland County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Gorin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 93 people
- Pleasant Retreat
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Pleasant Retreat is located in Scotland County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Retreat
- Unity
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Unity is located in Scotland County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unity
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Pittsburg, see our County-by-County Page for Pittsburg.
Cemeteries Near Pittsburg ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Pittsburg.
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 Pittsburg - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Pittsburg covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Pittsburg, with the one closest to Pittsburg listed first.
- Pittsburg Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Purdom Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Purdom Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Purdom Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southwest of Keosauqua.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #95904 <2>
- Oak Lawn Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Rider Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Bethel Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Fellows Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Leech Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Boston Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- County Farm Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Forbes Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Wilson Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Gilbert Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Continue List (490 more) ...
- Valentine Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Ten Sych Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Lebanon Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Pittsburg had a population of 99 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Pittsburg, with the one closest to Pittsburg listed first.
- Keosauqua
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Lebanon
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Lebanon is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lebanon
- Mount Zion
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Zion is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
- Kilbourn
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Kilbourn is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kilbourn
- Vernon
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Vernon is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vernon
- Bentonsport
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Leando
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Leando is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leando
- Cantril
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Pierceville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Pierceville is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pierceville
- Winchester
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Winchester is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winchester
- Mount Sterling
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Utica
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Utica is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Utica
- Continue List (18 more) ...
- Birmingham
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Birmingham is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birmingham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 423 people
- Milton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Bonaparte
(10 miles [16.1 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 Pittsburg. See our List of 1890's Communities around Pittsburg.
Newspapers Published in Pittsburg ...
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 42 newspapers that have been published in the area around Pittsburg.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Pittsburg, 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 Pittsburg.
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 professional and volunteer 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 Pittsburg:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Van Buren County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Davis County
- Henry County
- Jefferson County
- Keokuk County
- Lee County
- Wapello County
- Washington County
- Clark County
- Knox County
- Schuyler County
- Scotland 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 Pittsburg, 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' (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- Pittsburg) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |