RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Iowa >> Marion County >> Pleasantville >> Genealogy HelperIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
Iowa

The Commemorative Quarter for Iowa





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 Pleasantville (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 Pleasantville. 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 hospitals and 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.

Pleasantville is located in Marion County.

To see how the shape of Iowa's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Marion County: Jasper, Lucas, Mahaska, Monroe, Polk, Poweshiek & Warren.

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

  • Marion County     (The home county of Pleasantville)
  • Clarke County
  • Jasper County
  • Lucas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pleasantville, with the one closest to Pleasantville listed first.
    • Williamson
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Williamson have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamson
      • Williamson is located in Lucas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 157 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Williamson <1>
    • Chariton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chariton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chariton
      • Chariton is located in Lucas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,103 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chariton <1>
    • Lucas
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lucas have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucas
      • Lucas is located in Lucas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 207 people
    • Russell
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Russell have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell
      • Russell is located in Lucas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 531 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Russell <1>
    • Zero
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Zero. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zero
      • Zero is located in Lucas County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Zero
      • From Pleasantville to Zero
  • Madison County
    • Saint Charles
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Charles have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Charles
      • Saint Charles is located in Madison County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 656 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint Charles <1>
  • Mahaska County
  • Monroe County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pleasantville, with the one closest to Pleasantville listed first.
    • Lovilia
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lovilia have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lovilia
      • Lovilia is located in Monroe County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 516 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lovilia <1>
    • Bluff Creek
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Melrose
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Georgetown
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Polk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pleasantville, with the one closest to Pleasantville listed first.
    • Runnells
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Adelphi
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Adelphi. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adelphi
      • Adelphi is located in Polk County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Adelphi
      • From Pleasantville to Adelphi
    • Carlisle
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Pleasant Hill
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
      • Pleasant Hill is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,025 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pleasant Hill <1>
    • Rising Sun
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Mitchellville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mitchellville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchellville
      • Mitchellville is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,273 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mitchellville <1>
    • Altoona
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Altoona have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altoona
      • Altoona is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 19,503 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Altoona <1>
    • Country Estate Village
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Country Estate Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Estate Village
      • Country Estate Village is located in Polk County
    • Santiago
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Santiago. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santiago
      • Santiago is located in Polk County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Santiago
      • From Pleasantville to Santiago
    • Norwalk
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Norwalk have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwalk
      • Norwalk is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 12,449 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Norwalk <1>
    • Bondurant
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bondurant have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bondurant
      • Bondurant is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,293 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bondurant <1>
    • Des Moines
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Berwick
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Berwick. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berwick
      • Berwick is located in Polk County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Berwick
      • From Pleasantville to Berwick
  • Warren County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pleasantville, with the one closest to Pleasantville listed first.
    • Sandyville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Hartford
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hartford have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartford
      • Hartford is located in Warren County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 780 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hartford <1>
    • Palmyra
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Ackworth
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ackworth have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ackworth
      • Ackworth is located in Warren County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 105 people
    • Milo
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Lacona
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Indianola
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Liberty Center
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Cool
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cool. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cool
      • Cool is located in Warren County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Cool
      • From Pleasantville to Cool
    • Spring Hill
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
      • Spring Hill is located in Warren County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 65 people
    • Lakewood
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Prole
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prole have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prole
      • Prole is located in Warren County
    • Churchville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)

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

Cemeteries Near Pleasantville ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Pleasantville.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

  • Pleasantville Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Wheeling Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wheeling Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wheeling Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Spurgeon Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Spurgeon Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Spurgeon Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Shire Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Shire Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Shire Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Burch Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Burch Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Burch Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Watkins Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Watkins Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Watkins Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Schirey Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Schirey Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Schirey Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Rees Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rees Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rees Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Highland Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Highland Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Highland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Highland Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Highland Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Highland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Motor Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Motor Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Motor Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lincoln Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lincoln Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lincoln Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (345 more) ...
    • Wren Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wren Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wren Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Murray Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Murray Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Murray Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Swan Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Swan Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Swan Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Pleasantville had a population of 510 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Pleasantville had a population of 1,714 people.

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

  • Swan
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Sandyville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Percy ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Percy have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Percy
    • Percy is located in Marion County
  • Caloma
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Caloma have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caloma
    • Caloma is located in Marion County
  • Morgin Valley ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Morgin Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgin Valley
    • Morgin Valley is located in Marion County
  • Hartford
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hartford have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartford
    • Hartford is located in Warren County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 780 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hartford <1>
  • Knoxville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Runnells
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Cordova
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cordova have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cordova
    • Cordova is located in Marion County
  • Ford
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ford have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ford
    • Ford is located in Warren County
  • Palmyra
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Vandalia
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Clarkson ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clarkson have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarkson
      • Clarkson is located in Warren County
    • Ackworth
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ackworth have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ackworth
      • Ackworth is located in Warren County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 105 people
    • Milo
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Pleasantville ...

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 208 newspapers that have been published in the area around Pleasantville.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Pleasantville. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Pleasantville and those printed in the larger area surrounding Pleasantville.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<6> of Pleasantville.

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 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 Pleasantville:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Pleasantville. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for State of Iowa: https://www.iowa.gov/

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 location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<3>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<4>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.
<5>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 Pleasantville, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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- Pleasantville) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Pleasantville. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.3867, Longitude: -93.2693    









 

Copyright 2025
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025