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 Plymouth (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 Plymouth. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.
Plymouth 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 Plymouth. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Plymouth:
- Van Buren County (The home county of Plymouth)
- The following are listed by their distance from Plymouth, with the one closest to Plymouth listed first.
- Farmington
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Bonaparte
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Sterling
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Keosauqua
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Zion
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Zion is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
- Stockport
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Kilbourn
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Kilbourn is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kilbourn
- Winchester
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Winchester is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winchester
- Cantril
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Birmingham
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Birmingham is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birmingham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 423 people
- Leando
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Leando is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leando
- Milton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Douds
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Douds is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douds
- Davis County
- The following are listed by their distance from Plymouth, with the one closest to Plymouth listed first.
- Pulaski
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Pulaski is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pulaski
- Population from the 2020 Census: 291 people
- Chequest
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Chequest is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chequest
- Des Moines County
- The following are listed by their distance from Plymouth, with the one closest to Plymouth listed first.
- Danville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Danville is located in Des Moines County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 896 people
- Middletown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Middletown is located in Des Moines County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middletown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 335 people
- Henry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Plymouth, with the one closest to Plymouth listed first.
- Hillsboro
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Hillsboro is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsboro
- Population from the 2020 Census: 173 people
- Salem
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Oakland Mills
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Oakland Mills is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland Mills
- Lowell
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Lowell is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowell
- Rome
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Rome is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rome
- Population from the 2020 Census: 117 people
- Westwood
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Westwood is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
- Mount Pleasant
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- New London
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Plymouth, with the one closest to Plymouth listed first.
- Glasgow
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Glasgow is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glasgow
- Lockridge
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Fairfield
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Libertyville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Libertyville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Libertyville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 341 people
- Perlee
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Perlee is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perlee
- Lee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Plymouth, with the one closest to Plymouth listed first.
- Primrose
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Primrose is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Primrose
- Croton
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Croton is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Croton
- Big Mound
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Big Mound is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Mound
- Donnellson
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Mount Hamill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Hamill is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hamill
- Former names for Mount Hamill:
- Courtwright
- Hamill
- Russellville ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Russellville is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russellville
- Russellville has also been known as:
- Doantown
- Houghton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Houghton is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houghton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
- White Lane ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- White Lane is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Lane
- Charleston
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Charleston is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charleston
- Franklin
(12 miles [19.3 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
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Pilot Grove
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Pilot Grove is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilot Grove
- New Boston
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- New Boston is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Boston
- Wapello County
- Eldon
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Hancock County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Plymouth, with the one closest to Plymouth listed first.
- Nauvoo
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Niota
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Powellton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Powellton is located in Hancock County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powellton
- Warsaw
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Hamilton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Pontoosuc
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Pontoosuc is located in Hancock County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pontoosuc
- Population from the 2020 Census: 132 people
- Colusa
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Dallas City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Clark County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Plymouth, with the one closest to Plymouth listed first.
- Anson
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Anson is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anson
- Athens
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Athens is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athens
- Acasto
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Acasto is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acasto
- Chambersburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Chambersburg is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chambersburg
- Peaksville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Peaksville is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaksville
- Dumas
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Dumas is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dumas
- Revere
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Kahoka
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Medill
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Medill is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medill
- Luray
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Luray is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luray
- Population from the 2020 Census: 94 people
- Clark City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Clark City is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clark City
- Saint Francisville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Saint Francisville is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Francisville
- Wayland
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Wayland is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 506 people
- Knox County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Plymouth, with the one closest to Plymouth listed first.
- Rutledge
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Colony
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Colony is located in Knox County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colony
- Lewis County (MO)
- Williamstown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Williamstown is located in Lewis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamstown
- Scotland County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Plymouth, with the one closest to Plymouth listed first.
- Granger
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Granger is located in Scotland County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granger
- Population from the 2020 Census: 34 people
- Arbela
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- South Gorin
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- South Gorin is located in Scotland County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Gorin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 93 people
- Gorin
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Gorin is located in Scotland County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gorin
- Memphis
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Plymouth, see our County-by-County Page for Plymouth.
Cemeteries Near Plymouth ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Plymouth.
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 Plymouth - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Plymouth covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Plymouth, with the one closest to Plymouth listed first.
- Wright Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Green Glade Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Farmington Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Alfrey Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- McDaniel Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Cave Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Rhodes Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Boyer Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Reed's Creek Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Burrier Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Salubria Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Neumann Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Continue List (462 more) ...
- Helwig Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Steinmeyer Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Snyder Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
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 Plymouth in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Plymouth.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Plymouth, with the one closest to Plymouth listed first.
- Farmington
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Bonaparte
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Acasto
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Acasto is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acasto
- Anson
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Anson is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anson
- Athens
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Athens is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athens
- Croton
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Croton is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Croton
- Primrose
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Primrose is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Primrose
- Big Mound
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Big Mound is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Mound
- Bentonsport
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Vernon
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Vernon is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vernon
- Chambersburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Chambersburg is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chambersburg
- Donnellson
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Mount Hamill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Hamill is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hamill
- Former names for Mount Hamill:
- Courtwright
- Hamill
- Mount Sterling
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Peaksville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Peaksville is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaksville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Plymouth. See our List of 1890's Communities around Plymouth.
Newspapers Published in Plymouth ...
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 56 newspapers that have been published in the area around Plymouth.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Plymouth, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Plymouth.
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 Plymouth:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Van Buren County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Davis County
- Des Moines County
- Henry County
- Jefferson County
- Lee County
- Wapello County
- Hancock County
- Clark County
- Knox County
- Lewis 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 Plymouth, 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- Plymouth) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |