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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 Promise City (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 Promise City. 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 doctors and 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.

Promise City is located in Wayne 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 Wayne County: Appanoose, Decatur, Lucas, Mercer (MO) & Putnam (MO).

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

  • Wayne County     (The home county of Promise City)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Promise City, with the one closest to Promise City listed first.
    • Seymour
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Confidence
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Corydon
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Millerton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Millerton is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 42 people
    • Genoa
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Allerton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Hodge
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Hodge is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hodge
    • Clio
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Humeston
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Lineville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Lineville is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lineville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 217 people
  • Appanoose County
  • Clarke County
    • Woodburn
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Davis County
  • Decatur County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Promise City, with the one closest to Promise City listed first.
    • Woodland
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Garden Grove
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Garden Grove is located in Decatur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Grove
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 200 people
    • Le Roy
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Morgan
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
  • Lucas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Promise City, with the one closest to Promise City listed first.
    • Russell
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Zero
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Chariton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Derby
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Derby is located in Lucas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derby
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 111 people
    • Olmitz
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Olmitz is located in Lucas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olmitz
    • Williamson
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Lucas
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Marion County
  • Monroe County
  • Wapello County
  • Mercer County (MO)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Promise City, with the one closest to Promise City listed first.
    • South Lineville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • South Lineville is located in Mercer County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Lineville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 27 people
    • Mercer
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Ravanna
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Putnam County (MO)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Promise City, with the one closest to Promise City listed first.
    • Saint John
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Powersville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Powersville is located in Putnam County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powersville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 54 people
    • Pearl City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Pearl City is located in Putnam County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearl City
    • Mendota
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Lucerne
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Lucerne is located in Putnam County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucerne
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 80 people
    • Unionville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Livonia
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Livonia is located in Putnam County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Livonia
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 71 people
  • Schuyler County (MO)
    • Coatsville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Coatsville is located in Schuyler County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coatsville
  • Sullivan County (MO)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Promise City, with the one closest to Promise City listed first.
    • Newtown
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Pollock
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Pollock is located in Sullivan County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pollock
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 79 people
    • Pennville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)

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

Cemeteries Near Promise City ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Promise City.

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 Promise City - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Promise City Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Bollman Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Dodrill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Crossroads Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Sharp Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Jones Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Lacey Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Ripper Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Southlawn Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Lyons Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Hickerson Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Tharp Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (357 more) ...
    • Jerome Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Bethlehem Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Adcock Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Promise City had a population of 216 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Promise City had a population of 110 people.

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

  • Seymour
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Bridgeport
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Bridgeport is located in Wayne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeport
  • Plano
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Jerome
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Harvard
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Harvard is located in Wayne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvard
  • Garfield
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Garfield is located in Appanoose County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garfield
  • Confidence
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Corydon
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Sewal
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Sewal is located in Wayne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sewal
  • Numa
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Diamond
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Diamond is located in Appanoose County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diamond
  • New York
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • New York is located in Wayne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New York
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Genoa
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Brazil
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Mystic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Mystic is located in Appanoose County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mystic
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 410 people

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

Newspapers Published in Promise City ...

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 134 newspapers that have been published in the area around Promise City.

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

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 Promise City:

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