Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
So far, we found very little information about Rockaway. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>
We've added Rockaway to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Rockaway, please Contact Us.
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 Rockaway (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 Rockaway. 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 hospitals and doctors 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.
Although our information shows that the community of Rockaway is historic, it would have been located within present day Jackson 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 Jackson County: Clinton, Dubuque, Jones, Carroll (IL) & Jo Daviess (IL).
Below are the counties that are near Rockaway. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Rockaway:
- Jackson County (The home county of Rockaway)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rockaway, with the one closest to Rockaway listed first.
- Van Buren
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Van Buren is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Van Buren
- Spragueville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Preston
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Green Island
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Green Island is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Island
- Springbrook
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Miles
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Andrew
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Bellevue
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Sabula
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- North Bellevue
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- North Bellevue is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Bellevue
- Cottonville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Cottonville is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottonville
- Maquoketa
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Fulton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Fulton is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulton
- Clinton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rockaway, with the one closest to Rockaway listed first.
- Goose Lake
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Goose Lake is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goose Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
- Charlotte
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Bryant
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Bryant is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryant
- Teeds Grove
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Teeds Grove is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teeds Grove
- Tenmile
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Tenmile is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tenmile
- Andover
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Andover is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Andover
- Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
- Delmar
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Elk River Junction
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Elk River Junction is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk River Junction
- Sixmile
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Sixmile is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sixmile
- North Welton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- North Welton is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Welton
- Welton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Welton is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 148 people
- Elvira
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Elvira is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elvira
- Elwood
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Elwood is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elwood
- Dubuque County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rockaway, with the one closest to Rockaway listed first.
- Zwingle
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Zwingle is located in Dubuque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zwingle
- Population from the 2020 Census: 93 people
- Wilkins
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Wilkins is located in Dubuque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilkins
- Washington Mills
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Washington Mills is located in Dubuque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washington Mills
- Massey
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Massey is located in Dubuque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massey
- Bernard
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Cattese
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Cattese is located in Dubuque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cattese
- Key West
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Key West is located in Dubuque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Key West
- Rockdale
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Rockdale is located in Dubuque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockdale
- Fillmore
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Fillmore is located in Dubuque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fillmore
- Dubuque
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Jones County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rockaway, with the one closest to Rockaway listed first.
- Clay Mills
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Clay Mills is located in Jones County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clay Mills
- Oxford Junction
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Oxford Junction is located in Jones County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxford Junction
- Population from the 2020 Census: 480 people
- Oxford Mills
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Oxford Mills is located in Jones County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxford Mills
- Onslow
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Wyoming
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Scott County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rockaway, with the one closest to Rockaway listed first.
- McCausland
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- McCausland is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCausland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 311 people
- Noel ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Noel is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noel
- Long Grove
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Park View
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Park View is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park View
- Princeton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Carroll County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rockaway, with the one closest to Rockaway listed first.
- Arnold
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Arnold is located in Carroll County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnold
- Marcus
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Marcus is located in Carroll County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcus
- Blackhawk
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Blackhawk is located in Carroll County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackhawk
- Savanna
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Ayers
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Ayers is located in Carroll County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayers
- Center Hill
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Center Hill is located in Carroll County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Hill
- Hickory Grove
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Hickory Grove is located in Carroll County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Grove
- Wacker
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Wacker is located in Carroll County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wacker
- Thomson
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Polsgrove
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Polsgrove is located in Carroll County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polsgrove
- Argo Fay
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Argo Fay is located in Carroll County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argo Fay
- Mount Carroll
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Daggett ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Daggett is located in Carroll County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daggett
- Jo Daviess County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rockaway, with the one closest to Rockaway listed first.
- Hanover
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Aiken
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Aiken is located in Jo Daviess County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aiken
- Elizabeth
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Galena Junction
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Galena Junction is located in Jo Daviess County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galena Junction
- Bremen
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Bremen is located in Jo Daviess County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bremen
- Galena
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Galena is located in Jo Daviess County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galena
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,151 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Galena <2>
- Pleasant Valley
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant Valley is located in Jo Daviess County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Valley
- Stockton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Menominee
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Menominee is located in Jo Daviess County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Menominee
- Population from the 2020 Census: 241 people
- Scales Mound
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- East Dubuque
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Rock Island County (IL)
- Cordova
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Stephenson County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rockaway, with the one closest to Rockaway listed first.
- Loran
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Loran is located in Stephenson County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loran
- Kent
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Whiteside County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rockaway, with the one closest to Rockaway listed first.
- Fulton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Fulton is located in Whiteside County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,285 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fulton <2>
- East Clinton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- East Clinton is located in Whiteside County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Clinton
- Spring Valley
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Spring Valley is located in Whiteside County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
- Albany
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Union Grove
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Union Grove is located in Whiteside County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Grove
- Newton Corners
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Newton Corners is located in Whiteside County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newton Corners
- Morrison
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- White Pigeon
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- White Pigeon is located in Whiteside County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Pigeon
- Grant County (WI)
- Hazel Green
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Hazel Green is located in Grant County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazel Green
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,219 people
- Lafayette County (WI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rockaway, with the one closest to Rockaway listed first.
- White Oak
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- White Oak is located in Lafayette County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Oak
- New Diggings
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- New Diggings is located in Lafayette County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Diggings
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Rockaway, see our County-by-County Page for Rockaway.
Cemeteries Near Rockaway ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rockaway.
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 Rockaway - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Rockaway covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Rockaway, with the one closest to Rockaway listed first.
- Russell Farm Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Reed Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Schickel Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Schmidt Farm Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- North Bend School Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Salem's Lutheran Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Heim Farm Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Farley Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Buckeye Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Homan Farm Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Homan Farm Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Summer Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (313 more) ...
- Old Springbrook Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- St. Joseph Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- St. Joseph's Catholic Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 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.
While we didn't find Rockaway in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Rockaway.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Rockaway, with the one closest to Rockaway listed first.
- Spragueville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Van Buren
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Van Buren is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Van Buren
- Preston
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Green Island
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Green Island is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Island
- Springbrook
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Browns
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Browns is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browns
- Miles
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Pleasant Creek
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Pleasant Creek is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Creek
- Sterling
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Sterling is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sterling
- Riggs
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Riggs is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riggs
- Goose Lake
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Goose Lake is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goose Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
- Andrew
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Charlotte
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Bryant
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Bryant is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryant
- Teeds Grove
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Teeds Grove is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teeds Grove
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Rockaway. See our List of 1890's Communities around Rockaway.
Newspapers Published in Rockaway ...
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 72 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rockaway.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Rockaway, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Rockaway.
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 Rockaway:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Jackson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Clinton County
- Dubuque County
- Jones County
- Scott County
- Carroll County
- Jo Daviess County
- Rock Island County
- Stephenson County
- Whiteside County
- Grant County
- Lafayette County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Iowa
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Rockaway, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <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 from Point A (ie- Rockaway) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |