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 Roscoe (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 Roscoe. 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 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.
Roscoe is located in Des Moines 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 Des Moines County: Henry, Lee, Louisa, Hancock (IL) & Henderson (IL).
Below are the counties that are near Roscoe. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Roscoe:
- Des Moines County (The home county of Roscoe)
- The following are listed by their distance from Roscoe, with the one closest to Roscoe listed first.
- Yarmouth
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Mediapolis
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Dodgeville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Dodgeville is located in Des Moines County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodgeville
- Kline
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Kline is located in Des Moines County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kline
- Sperry
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Sperry is located in Des Moines County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sperry
- Kingston
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Kingston is located in Des Moines County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingston
- Danville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Danville is located in Des Moines County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 896 people
- Middletown
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Middletown is located in Des Moines County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middletown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 335 people
- West Burlington
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Burlington
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Patterson
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Patterson is located in Des Moines County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patterson
- Henry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Roscoe, with the one closest to Roscoe listed first.
- Mount Union
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Mount Union is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Union
- Estimated population in 2017: 107 people
- New London
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Winfield
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Pleasant
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Swedesburg
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Swedesburg is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swedesburg
- Olds
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Olds is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olds
- Population from the 2020 Census: 222 people
- Lowell
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Lowell is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowell
- Oakland Mills
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Oakland Mills is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland Mills
- Westwood
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Westwood is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
- Salem
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Rome
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Rome is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rome
- Population from the 2020 Census: 117 people
- Wayland
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Hillsboro
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Hillsboro is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsboro
- Population from the 2020 Census: 173 people
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Roscoe, with the one closest to Roscoe listed first.
- Lockridge
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Glasgow
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Glasgow is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glasgow
- Lee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Roscoe, with the one closest to Roscoe listed first.
- South Augusta
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- South Augusta is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Augusta
- Denmark
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Wever
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Saint Paul
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Paul is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Paul
- Population from the 2020 Census: 123 people
- Sawyer
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Sawyer is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sawyer
- Former names for Sawyer:
- Atlee
- Edwards
- Pilot Grove
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Pilot Grove is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilot Grove
- West Point
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Houghton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Houghton is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houghton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
- White Lane ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- White Lane is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Lane
- Mount Hamill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Hamill is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hamill
- Former names for Mount Hamill:
- Courtwright
- Hamill
- Russellville ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Russellville is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russellville
- Russellville has also been known as:
- Doantown
- Fort Madison
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Franklin
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Franklin is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 132 people
- Louisa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Roscoe, with the one closest to Roscoe listed first.
- Morning Sun
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Elrick Junction
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Elrick Junction is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elrick Junction
- Wapello
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Wapello is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wapello
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,999 people
- Oakville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Wyman
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Wyman is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyman
- Columbus City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Columbus City is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbus City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 371 people
- Grandview
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Grandview is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
- Population from the 2020 Census: 519 people
- Columbus Junction
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Fredonia
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Fredonia is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredonia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
- Letts
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Cotter
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Cotter is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotter
- Population from the 2020 Census: 42 people
- Gladwin
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Gladwin is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladwin
- Muscatine County
- The following are listed by their distance from Roscoe, with the one closest to Roscoe listed first.
- Fruitland
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Fruitland is located in Muscatine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruitland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 966 people
- Conesville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Conesville is located in Muscatine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conesville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 427 people
- Muscatine
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Roscoe, with the one closest to Roscoe listed first.
- Crawfordsville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Ainsworth
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Havre
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Havre is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Havre
- Coppock
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Coppock is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coppock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 48 people
- Washington
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Brighton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Hancock County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Roscoe, with the one closest to Roscoe listed first.
- Dallas City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Pontoosuc
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Pontoosuc is located in Hancock County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pontoosuc
- Population from the 2020 Census: 132 people
- Niota
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Disco
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Disco is located in Hancock County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Disco
- Henderson County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Roscoe, with the one closest to Roscoe listed first.
- Milroy
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Milroy is located in Henderson County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milroy
- Oquawka
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Gulf Port
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Gulf Port is located in Henderson County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulf Port
- Population from the 2020 Census: 46 people
- Gladstone
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Rozetta
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Rozetta is located in Henderson County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rozetta
- Carman
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Biggsville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Biggsville is located in Henderson County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Biggsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 273 people
- Olena
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Olena is located in Henderson County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olena
- Iowa Junction
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Iowa Junction is located in Henderson County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iowa Junction
- Lomax
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Lomax is located in Henderson County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lomax
- Population from the 2020 Census: 393 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lomax <1>
- Stronghurst
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Media
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Media is located in Henderson County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Media
- Population from the 2020 Census: 93 people
- Terre Haute
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Terre Haute is located in Henderson County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terre Haute
- Mercer County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Roscoe, with the one closest to Roscoe listed first.
- New Boston
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Keithsburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Mannon
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Mannon is located in Mercer County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mannon
- Joy
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Joy is located in Mercer County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joy
- Population from the 2020 Census: 377 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Joy <1>
- Seaton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Eliza
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Eliza is located in Mercer County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eliza
- Petersville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Petersville is located in Mercer County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersville
- Sunbeam
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Sunbeam is located in Mercer County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunbeam
- Aledo
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Rock Island County (IL)
- Buffalo Prairie
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Warren County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Roscoe, with the one closest to Roscoe listed first.
- Little York
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Kirkwood
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Eleanor
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Eleanor is located in Warren County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eleanor
- Smithshire
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Roscoe, see our County-by-County Page for Roscoe.
Cemeteries Near Roscoe ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Roscoe.
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 Roscoe - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Roscoe covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Roscoe, with the one closest to Roscoe listed first.
- Linn Grove Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Welsh Chapel Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Covenanter Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Sharon Reformed Presbyterian Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharon Reformed Presbyterian Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Sharon Reformed Presbyterian Cemetery is located 4 miles [6.4 km]<2> to the northwest of Mediapolis.
- The Sharon Reformed Presbyterian Cemetery has also been known as:
- Sharon Cemetery
- Pleasant Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Shinar Cumberland Presbyterian Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Gallaher Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Butcher Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Elmwood Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Morning Sun Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Millersburg Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Old Stone Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (427 more) ...
- Hazel Grove Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Kossuth Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
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 Roscoe had a population of 74 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Roscoe, with the one closest to Roscoe listed first.
- Yarmouth
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Pleasant Grove
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Pleasant Grove is located in Des Moines County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Grove
- Morning Sun
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Mediapolis
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Dodgeville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Dodgeville is located in Des Moines County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodgeville
- Kossuth
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Kossuth is located in Des Moines County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kossuth
- Newport
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Newport is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newport
- Sperry
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Sperry is located in Des Moines County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sperry
- Northfield
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Northfield is located in Des Moines County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northfield
- Marsh
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Marsh is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marsh
- Mount Union
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Mount Union is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Union
- Estimated population in 2017: 107 people
- New London
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Latty
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Latty is located in Des Moines County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Latty
- Danville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Danville is located in Des Moines County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 896 people
- Cairo
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Cairo is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cairo
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Roscoe. See our List of 1890's Communities around Roscoe.
Newspapers Published in Roscoe ...
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 82 newspapers that have been published in the area around Roscoe.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Roscoe, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Roscoe.
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 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 Roscoe:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Des Moines County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Henry County
- Jefferson County
- Lee County
- Louisa County
- Muscatine County
- Washington County
- Hancock County
- Henderson County
- Mercer County
- Rock Island County
- Warren 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Roscoe) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Roscoe, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |