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 Saint Marys (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 Saint Marys. 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.
Name Variations for Saint Marys ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Saint Marys: St. Marys
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Saint Marys. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Saint Marys.
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.
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.
Saint Marys is located in Warren 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 Warren County: Clarke, Dallas, Lucas, Madison, Marion & Polk.
Below are the counties that are near Saint Marys. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Saint Marys:
- Warren County (The home county of Saint Marys)
- The following are listed by their distance from Saint Marys, with the one closest to Saint Marys listed first.
- Martensdale
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Bevington
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Churchville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Churchville is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Churchville
- Prole
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Prole is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prole
- Spring Hill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Spring Hill is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 65 people
- New Virginia
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Indianola
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Cool
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Cool is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cool
- Cumming
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Lakewood
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Lakewood is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakewood
- Ackworth
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Ackworth is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ackworth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 105 people
- Clarkson ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Clarkson is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarkson
- Liberty Center
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Liberty Center is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Center
- Adair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Saint Marys, with the one closest to Saint Marys listed first.
- Stanzel
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Stanzel is located in Adair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanzel
- Hebron
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Hebron is located in Adair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hebron
- Arbor Hill
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Arbor Hill is located in Adair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arbor Hill
- Zion
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Zion is located in Adair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zion
- Clarke County
- The following are listed by their distance from Saint Marys, with the one closest to Saint Marys listed first.
- Liberty
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Liberty is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
- Osceola
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Woodburn
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Murray
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Murray is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murray
- Population from the 2020 Census: 681 people
- Lacelle
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Lacelle is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacelle
- Green Bay ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Green Bay is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Bay
- Weldon
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Weldon is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weldon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 104 people
- Hopeville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Hopeville is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopeville
- Dallas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Saint Marys, with the one closest to Saint Marys listed first.
- Booneville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Van Meter
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- DeSoto
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Waukee
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Adel
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Dallas Center
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Dexter
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Redfield
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Wiscotta
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Wiscotta is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wiscotta
- Decatur County
- The following are listed by their distance from Saint Marys, with the one closest to Saint Marys listed first.
- Le Roy
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Le Roy is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Le Roy
- Population from the 2020 Census: 14 people
- Van Wert
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Van Wert is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Van Wert
- Population from the 2020 Census: 208 people
- Jasper County
- Vandalia
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Vandalia is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vandalia
- Lucas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Saint Marys, with the one closest to Saint Marys listed first.
- Lucas
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Lucas is located in Lucas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucas
- Population from the 2020 Census: 207 people
- Chariton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Derby
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Derby is located in Lucas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derby
- Population from the 2020 Census: 111 people
- Williamson
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Madison County
- The following are listed by their distance from Saint Marys, with the one closest to Saint Marys listed first.
- Saint Charles
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Truro
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Patterson
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Patterson is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patterson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 163 people
- East Peru
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- East Peru is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Peru
- Population from the 2020 Census: 133 people
- Winterset
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Barney
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Barney is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barney
- Ord
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Ord is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ord
- Earlham
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Pitzer
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Pitzer is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pitzer
- Macksburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Macksburg is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macksburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 122 people
- Webster
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Webster is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
- Marion County
- The following are listed by their distance from Saint Marys, with the one closest to Saint Marys listed first.
- Bauer
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Bauer is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bauer
- Pleasantville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Swan
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Swan is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swan
- Population from the 2020 Census: 74 people
- Newbern
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Newbern is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newbern
- Melcher - Dallas
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Melcher - Dallas is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melcher - Dallas
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,236 people
- Percy ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Percy is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Percy
- Polk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Saint Marys, with the one closest to Saint Marys listed first.
- Norwalk
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Commerce
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Commerce is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Commerce
- West Des Moines
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Carlisle
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Levey
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Levey is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Levey
- Des Moines
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Windsor Heights
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Clive
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Urbandale
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Adelphi
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Adelphi is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adelphi
- Pleasant Hill
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Country Estate Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Rising Sun
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Rising Sun is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rising Sun
- Union County
- The following are listed by their distance from Saint Marys, with the one closest to Saint Marys listed first.
- Lorimor
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Lorimor is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lorimor
- Population from the 2020 Census: 341 people
- Thayer
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Thayer is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thayer
- Population from the 2020 Census: 58 people
- Afton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Saint Marys, see our County-by-County Page for Saint Marys.
Cemeteries Near Saint Marys ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Saint Marys.
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 Saint Marys - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Saint Marys covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Saint Marys, with the one closest to Saint Marys listed first.
- St. Marys Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Dillman Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Wallace Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- St. Charles Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Warren Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Viney Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Brush Ridge Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Blair Chapel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Farson Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Calvary Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Randolph Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Close Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Continue List (282 more) ...
- Sayre Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Worthing Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Hewitt Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 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.<2>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Saint Marys had a population of 39 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Saint Marys had a population of 127 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Saint Marys, with the one closest to Saint Marys listed first.
- Wick
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Wick is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wick
- Conger
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Conger is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conger
- Saint Charles
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Bevington
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Hanley
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Hanley is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanley
- Churchville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Churchville is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Churchville
- Prole
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Prole is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prole
- Truro
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- New Virginia
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Spring Hill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Spring Hill is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 65 people
- Patterson
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Patterson is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patterson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 163 people
- Cool
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Cool is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cool
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Indianola
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Medora
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Medora is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medora
- East Peru
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- East Peru is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Peru
- Population from the 2020 Census: 133 people
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Saint Marys. See our List of 1890's Communities around Saint Marys.
Newspapers Published in Saint Marys ...
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 Saint Marys.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Saint Marys, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Saint Marys.
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 professional and volunteer 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 Saint Marys:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Warren County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Adair County
- Clarke County
- Dallas County
- Decatur County
- Jasper County
- Lucas County
- Madison County
- Marion County
- Polk County
- Union 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> | 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 Saint Marys, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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- Saint Marys) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |