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 Salem (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 Salem. 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 and hospitals 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.
Salem is located in Henry 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 Henry County: Des Moines, Jefferson, Lee, Louisa, Van Buren & Washington.
Below are the counties that are near Salem. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Salem:
- Henry County (The home county of Salem)
- The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- Hillsboro
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Hillsboro is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsboro
- Population from the 2020 Census: 173 people
- Oakland Mills
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Oakland Mills is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland Mills
- Westwood
(7 miles [11.3 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
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Lowell
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Lowell is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowell
- Rome
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Rome is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rome
- Population from the 2020 Census: 117 people
- New London
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Swedesburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Swedesburg is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swedesburg
- Mount Union
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Union is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Union
- Estimated population in 2017: 107 people
- Olds
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Olds is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olds
- Population from the 2020 Census: 222 people
- Wayland
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Winfield
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Des Moines County
- The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- Danville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Danville is located in Des Moines County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 896 people
- Middletown
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Middletown is located in Des Moines County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middletown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 335 people
- Yarmouth
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Kline
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Kline is located in Des Moines County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kline
- Dodgeville
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Dodgeville is located in Des Moines County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodgeville
- West Burlington
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Sperry
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Sperry is located in Des Moines County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sperry
- Burlington
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Patterson
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Patterson is located in Des Moines County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patterson
- Mediapolis
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- Glasgow
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Glasgow is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glasgow
- Lockridge
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Fairfield
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Perlee
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Perlee is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perlee
- Pleasant Plain
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Pleasant Plain is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Plain
- Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
- Libertyville
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Libertyville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Libertyville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 341 people
- Maharishi Vedic City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Maharishi Vedic City is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maharishi Vedic City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,288 people
- Packwood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Packwood is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Packwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 225 people
- Batavia
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Keokuk County
- Richland
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Lee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- Houghton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Houghton is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houghton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
- Russellville ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Russellville is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russellville
- Russellville has also been known as:
- Doantown
- White Lane ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- White Lane is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Lane
- Mount Hamill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Mount Hamill is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hamill
- Former names for Mount Hamill:
- Courtwright
- Hamill
- Pilot Grove
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Pilot Grove is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilot Grove
- Saint Paul
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Saint Paul is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Paul
- Population from the 2020 Census: 123 people
- Big Mound
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Big Mound is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Mound
- Primrose
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Primrose is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Primrose
- West Point
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Franklin
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Franklin is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 132 people
- Donnellson
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Denmark
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Louisa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- Wyman
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Wyman is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyman
- Morning Sun
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Columbus City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Columbus City is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbus City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 371 people
- Van Buren County
- The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- Stockport
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Bonaparte
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Winchester
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Winchester is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winchester
- Farmington
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Zion
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Mount Zion is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
- Birmingham
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Birmingham is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birmingham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 423 people
- Kilbourn
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Kilbourn is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kilbourn
- Keosauqua
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Sterling
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Douds
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Douds is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douds
- Leando
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Leando is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leando
- Cantril
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- Coppock
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Coppock is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coppock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 48 people
- Brighton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Crawfordsville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Havre
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Havre is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Havre
- Ainsworth
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Rubio
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Rubio is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rubio
- Hancock County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- Niota
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Nauvoo
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Pontoosuc
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Pontoosuc is located in Hancock County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pontoosuc
- Population from the 2020 Census: 132 people
- Dallas City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Powellton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Powellton is located in Hancock County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powellton
- Colusa
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Henderson County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- Gulf Port
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Gulf Port is located in Henderson County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulf Port
- Population from the 2020 Census: 46 people
- Carman
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Clark County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- Athens
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Athens is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athens
- Anson
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Anson is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anson
- Acasto
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Acasto is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acasto
- Dumas
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Dumas is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dumas
- Chambersburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Chambersburg is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chambersburg
- Peaksville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Peaksville is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaksville
- Revere
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Saint Francisville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Saint Francisville is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Francisville
- Clark City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Clark City is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clark City
- Medill
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Medill is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medill
- Kahoka
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Luray
(30 miles [48.3 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
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Salem, see our County-by-County Page for Salem.
Cemeteries Near Salem ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Salem.
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 Salem - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Salem covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- South Salem Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- East Salem Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- East Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Cedar Creek Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Cedar Creek Friends Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Cottonwood Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- St. John Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Hunting Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Carnahan Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Pickard Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Faulkner Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Hillsboro Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Continue List (521 more) ...
- Bayles Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Old Pilot Grove Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Oakland Mills Cemetery
(5 miles [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.<2>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Salem had a population of 551 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Salem had a population of 380 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- Denova
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Denova is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denova
- Hillsboro
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Hillsboro is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsboro
- Population from the 2020 Census: 173 people
- Houghton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Houghton is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houghton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
- Oakland Mills
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Oakland Mills is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland Mills
- Mount Hamill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Mount Hamill is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hamill
- Former names for Mount Hamill:
- Courtwright
- Hamill
- Big Mound
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Big Mound is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Mound
- Pilot Grove
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Pilot Grove is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilot Grove
- Saint Paul
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Saint Paul is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Paul
- Population from the 2020 Census: 123 people
- La Crew
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- La Crew is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Crew
- Mount Pleasant
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Rome
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Rome is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rome
- Population from the 2020 Census: 117 people
- Lowell
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Lowell is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowell
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Glasgow
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Glasgow is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glasgow
- Utica
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Utica is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Utica
- Lockridge
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Salem. See our List of 1890's Communities around Salem.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Salem ...
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 89 newspapers that have been published in the area around Salem.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Salem. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Salem and those printed in the larger area surrounding Salem.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<3> of Salem.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 Salem:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Henry County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Des Moines County
- Jefferson County
- Keokuk County
- Lee County
- Louisa County
- Van Buren County
- Washington County
- Hancock County
- Henderson County
- Clark 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 Salem, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Salem) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |