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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 Sand Springs (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 Sand Springs. 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 Sand Springs ...

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 Sand Springs: Sand Spgs. (or less commonly used: Sand Spngs. or Sand Sprngs.)

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Sand Springs. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Sand Springs.

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 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.

Sand Springs is located in Delaware 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 Delaware County: Buchanan, Clayton, Dubuque, Fayette, Jones & Linn.

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

  • Delaware County     (The home county of Sand Springs)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sand Springs, with the one closest to Sand Springs listed first.
    • Hopkinton
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Rockville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Rockville is located in Delaware County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockville
    • Delhi
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Earlville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Delaware
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Delaware is located in Delaware County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delaware
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 149 people
    • Almoral
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Almoral is located in Delaware County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almoral
    • Golden
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Golden is located in Delaware County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golden
    • Ryan
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Ryan is located in Delaware County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ryan
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 343 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ryan <1>
    • Petersburg
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Petersburg is located in Delaware County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersburg
    • Ehler
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Ehler is located in Delaware County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ehler
    • Manchester
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Oneida
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Oneida is located in Delaware County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oneida
    • Holy Cross
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Holy Cross is located in Delaware County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holy Cross
  • Buchanan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sand Springs, with the one closest to Sand Springs listed first.
    • Monti
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Monti is located in Buchanan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monti
    • Quasqueton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Winthrop
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Winthrop is located in Buchanan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winthrop
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 848 people
    • Lamont
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Cedar County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sand Springs, with the one closest to Sand Springs listed first.
    • Mechanicsville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Mechanicsville is located in Cedar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mechanicsville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,116 people
    • Stanwood
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Clarence
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Clayton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sand Springs, with the one closest to Sand Springs listed first.
    • Wood
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Wood is located in Clayton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wood
    • Millville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Millville is located in Clayton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millville
      • Estimated population in 2014: 29 people
    • North Buena Vista
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • North Buena Vista is located in Clayton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Buena Vista
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 120 people
    • Osterdock
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Osterdock is located in Clayton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osterdock
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 47 people
    • Turkey River
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Turkey River is located in Clayton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkey River
    • Elkport
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Elkport is located in Clayton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkport
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 36 people
    • Garber
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Garber is located in Clayton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garber
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 86 people
    • Strawberry Point
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Clinton County
    • Lost Nation
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Dubuque County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sand Springs, with the one closest to Sand Springs listed first.
    • Worthington
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Worthington is located in Dubuque County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worthington
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 395 people
    • Cascade
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Dyersville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Summit Village Dyersville Park
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Farley
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Fillmore
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Fillmore is located in Dubuque County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fillmore
    • Epworth
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • New Vienna
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • New Vienna is located in Dubuque County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Vienna
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 412 people
    • Bankston
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Bankston is located in Dubuque County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bankston
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 27 people
    • Bernard
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Peosta
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Centralia
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Centralia is located in Dubuque County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centralia
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 128 people
    • Graf
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Graf is located in Dubuque County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graf
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 81 people
  • Jackson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sand Springs, with the one closest to Sand Springs listed first.
    • Garry Owen
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Garry Owen is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garry Owen
    • Canton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Canton is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canton
    • Crab Town
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Crab Town is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crab Town
    • Emeline
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Emeline is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emeline
    • Monmouth
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Monmouth is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monmouth
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 154 people
    • Baldwin
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Ironhills
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Ironhills is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironhills
    • La Motte
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Buckhorn
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Buckhorn is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckhorn
    • Fulton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Fulton is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulton
    • Cottonville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Cottonville is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottonville
  • Jones County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sand Springs, with the one closest to Sand Springs listed first.
    • Monticello
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Langworthy
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Langworthy is located in Jones County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langworthy
    • Argand
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Argand is located in Jones County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argand
    • Amber
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Amber is located in Jones County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amber
    • Center Junction
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Center Junction is located in Jones County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Junction
      • Estimated population in 2015: 111 people
    • Anamosa
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Clay Mills
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Clay Mills is located in Jones County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clay Mills
    • Stone City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Stone City is located in Jones County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone City
    • Onslow
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Fairview
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Fairview is located in Jones County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
    • Wyoming
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Morley
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Morley is located in Jones County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 110 people
    • Hale
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Hale is located in Jones County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hale
  • Linn County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sand Springs, with the one closest to Sand Springs listed first.
    • Prairieburg
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Prairieburg is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairieburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 190 people
    • Coggon
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Central City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Viola
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Viola is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Viola
    • Paris ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Paris is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paris
    • Springville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Alburnett
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Troy Mills
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Squaw Creek Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Squaw Creek Village is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Squaw Creek Village
    • Lafayette
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Lafayette is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lafayette
    • Marion
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Lisbon
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Mount Vernon
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Jo Daviess County (IL)
    • East Dubuque
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Grant County (WI)
    • Cassville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Cassville is located in Grant County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cassville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 877 people

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

Cemeteries Near Sand Springs ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sand Springs.

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 Sand Springs - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

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 Sand Springs had a population of 213 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Junction Switch
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Junction Switch is located in Jones County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junction Switch
  • Hopkinton
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Monticello
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Worthington
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Worthington is located in Dubuque County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worthington
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 395 people
  • Castle Grove
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Castle Grove is located in Jones County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castle Grove
  • Rockville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Rockville is located in Delaware County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockville
  • Argand
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Argand is located in Jones County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argand
  • Langworthy
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Langworthy is located in Jones County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langworthy
  • Cascade
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Scotch Grove
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Delhi
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Dyersville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Earlville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Temple Hill
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Temple Hill is located in Jones County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Temple Hill
    • Farley
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Sand Springs ...

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 122 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sand Springs.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Sand Springs. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Sand Springs and those printed in the larger area surrounding Sand Springs.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<4> of Sand Springs.

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 Sand Springs:

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 Sand Springs, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Sand Springs) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.