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 Shady Oak (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 Shady Oak. 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 northwest 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 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.
Shady Oak is located in Webster 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 Webster County: Boone, Calhoun, Greene, Hamilton, Humboldt, Pocahontas & Wright.
Below are the counties that are near Shady Oak. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Shady Oak:
- Webster County (The home county of Shady Oak)
- The following are listed by their distance from Shady Oak, with the one closest to Shady Oak listed first.
- Cypsum City ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Cypsum City is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cypsum City
- Coalville
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Coalville is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalville
- Fort Dodge
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Otho
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Kalo
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Kalo is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kalo
- Evanston
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Evanston is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evanston
- Brushy
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Brushy is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brushy
- Border Plains
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Border Plains is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Border Plains
- Moorland
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Tara
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Tara is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tara
- Duncombe
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Burnside
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Burnside is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnside
- Lehigh
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Boone County
- The following are listed by their distance from Shady Oak, with the one closest to Shady Oak listed first.
- Boxholm
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Pilot Mound
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Pilot Mound is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilot Mound
- Population from the 2020 Census: 170 people
- Fraser
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Fraser is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fraser
- Population from the 2020 Census: 103 people
- Centerville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Centerville is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
- Mackey
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Mackey is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mackey
- Beaver
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Beaver is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver
- Population from the 2020 Census: 50 people
- Ogden
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Boone
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Shady Oak, with the one closest to Shady Oak listed first.
- Somers
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Somers is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somers
- Population from the 2020 Census: 102 people
- Knierim
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Knierim is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knierim
- Population from the 2020 Census: 57 people
- Farnhamville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Farnhamville is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farnhamville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 335 people
- Rinard
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Rinard is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rinard
- Population from the 2020 Census: 48 people
- Manson
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Lohrville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Rands
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Rands is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rands
- Rockwell City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Twin Lakes
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Twin Lakes is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Lakes
- Wightman
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Wightman is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wightman
- Pomeroy
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Jolley
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Jolley is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jolley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 37 people
- Sherwood
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Sherwood is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherwood
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from Shady Oak, with the one closest to Shady Oak listed first.
- Paton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Dana
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Dana is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dana
- Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
- Churdan
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Churdan is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Churdan
- Population from the 2020 Census: 363 people
- Grand Junction
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Farlin
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Farlin is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farlin
- Hamilton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Shady Oak, with the one closest to Shady Oak listed first.
- Webster City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Stratford
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Stanhope
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Stanhope is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanhope
- Population from the 2020 Census: 394 people
- Kamrar
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Blairsburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Blairsburg is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blairsburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 199 people
- Jewell
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Jewell is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jewell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,138 people
- Jewell has also been known as:
- Jewell Junction
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jewell <1>
- Humboldt County
- The following are listed by their distance from Shady Oak, with the one closest to Shady Oak listed first.
- Thor
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Pioneer
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Pioneer is located in Humboldt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pioneer
- Population from the 2020 Census: 22 people
- Dakota City
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Humboldt
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Rutland
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Rutland is located in Humboldt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 121 people
- Gilmore City
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Arnold
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Arnold is located in Humboldt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnold
- Hardy
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Hardy is located in Humboldt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hardy
- Population from the 2020 Census: 41 people
- Renwick
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Bradgate
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Bradgate is located in Humboldt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradgate
- Population from the 2020 Census: 84 people
- Bode
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Bode is located in Humboldt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bode
- Population from the 2020 Census: 286 people
- Livermore
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Livermore is located in Humboldt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Livermore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 361 people
- Pocahontas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Shady Oak, with the one closest to Shady Oak listed first.
- Palmer
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Rolfe
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Wright County
- The following are listed by their distance from Shady Oak, with the one closest to Shady Oak listed first.
- Woolstock
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Woolstock is located in Wright County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woolstock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 159 people
- Eagle Grove
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Goldfield
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Holmes
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Holmes is located in Wright County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holmes
- Clarion
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Shady Oak, see our County-by-County Page for Shady Oak.
Cemeteries Near Shady Oak ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Shady Oak.
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 Shady Oak - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Shady Oak covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Shady Oak, with the one closest to Shady Oak listed first.
- Ft. Dodge Memorial Park
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ft. Dodge Memorial Park
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Ft. Dodge Memorial Park is a large cemetery that is located in Fort Dodge.
- The Ft. Dodge Memorial Park has also been known as:
- Memorial Park
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #95444 <2>
- Graceland Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Pleasant Valley Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- North Lawn Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Lawn Cemetery
- The North Lawn Cemetery has also been known as:
- Haviland Cemetery
- St. Paul German Lutheran Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #95607 <2>
- Elkhorn Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhorn Cemetery
- The Elkhorn Cemetery has also been known as:
- Elkhorn Twp. Cemetery
- Corpus Christi Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Oakland Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Oakland Cemetery is located in Fort Dodge.
- Otho Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- C C Carpenter Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- St. Olafs Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Willowledge Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Concordia Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Continue List (175 more) ...
- Border Plains Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Burns Family Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Our Lady of Good Council Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
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>
While we didn't find Shady Oak in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Shady Oak.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Shady Oak, with the one closest to Shady Oak listed first.
- Coalville
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Coalville is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalville
- Fort Dodge
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Otho
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Kalo
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Kalo is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kalo
- Evanston
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Evanston is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evanston
- Judd
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Judd is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Judd
- Moorland
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Border Plains
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Border Plains is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Border Plains
- Brushy
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Brushy is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brushy
- Tara
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Tara is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tara
- Burnside
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Burnside is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnside
- Lehigh
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Duncombe
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Callender
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Callender is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Callender
- Population from the 2020 Census: 346 people
- Badger
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Shady Oak. See our List of 1890's Communities around Shady Oak.
Newspapers Published in Shady Oak ...
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 159 newspapers that have been published in the area around Shady Oak.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Shady Oak, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Shady Oak.
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 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 Shady Oak:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Webster County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Boone County
- Calhoun County
- Greene County
- Hamilton County
- Humboldt County
- Pocahontas County
- Wright 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> | 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 Shady Oak, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Shady Oak) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |