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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 Shenandoah (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 Shenandoah. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Shenandoah is primarily located in Page County. A portion of Shenandoah extends into Fremont 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 Page County: Fremont, Montgomery, Taylor, Atchison (MO) & Nodaway (MO).

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

  • Page County     (The home county of Shenandoah)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shenandoah, with the one closest to Shenandoah listed first.
    • Essex
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Tarkio City ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Tarkio City is located in Page County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tarkio City
    • Coin
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Yorktown
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Yorktown is located in Page County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorktown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 83 people
    • Nyman
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Northboro
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Blanchard
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • College Springs
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • College Springs is located in Page County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for College Springs
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 204 people
    • Clarinda
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Hepburn
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Hepburn is located in Page County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hepburn
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17 people
    • Shambaugh
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Braddyville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Hawleyville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Hawleyville is located in Page County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawleyville
  • Adams County
    • Nodaway
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Nodaway is located in Adams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nodaway
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 102 people
  • Fremont County
  • Mills County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shenandoah, with the one closest to Shenandoah listed first.
    • Clark
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Clark is located in Mills County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clark
    • Emerson
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Hastings
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Hastings is located in Mills County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hastings
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 149 people
    • Malvern
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Henderson
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Mills
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Glenwood
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Silver City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Pacific Junction
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Pacific City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Pacific City is located in Mills County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pacific City
    • Mineola
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Montgomery County
  • Pottawattamie County
  • Taylor County
  • Atchison County (MO)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shenandoah, with the one closest to Shenandoah listed first.
    • Farmers City
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Farmers City is located in Atchison County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmers City
    • Westboro
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Westboro is located in Atchison County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westboro
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 126 people
    • Tarkio
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Watson
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Rock Port
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Phelps City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Phelps City is located in Atchison County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phelps City
    • Fairfax
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Fairfax is located in Atchison County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfax
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 568 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fairfax <1>
  • Nodaway County (MO)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shenandoah, with the one closest to Shenandoah listed first.
    • Elmo
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Elmo is located in Nodaway County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 148 people
    • Clearmont
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Burlington Junction
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Cass County (NE)
  • Nemaha County (NE)
  • Otoe County (NE)

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

Cemeteries Near Shenandoah ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Shenandoah.

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 Shenandoah - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Rose Hill Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Manti Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Farragut Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Essex Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • St. John Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Mt. Calvary Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Chamber Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Monroe Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Martin Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Snow Hill Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Baker Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Hadden Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (220 more) ...
    • Franklin Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Wagner Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • David Farm Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 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.<3>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Shenandoah had a population of 2,440 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Shenandoah had a population of 4,783 people.

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

  • Summit
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Summit is located in Fremont County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
  • Bingham
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Bingham is located in Page County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bingham
  • Essex
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Farragut
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Norwich
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Norwich is located in Page County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwich
  • Imogene
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Solomon
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Solomon is located in Mills County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Solomon
  • Coin
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Riverton
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Northboro
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Yorktown
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Yorktown is located in Page County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorktown
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 83 people
  • Nyman
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • High Creek
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Coburg
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Coburg is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 39 people
    • Randolph
      (12 miles [19.3 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 Shenandoah. See our List of 1890's Communities around Shenandoah.

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Shenandoah ...

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 150 newspapers that have been published in the area around Shenandoah.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Shenandoah. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Shenandoah and those printed in the larger area surrounding Shenandoah.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4> of Shenandoah.

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 Shenandoah:

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 Shenandoah, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Shenandoah) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.