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 Sterling (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 Sterling. 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.
Sterling is located in Jackson 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 Jackson County: Clinton, Dubuque, Jones, Carroll (IL) & Jo Daviess (IL).
Below are the counties that are near Sterling. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Sterling:
- Jackson County (The home county of Sterling)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sterling, with the one closest to Sterling listed first.
- Sabula
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Miles
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Van Buren
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Van Buren is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Van Buren
- Green Island
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Green Island is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Island
- Preston
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Spragueville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Springbrook
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Bellevue
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- North Bellevue
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- North Bellevue is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Bellevue
- Andrew
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Smiths
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Smiths is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smiths
- Cottonville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Cottonville is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottonville
- Clinton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sterling, with the one closest to Sterling listed first.
- Teeds Grove
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Teeds Grove is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teeds Grove
- Andover
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Andover is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Andover
- Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
- Elk River Junction
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Elk River Junction is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk River Junction
- Bryant
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Bryant is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryant
- Tenmile
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Tenmile is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tenmile
- Goose Lake
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Goose Lake is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goose Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
- Sixmile
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Sixmile is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sixmile
- Charlotte
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Elvira
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Elvira is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elvira
- Clinton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Delmar
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Low Moor
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Dubuque County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sterling, with the one closest to Sterling listed first.
- Zwingle
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Zwingle is located in Dubuque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zwingle
- Population from the 2020 Census: 93 people
- Wilkins
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Wilkins is located in Dubuque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilkins
- Massey
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Massey is located in Dubuque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massey
- Scott County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sterling, with the one closest to Sterling listed first.
- McCausland
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- McCausland is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCausland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 311 people
- Princeton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Noel ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Noel is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noel
- Park View
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Park View is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park View
- Carroll County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sterling, with the one closest to Sterling listed first.
- Savanna
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Arnold
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Arnold is located in Carroll County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnold
- Marcus
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Marcus is located in Carroll County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcus
- Ayers
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Ayers is located in Carroll County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayers
- Blackhawk
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Blackhawk is located in Carroll County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackhawk
- Hickory Grove
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Hickory Grove is located in Carroll County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Grove
- Center Hill
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Center Hill is located in Carroll County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Hill
- Wacker
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Wacker is located in Carroll County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wacker
- Thomson
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Argo Fay
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Argo Fay is located in Carroll County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argo Fay
- Polsgrove
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Polsgrove is located in Carroll County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polsgrove
- Daggett ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Daggett is located in Carroll County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daggett
- Jo Daviess County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sterling, with the one closest to Sterling listed first.
- Hanover
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Pleasant Valley
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant Valley is located in Jo Daviess County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Valley
- Elizabeth
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Aiken
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Aiken is located in Jo Daviess County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aiken
- Stockton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Galena Junction
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Galena Junction is located in Jo Daviess County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galena Junction
- Bremen
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Bremen is located in Jo Daviess County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bremen
- Galena
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Galena is located in Jo Daviess County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galena
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,151 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Galena <1>
- Scales Mound
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Apple River
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Nora
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Nora is located in Jo Daviess County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nora
- Population from the 2020 Census: 116 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nora <1>
- Ogle County (IL)
- Brookville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Brookville is located in Ogle County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookville
- Rock Island County (IL)
- Cordova
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Stephenson County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sterling, with the one closest to Sterling listed first.
- Loran
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Loran is located in Stephenson County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loran
- Kent
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Pearl City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Yellow Creek
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Yellow Creek is located in Stephenson County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Creek
- Bolton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Bolton is located in Stephenson County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolton
- Eleroy
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Lena
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Lena is located in Stephenson County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lena
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,680 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lena <1>
- Salem
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Salem is located in Stephenson County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem
- Whiteside County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sterling, with the one closest to Sterling listed first.
- Fulton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Fulton is located in Whiteside County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,285 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fulton <1>
- Spring Valley
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Spring Valley is located in Whiteside County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
- East Clinton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- East Clinton is located in Whiteside County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Clinton
- Albany
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Union Grove
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Union Grove is located in Whiteside County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Grove
- White Pigeon
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- White Pigeon is located in Whiteside County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Pigeon
- Morrison
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Newton Corners
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Newton Corners is located in Whiteside County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newton Corners
- Malvern
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Malvern is located in Whiteside County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malvern
- Coleta
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Fenton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Denrock
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Denrock is located in Whiteside County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denrock
- Lafayette County (WI)
- White Oak
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- White Oak is located in Lafayette County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Oak
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Sterling, see our County-by-County Page for Sterling.
Cemeteries Near Sterling ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sterling.
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 Sterling - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Sterling covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Sterling, with the one closest to Sterling listed first.
- Sterling Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Canada Hollow Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- St. Peter's Catholic Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Dickson Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Horst Farm Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Fairview Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Schroeder Farm Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Miles Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Simpson Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Evergreen Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Watts Farm Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Watts Farm Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Continue List (309 more) ...
- Reeseville Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Buckeye Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Old Van Buren Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Sterling had a population of 96 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Sterling, with the one closest to Sterling listed first.
- Miles
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Sabula
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Teeds Grove
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Teeds Grove is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teeds Grove
- Lainsville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Lainsville is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lainsville
- Savanna
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Van Buren
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Van Buren is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Van Buren
- Andover
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Andover is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Andover
- Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
- Marcus
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Marcus is located in Carroll County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcus
- Green Island
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Green Island is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Island
- Preston
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Almont
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Almont is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almont
- Elk River Junction
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Elk River Junction is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk River Junction
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Bryant
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Bryant is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryant
- Hickory Grove
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Hickory Grove is located in Carroll County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Grove
- Spragueville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Sterling. See our List of 1890's Communities around Sterling.
Newspapers Published in Sterling ...
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 48 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sterling.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sterling, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sterling.
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 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 Sterling:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Jackson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Clinton County
- Dubuque County
- Scott County
- Carroll County
- Jo Daviess County
- Ogle County
- Rock Island County
- Stephenson County
- Whiteside County
- Lafayette 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 Sterling, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Sterling) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |