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 Stillwell (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 Stillwell. 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 hospitals and doctors 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.
Stillwell is located in Poweshiek 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 Poweshiek County: Benton, Iowa, Jasper, Keokuk, Mahaska, Marshall & Tama.
Below are the counties that are near Stillwell. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Stillwell:
- Poweshiek County (The home county of Stillwell)
- The following are listed by their distance from Stillwell, with the one closest to Stillwell listed first.
- Searsboro
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Searsboro is located in Poweshiek County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Searsboro
- Population from the 2020 Census: 145 people
- Montezuma
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Malcom
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Deep River
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Deep River is located in Poweshiek County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deep River
- Population from the 2020 Census: 268 people
- Grinnell
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Tilton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Tilton is located in Poweshiek County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tilton
- Brooklyn
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Guernsey
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Sheridan
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Sheridan is located in Poweshiek County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheridan
- Hartwick
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Hartwick is located in Poweshiek County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartwick
- Population from the 2020 Census: 81 people
- Victor
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Iowa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Stillwell, with the one closest to Stillwell listed first.
- Ambrose
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Ambrose is located in Iowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ambrose
- Millersburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Millersburg is located in Iowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millersburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 139 people
- Ladora
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- North English
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Jasper County
- The following are listed by their distance from Stillwell, with the one closest to Stillwell listed first.
- Lynnville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Sully
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Killduff
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Killduff is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Killduff
- Galesburg
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Galesburg is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galesburg
- Oakland Acres
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Oakland Acres is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland Acres
- Population from the 2020 Census: 161 people
- Kellogg
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Reasnor
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Reasnor is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reasnor
- Population from the 2020 Census: 156 people
- Newburg
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Newburg is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newburg
- Newton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Monroe
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Lambs Grove
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Lambs Grove is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lambs Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 165 people
- Metz
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Metz is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Metz
- Keokuk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Stillwell, with the one closest to Stillwell listed first.
- Gibson
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Gibson is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 59 people
- Coal Creek
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Coal Creek is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Creek
- Thornburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Thornburg is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thornburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
- What Cheer
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Aurora
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Aurora is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurora
- Keswick
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Delta
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Delta is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delta
- Population from the 2020 Census: 313 people
- Webster
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Webster is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
- Population from the 2020 Census: 71 people
- Sigourney
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Hayesville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Hayesville is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayesville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 48 people
- South English
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- South English is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South English
- Population from the 2020 Census: 211 people
- Hedrick
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Hedrick is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hedrick
- Population from the 2020 Census: 743 people
- Mahaska County
- The following are listed by their distance from Stillwell, with the one closest to Stillwell listed first.
- New Sharon
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Taintor
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Taintor is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taintor
- Union Mills
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Union Mills is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Mills
- Lacey
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Lacey is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacey
- Peoria
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Peoria is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peoria
- Barnes City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Fishville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Fishville is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fishville
- Indianapolis
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Indianapolis is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indianapolis
- Leighton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Evans
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Evans is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evans
- Oskaloosa
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Olivet
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Olivet is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olivet
- Marion County
- The following are listed by their distance from Stillwell, with the one closest to Stillwell listed first.
- Pella
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Howell ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Howell is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howell
- Harvey
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Harvey is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvey
- Population from the 2020 Census: 243 people
- Otley
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Tracy
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Tracy is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tracy
- Cordova
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Cordova is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cordova
- Bussey
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Bussey is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bussey
- Population from the 2020 Census: 406 people
- Pershing
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Pershing is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pershing
- Knoxville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Attica
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Attica is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Attica
- Hamilton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Hamilton is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamilton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
- Marysville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Marysville is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marysville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 68 people
- Marshall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Stillwell, with the one closest to Stillwell listed first.
- Gilman
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Gilman is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 484 people
- Laurel
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Laurel is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel
- Population from the 2020 Census: 234 people
- Dunbar
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Dunbar is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunbar
- Ferguson
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Ferguson is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferguson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 122 people
- Monroe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Stillwell, with the one closest to Stillwell listed first.
- Bluff Creek
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Bluff Creek is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff Creek
- Lovilia
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Tama County
- The following are listed by their distance from Stillwell, with the one closest to Stillwell listed first.
- Long Point
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Long Point is located in Tama County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Point
- Tama
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Chelsea
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Wapello County
- The following are listed by their distance from Stillwell, with the one closest to Stillwell listed first.
- Eddyville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Kirkville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Kirkville is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirkville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 177 people
- Dudley
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Dudley is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dudley
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Stillwell, see our County-by-County Page for Stillwell.
Cemeteries Near Stillwell ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Stillwell.
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 Stillwell - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Stillwell covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Stillwell, with the one closest to Stillwell listed first.
- Mill Grove Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Stewart Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stewart Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Stewart Cemetery is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<2> to the northwest of New Sharon.
- Forest Home Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Highland Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- West Liberty Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Weatherwax Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- New Sharon Friends Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Searsboro IOOF Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Sheley Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Beason Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Little Mt. Baptist Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Cemetery Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (328 more) ...
- Jackson Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Bone Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- McCoy Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
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.<4>
While we didn't find Stillwell in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Stillwell.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Stillwell, with the one closest to Stillwell listed first.
- Taintor
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Taintor is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taintor
- New Sharon
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Searsboro
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Searsboro is located in Poweshiek County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Searsboro
- Population from the 2020 Census: 145 people
- Union Mills
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Union Mills is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Mills
- Lynnville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Peoria
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Peoria is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peoria
- Lacey
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Lacey is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacey
- Montezuma
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Ewart
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Ewart is located in Poweshiek County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ewart
- Sully
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Barnes City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Malcom
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Killduff
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Killduff is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Killduff
- Leighton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Fishville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Fishville is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fishville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Stillwell. See our List of 1890's Communities around Stillwell.
Newspapers Published in Stillwell ...
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 125 newspapers that have been published in the area around Stillwell.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Stillwell, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Stillwell.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Stillwell:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Poweshiek County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Iowa County
- Jasper County
- Keokuk County
- Mahaska County
- Marion County
- Marshall County
- Monroe County
- Tama County
- Wapello 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> | 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- Stillwell) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 Stillwell, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |