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 Stilson (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 Stilson. 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.
Stilson is located in Hancock 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 Hancock County: Cerro Gordo, Franklin, Humboldt, Kossuth, Winnebago, Worth & Wright.
Below are the counties that are near Stilson. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Stilson:
- Hancock County (The home county of Stilson)
- The following are listed by their distance from Stilson, with the one closest to Stilson listed first.
- Hutchins
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Hutchins is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hutchins
- Britt
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Corwith
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Corwith is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corwith
- Population from the 2020 Census: 245 people
- Kanawha
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Duncan
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Duncan is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duncan
- Crystal Lake
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Crystal Lake is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 228 people
- Woden
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Garner
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Klemme
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Goodell
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Goodell is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 126 people
- Cerro Gordo County
- The following are listed by their distance from Stilson, with the one closest to Stilson listed first.
- Meservey
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Meservey is located in Cerro Gordo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meservey
- Population from the 2020 Census: 237 people
- Ventura
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Clear Lake
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Thornton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Thornton is located in Cerro Gordo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thornton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 401 people
- Swaledale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Swaledale is located in Cerro Gordo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swaledale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 157 people
- Burchinal
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Burchinal is located in Cerro Gordo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burchinal
- Creamery
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Creamery is located in Cerro Gordo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creamery
- Franklin County
- Alexander
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Alexander is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexander
- Population from the 2020 Census: 159 people
- Humboldt County
- The following are listed by their distance from Stilson, with the one closest to Stilson listed first.
- Renwick
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Hardy
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Hardy is located in Humboldt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hardy
- Population from the 2020 Census: 41 people
- Livermore
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Livermore is located in Humboldt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Livermore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 361 people
- Arnold
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Arnold is located in Humboldt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnold
- Bode
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Bode is located in Humboldt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bode
- Population from the 2020 Census: 286 people
- Thor
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Ottosen
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Ottosen is located in Humboldt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ottosen
- Population from the 2020 Census: 36 people
- Dakota City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Humboldt
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Rutland
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Rutland is located in Humboldt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 121 people
- Kossuth County
- The following are listed by their distance from Stilson, with the one closest to Stilson listed first.
- Wesley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Wesley is located in Kossuth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wesley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 364 people
- Sexton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Sexton is located in Kossuth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sexton
- Lu Verne
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Titonka
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Titonka is located in Kossuth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Titonka
- Population from the 2020 Census: 433 people
- Irvington
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Irvington is located in Kossuth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irvington
- German Valley
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- German Valley is located in Kossuth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for German Valley
- Algona
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Burt
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Burt is located in Kossuth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burt
- Population from the 2020 Census: 493 people
- Bancroft
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Bancroft is located in Kossuth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bancroft
- Population from the 2020 Census: 684 people
- Lakota
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Lakota is located in Kossuth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakota
- Population from the 2020 Census: 275 people
- Lone Rock
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Whittemore
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Whittemore is located in Kossuth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whittemore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 469 people
- Gerled
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Gerled is located in Kossuth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gerled
- Palo Alto County
- West Bend
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Winnebago County
- The following are listed by their distance from Stilson, with the one closest to Stilson listed first.
- Forest City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Thompson
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Buffalo Center
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Leland
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Leland is located in Winnebago County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 268 people
- Rake
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Rake is located in Winnebago County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
- Worth County
- The following are listed by their distance from Stilson, with the one closest to Stilson listed first.
- Fertile
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Hanlontown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Hanlontown is located in Worth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanlontown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
- Wright County
- The following are listed by their distance from Stilson, with the one closest to Stilson listed first.
- Olaf
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Olaf is located in Wright County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olaf
- Belmond
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Cornelia
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Cornelia is located in Wright County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornelia
- Goldfield
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Holmes
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Holmes is located in Wright County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holmes
- Clarion
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Solberg ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Solberg is located in Wright County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Solberg
- Eagle Grove
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Rowan
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Galt
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Stilson, see our County-by-County Page for Stilson.
Cemeteries Near Stilson ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Stilson.
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 Stilson - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Stilson covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Stilson, with the one closest to Stilson listed first.
- Boone Twp. Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Corwith Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Magor Twp. Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- St. Joseph Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- St. Patricks Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Evergreen Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Evergreen Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the northeast of Britt.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #94704 <2>
- National Hobo Memorial
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Orthel Twp. Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Wesley Evergreen Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Amsterdam Twp. Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- New Amsterdam Twp. Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (145 more) ...
- Old Amsterdam Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- St. Benedict Catholic Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- St. John Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 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.<3>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Stilson had a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Stilson, with the one closest to Stilson listed first.
- Hutchins
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Hutchins is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hutchins
- Corwith
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Corwith is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corwith
- Population from the 2020 Census: 245 people
- Britt
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Wesley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Wesley is located in Kossuth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wesley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 364 people
- Sexton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Sexton is located in Kossuth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sexton
- Lu Verne
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Olaf
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Olaf is located in Wright County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olaf
- Hayfield
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Hayfield is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayfield
- Crystal Lake
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Crystal Lake is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 228 people
- Klemme
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Garner
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Renwick
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Goodell
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Goodell is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 126 people
- Irvington
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Irvington is located in Kossuth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irvington
- Hardy
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Hardy is located in Humboldt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hardy
- Population from the 2020 Census: 41 people
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Stilson. See our List of 1890's Communities around Stilson.
Newspapers Published in Stilson ...
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 92 newspapers that have been published in the area around Stilson.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Stilson, 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 Stilson.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Stilson:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Hancock County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cerro Gordo County
- Franklin County
- Humboldt County
- Kossuth County
- Palo Alto County
- Winnebago County
- Worth 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 Stilson, 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' (or 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- Stilson) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |