Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
So far, we found very little information about Valdora. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>
We've added Valdora to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Valdora, please Contact Us.
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 Valdora (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 Valdora. 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 hospitals and doctors 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.
Although our information shows that the community of Valdora is historic, it would have been located within present day Clayton 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 Clayton County: Allamakee, Buchanan, Delaware, Dubuque, Fayette, Winneshiek, Crawford (WI) & Grant (WI).
Below are the counties that are near Valdora. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Valdora:
- Clayton County (The home county of Valdora)
- The following are listed by their distance from Valdora, with the one closest to Valdora listed first.
- Beulah
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Beulah is located in Clayton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beulah
- Monona
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Watson
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Watson is located in Clayton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watson
- Farmersburg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Farmersburg is located in Clayton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmersburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 264 people
- Luana
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Olaf
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Marquette
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- McGregor
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Hardin
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Hardin is located in Clayton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hardin
- Clayton Center
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Clayton Center is located in Clayton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clayton Center
- Gunder
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Gunder is located in Clayton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gunder
- Elkader
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Clayton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Clayton is located in Clayton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clayton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 39 people
- Allamakee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Valdora, with the one closest to Valdora listed first.
- Volney
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Volney is located in Allamakee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Volney
- Ion
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Ion is located in Allamakee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ion
- Rossville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Rossville is located in Allamakee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rossville
- Waukon Junction
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Waukon Junction is located in Allamakee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waukon Junction
- Waterville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Waterville is located in Allamakee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 142 people
- Postville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Harpers Ferry
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Dalby
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Dalby is located in Allamakee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dalby
- Elon
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Elon is located in Allamakee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elon
- Waukon
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Lycurgus
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Lycurgus is located in Allamakee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lycurgus
- Lansing
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Delaware County
- The following are listed by their distance from Valdora, with the one closest to Valdora listed first.
- Edgewood
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Colesburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Colesburg is located in Delaware County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colesburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 371 people
- Forestville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Forestville is located in Delaware County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forestville
- Greeley
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Holy Cross
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Holy Cross is located in Delaware County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holy Cross
- Fayette County
- The following are listed by their distance from Valdora, with the one closest to Valdora listed first.
- Clermont
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Elgin
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Illyria
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Illyria is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Illyria
- Brainard
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Brainard is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brainard
- Wadena
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- West Union
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Arlington
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Arlington is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 393 people
- Fayette
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Douglass
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Douglass is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douglass
- Maryville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Maryville is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maryville
- Donnan
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Donnan is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donnan
- Randalia
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Randalia is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randalia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 60 people
- Saint Lucas
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Saint Lucas is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Lucas
- Population from the 2020 Census: 134 people
- Winneshiek County
- The following are listed by their distance from Valdora, with the one closest to Valdora listed first.
- Frankville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Frankville is located in Winneshiek County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frankville
- Castalia
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Castalia is located in Winneshiek County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castalia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 156 people
- Ossian
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Festina
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Calmar
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Decorah
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Fort Atkinson
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Crawford County (WI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Valdora, with the one closest to Valdora listed first.
- Prairie du Chien
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Prairie du Chien is located in Crawford County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie du Chien
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,531 people
- Bridgeport
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Bridgeport is located in Crawford County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeport
- Charme
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Charme is located in Crawford County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charme
- Eastman
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Eastman is located in Crawford County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 404 people
- Wauzeka
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Wauzeka is located in Crawford County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wauzeka
- Population from the 2020 Census: 733 people
- Ferryville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Ferryville is located in Crawford County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferryville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 173 people
- Steuben
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Steuben is located in Crawford County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steuben
- Population from the 2020 Census: 121 people
- Freeman
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Freeman is located in Crawford County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman
- Boydtown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Boydtown is located in Crawford County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boydtown
- De Soto
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- De Soto is located in Crawford County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Soto
- Population from the 2020 Census: 278 people
- Mount Sterling
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Sterling is located in Crawford County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Sterling
- Population from the 2020 Census: 196 people
- Petersburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Petersburg is located in Crawford County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersburg
- Grant County (WI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Valdora, with the one closest to Valdora listed first.
- Wyalusing
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Wyalusing is located in Grant County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyalusing
- Bagley
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Bagley is located in Grant County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bagley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 367 people
- Patch Grove
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Patch Grove is located in Grant County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patch Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 192 people
- Glen Haven
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Glen Haven is located in Grant County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Haven
- Millville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Millville is located in Grant County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millville
- Bloomington
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Bloomington is located in Grant County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 702 people
- North Andover
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- North Andover is located in Grant County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Andover
- Mount Hope
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Mount Hope is located in Grant County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hope
- Population from the 2020 Census: 216 people
- Woodman
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Woodman is located in Grant County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 129 people
- Cassville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Cassville is located in Grant County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cassville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 877 people
- Beetown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Beetown is located in Grant County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beetown
- Mount Ida
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Mount Ida is located in Grant County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Ida
- Werley
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Werley is located in Grant County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Werley
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Valdora, see our County-by-County Page for Valdora.
Cemeteries Near Valdora ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Valdora.
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 Valdora - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Valdora covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Valdora, with the one closest to Valdora listed first.
- Railroad Employee Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Giard Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- St. Wenceslaus Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Monona Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- St. Pauls Lutheran Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- St. Patricks Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Winkawitsch Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Gooding Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Council Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Pioneer Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Farmersburg - Wagner Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- National Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for National Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the National Cemetery is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<4> to the east of Farmersburg.
- The National Cemetery has also been known as:
- Farmersburg - National Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #95570 <3>
- Continue List (321 more) ...
- Cummings Plot
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Eno Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Eastman Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
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.
While we didn't find Valdora in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Valdora.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Valdora, with the one closest to Valdora listed first.
- Beulah
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Beulah is located in Clayton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beulah
- Monona
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Giard
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Giard is located in Clayton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Giard
- Watson
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Watson is located in Clayton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watson
- Farmersburg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Farmersburg is located in Clayton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmersburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 264 people
- Luana
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Volney
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Volney is located in Allamakee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Volney
- Saint Olaf
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Ion
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Ion is located in Allamakee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ion
- McGregor
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Hardin
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Hardin is located in Clayton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hardin
- Yellow River
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Yellow River is located in Allamakee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow River
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Prairie du Chien
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Prairie du Chien is located in Crawford County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie du Chien
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,531 people
- Wyalusing
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Wyalusing is located in Grant County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyalusing
- Waukon Junction
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Waukon Junction is located in Allamakee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waukon Junction
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Valdora. See our List of 1890's Communities around Valdora.
Newspapers Published in Valdora ...
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 161 newspapers that have been published in the area around Valdora.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Valdora, 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 Valdora.
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 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 Valdora:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Clayton County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Allamakee County
- Delaware County
- Fayette County
- Winneshiek County
- Crawford County
- Grant County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Iowa
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Valdora, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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> | 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- Valdora) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |