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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 Vining (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 Vining. 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.

Vining is located in Tama 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 Tama County: Benton, Black Hawk, Grundy, Iowa, Jasper, Marshall & Poweshiek.

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

  • Tama County     (The home county of Vining)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vining, with the one closest to Vining listed first.
    • Elberon
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Chelsea
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Clutier
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Long Point
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Long Point is located in Tama County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Point
    • Gladstone
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Gladstone is located in Tama County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladstone
    • Tama
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Toledo
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Dysart
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Traer
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Buckingham
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Buckingham is located in Tama County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckingham
    • Garwin
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Garwin is located in Tama County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garwin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 490 people
    • Montour
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Dinsdale
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Benton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vining, with the one closest to Vining listed first.
    • Irving
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Belle Plaine
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Keystone
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Luzerne
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Van Horne
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Blairstown
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Garrison
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Garrison is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garrison
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 355 people
    • Newhall
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Watkins
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Vinton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Mount Auburn
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Mount Auburn is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Auburn
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 144 people
    • Norway
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Benton City ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Benton City is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton City
  • Black Hawk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vining, with the one closest to Vining listed first.
    • Blessing
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Eagle Center
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Voorhies
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Voorhies is located in Black Hawk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Voorhies
    • La Porte City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Hudson
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Gilbertville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Gilbertville is located in Black Hawk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilbertville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 725 people
    • Jubilee
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jubilee is located in Black Hawk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jubilee
  • Buchanan County
    • Brandon
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Grundy County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vining, with the one closest to Vining listed first.
    • Reinbeck
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Beaman
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Beaman is located in Grundy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaman
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 183 people
    • Morrison
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Conrad
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Iowa County
  • Jasper County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vining, with the one closest to Vining listed first.
    • Newburg
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Oakland Acres
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Oakland Acres is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland Acres
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 161 people
  • Linn County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vining, with the one closest to Vining listed first.
    • Walford
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Palo
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Marshall County
  • Poweshiek County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vining, with the one closest to Vining listed first.
    • Hartwick
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Sheridan
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Brooklyn
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Victor
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Malcom
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Guernsey
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Grinnell
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Deep River
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Deep River is located in Poweshiek County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deep River
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 268 people
    • Montezuma
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)

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

Cemeteries Near Vining ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Vining.

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

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

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

  • Stayskal Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • National Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • St. Mary Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Dvorak Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Walthom Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Holy Trinity Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • IOOF Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • St. Josephs Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Flatters Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Walton Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Craig Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Redman Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (260 more) ...
    • Hayes Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Arbuthnot Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Irving Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)

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, Vining had a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Vining had a population of 49 people.

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

  • Chelsea
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Irving
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Gladstone
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Gladstone is located in Tama County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladstone
  • Long Point
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Long Point is located in Tama County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Point
  • Helena
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Helena is located in Tama County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helena
  • Haven
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Haven is located in Tama County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haven
  • Belle Plaine
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Keystone
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Toledo
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Tama
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Luzerne
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Dysart
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Vining. See our List of 1890's Communities around Vining.

Newspapers Published in Vining ...

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 159 newspapers that have been published in the area around Vining.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Vining, 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 Vining.

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 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 Vining:

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 Vining, 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- Vining) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.