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 Wayland (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 Wayland. 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.
Wayland is located in Henry 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 Henry County: Des Moines, Jefferson, Lee, Louisa, Van Buren & Washington.
Below are the counties that are near Wayland. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Wayland:
- Henry County (The home county of Wayland)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wayland, with the one closest to Wayland listed first.
- Olds
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Olds is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olds
- Population from the 2020 Census: 222 people
- Swedesburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Swedesburg is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swedesburg
- Winfield
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Rome
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Rome is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rome
- Population from the 2020 Census: 117 people
- Westwood
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Westwood is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
- Mount Pleasant
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Oakland Mills
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Oakland Mills is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland Mills
- Mount Union
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Union is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Union
- Estimated population in 2017: 107 people
- Salem
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- New London
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Hillsboro
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Hillsboro is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsboro
- Population from the 2020 Census: 173 people
- Lowell
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Lowell is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowell
- Des Moines County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wayland, with the one closest to Wayland listed first.
- Yarmouth
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Danville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Danville is located in Des Moines County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 896 people
- Mediapolis
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Dodgeville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Dodgeville is located in Des Moines County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodgeville
- Kline
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Kline is located in Des Moines County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kline
- Sperry
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Sperry is located in Des Moines County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sperry
- Middletown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Middletown is located in Des Moines County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middletown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 335 people
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wayland, with the one closest to Wayland listed first.
- Pleasant Plain
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Pleasant Plain is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Plain
- Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
- Lockridge
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Perlee
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Perlee is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perlee
- Glasgow
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Glasgow is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glasgow
- Fairfield
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Maharishi Vedic City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Maharishi Vedic City is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maharishi Vedic City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,288 people
- Packwood
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Packwood is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Packwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 225 people
- Libertyville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Libertyville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Libertyville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 341 people
- Abingdon
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Abingdon is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abingdon
- Linby
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Linby is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linby
- Pekin
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Pekin is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pekin
- Batavia
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Johnson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wayland, with the one closest to Wayland listed first.
- River Junction
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- River Junction is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Junction
- Lone Tree
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Amish
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Amish is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amish
- Hills
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Frytown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Frytown is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frytown
- Williamstown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Williamstown is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamstown
- Keokuk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wayland, with the one closest to Wayland listed first.
- Richland
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Talleyrand
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Talleyrand is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talleyrand
- Keota
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Ollie
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Ollie is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ollie
- Population from the 2020 Census: 207 people
- Harper
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Harper is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harper
- Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
- Kinross
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Kinross is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinross
- Population from the 2020 Census: 71 people
- Nugent
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Nugent is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nugent
- South English
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- South English is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South English
- Population from the 2020 Census: 211 people
- Martinsburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Martinsburg is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martinsburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
- Lee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wayland, with the one closest to Wayland listed first.
- Houghton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Houghton is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houghton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
- Russellville ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Russellville is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russellville
- Russellville has also been known as:
- Doantown
- White Lane ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- White Lane is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Lane
- Big Mound
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Big Mound is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Mound
- Mount Hamill
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Mount Hamill is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hamill
- Former names for Mount Hamill:
- Courtwright
- Hamill
- Pilot Grove
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Pilot Grove is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilot Grove
- Saint Paul
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Saint Paul is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Paul
- Population from the 2020 Census: 123 people
- Louisa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wayland, with the one closest to Wayland listed first.
- Wyman
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Wyman is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyman
- Cotter
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Cotter is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotter
- Population from the 2020 Census: 42 people
- Columbus City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Columbus City is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbus City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 371 people
- Columbus Junction
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Gladwin
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Gladwin is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladwin
- Fredonia
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Fredonia is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredonia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
- Morning Sun
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Wapello
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Wapello is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wapello
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,999 people
- Letts
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Grandview
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Grandview is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
- Population from the 2020 Census: 519 people
- Elrick Junction
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Elrick Junction is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elrick Junction
- Muscatine County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wayland, with the one closest to Wayland listed first.
- Conesville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Conesville is located in Muscatine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conesville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 427 people
- Nichols
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Nichols is located in Muscatine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nichols
- Population from the 2020 Census: 358 people
- Van Buren County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wayland, with the one closest to Wayland listed first.
- Stockport
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Birmingham
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Birmingham is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birmingham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 423 people
- Winchester
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Winchester is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winchester
- Kilbourn
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Kilbourn is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kilbourn
- Mount Zion
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Zion is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
- Douds
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Douds is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douds
- Wapello County
- Competine
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Competine is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Competine
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wayland, with the one closest to Wayland listed first.
- Coppock
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Coppock is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coppock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 48 people
- Havre
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Havre is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Havre
- Crawfordsville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Brighton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Washington
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Ainsworth
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- West Chester
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- West Chester is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Chester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 147 people
- Rubio
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Rubio is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rubio
- Kalona
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Riverside
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Wellman
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Nira
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Nira is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nira
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Wayland, see our County-by-County Page for Wayland.
Cemeteries Near Wayland ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wayland.
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 Wayland - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Wayland covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Wayland, with the one closest to Wayland listed first.
- Wayland Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- North Hill Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Sugar Creek Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Eicher Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Cottonwood Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Haynes Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Kurtz Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Shively Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Bethel Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Baptist Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Old Finley Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Center Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Continue List (455 more) ...
- Rumble Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Fern Cliff Evangelic Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Sommers Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
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.<2>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Wayland had a population of 168 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Wayland had a population of 930 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Wayland, with the one closest to Wayland listed first.
- Noble
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Noble is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noble
- Coppock
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Coppock is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coppock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 48 people
- Merrimac
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Merrimac is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrimac
- Olds
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Olds is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olds
- Population from the 2020 Census: 222 people
- Germanville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Germanville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Germanville
- Trenton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Trenton is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trenton
- Swedesburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Swedesburg is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swedesburg
- Crawfordsville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Havre
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Havre is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Havre
- Brighton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Traxler ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Traxler is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Traxler
- Wyman
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Wyman is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyman
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Washington
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Pleasant Plain
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Pleasant Plain is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Plain
- Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
- Salina
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Salina is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salina
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Wayland. See our List of 1890's Communities around Wayland.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Wayland ...
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 134 newspapers that have been published in the area around Wayland.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Wayland. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Wayland and those printed in the larger area surrounding Wayland.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3> of Wayland.
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 Wayland:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Henry County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Des Moines County
- Jefferson County
- Johnson County
- Keokuk County
- Lee County
- Louisa County
- Muscatine County
- Van Buren County
- Wapello County
- Washington 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> | 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 Wayland, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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- Wayland) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |