RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Iowa >> Clarke County >> Weldon >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Weldon (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 Weldon. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Weldon is primarily located in Clarke County. A portion of Weldon extends into Decatur 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 Clarke County: Decatur, Lucas, Madison, Ringgold, Union, Warren & Wayne.

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

  • Clarke County     (The home county of Weldon)
  • Decatur County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Weldon, with the one closest to Weldon listed first.
    • Van Wert
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Le Roy
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Garden Grove
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Garden Grove is located in Decatur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Grove
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 200 people
    • Leon
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Decatur City
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Decatur City is located in Decatur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decatur City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 181 people
    • Grand River
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Grand River is located in Decatur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand River
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 215 people
    • Woodland
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Davis City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Morgan
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Pleasanton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Lamoni
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Lucas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Weldon, with the one closest to Weldon listed first.
    • Derby
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Derby is located in Lucas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derby
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 111 people
    • Lucas
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Chariton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Russell
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Williamson
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Madison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Weldon, with the one closest to Weldon listed first.
    • Truro
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Barney
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • East Peru
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Saint Charles
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Ord
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Marion County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Weldon, with the one closest to Weldon listed first.
    • Newbern
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Bauer
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Ringgold County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Weldon, with the one closest to Weldon listed first.
    • Beaconsfield
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Beaconsfield is located in Ringgold County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaconsfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 15 people
    • Ellston
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Ellston is located in Ringgold County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellston
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 38 people
    • Kellerton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Tingley
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Mount Ayr
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Union County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Weldon, with the one closest to Weldon listed first.
    • Thayer
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Lorimor
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Afton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Arispe
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Shannon City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
  • Warren County
  • Wayne County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Weldon, with the one closest to Weldon listed first.
    • Humeston
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Millerton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Millerton is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 42 people
    • Hodge
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Hodge is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hodge
    • Allerton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Clio
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Corydon
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Lineville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Lineville is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lineville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 217 people
  • Harrison County (MO)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Weldon, with the one closest to Weldon listed first.
    • Akron
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Blythedale
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Blythedale is located in Harrison County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blythedale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 183 people
  • Mercer County (MO)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Weldon, with the one closest to Weldon listed first.
    • South Lineville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • South Lineville is located in Mercer County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Lineville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 27 people
    • Burrows
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Mercer
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Weldon ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Weldon.

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

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

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

  • Kline Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Chaney Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Green Bay Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Ellis Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Van Wert Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Hebron Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Winters Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Metier Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Clinton Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Johnson Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Doze Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Blair Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (285 more) ...
    • Smyrna Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • McKee Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • West Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)

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, Weldon had a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Weldon had a population of 104 people.

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

  • Green Bay ‑ Historic
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Van Wert
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Leslie
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Leslie is located in Clarke County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leslie
  • Groveland ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Groveland is located in Clarke County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Groveland
  • Kingston
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Kingston is located in Decatur County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingston
  • Le Roy
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Smyrna
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Smyrna is located in Clarke County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smyrna
  • Lacelle
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Garden Grove
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Garden Grove is located in Decatur County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Grove
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 200 people
  • Osceola
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Leon
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Woodburn
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • High Point
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • High Point is located in Decatur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Point
    • Humeston
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Grand River
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Grand River is located in Decatur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand River
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 215 people

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

Newspapers Published in Weldon ...

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 111 newspapers that have been published in the area around Weldon.

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

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 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 Weldon:

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 Weldon, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Weldon) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.