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 Wellman (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 Wellman. 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 southeast 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 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 east 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.
Wellman is located in Washington 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 Washington County: Henry, Iowa, Jefferson, Johnson, Keokuk & Louisa.
Below are the counties that are near Wellman. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Wellman:
- Washington County (The home county of Wellman)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wellman, with the one closest to Wellman listed first.
- Nira
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Nira is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nira
- Kalona
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- West Chester
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- West Chester is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Chester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 147 people
- Riverside
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Washington
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Rubio
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Rubio is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rubio
- Havre
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Havre is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Havre
- Ainsworth
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Brighton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Coppock
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Coppock is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coppock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 48 people
- Crawfordsville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Benton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wellman, with the one closest to Wellman listed first.
- Norway
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Watkins
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Watkins is located in Benton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watkins
- Cedar County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wellman, with the one closest to Wellman listed first.
- Downey
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Downey is located in Cedar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downey
- West Branch
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Centerdale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Centerdale is located in Cedar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerdale
- Henry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wellman, with the one closest to Wellman listed first.
- Wayland
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Olds
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Olds is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olds
- Population from the 2020 Census: 222 people
- Swedesburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Swedesburg is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swedesburg
- Iowa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wellman, with the one closest to Wellman listed first.
- Parnell
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- North English
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Williamsburg
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Millersburg
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Millersburg is located in Iowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millersburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 139 people
- Conroy
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Conroy is located in Iowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conroy
- Ambrose
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Ambrose is located in Iowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ambrose
- Amana
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Middle Amana
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- South Amana
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- West Amana
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- West Amana is located in Iowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Amana
- Marengo
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Ladora
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wellman, with the one closest to Wellman listed first.
- Pleasant Plain
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Pleasant Plain is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Plain
- Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
- Perlee
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Perlee is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perlee
- Packwood
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Packwood is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Packwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 225 people
- Linby
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Linby is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linby
- Pekin
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Pekin is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pekin
- Maharishi Vedic City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- 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
- Johnson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wellman, with the one closest to Wellman listed first.
- Amish
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Amish is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amish
- Frytown
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Frytown is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frytown
- Williamstown
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Williamstown is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamstown
- Windham
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Windham is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windham
- Cosgrove
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Cosgrove is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cosgrove
- Hills
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- River Junction
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- River Junction is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Junction
- Oxford
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Tiffin
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Coralville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- University Heights
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- University Heights is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University Heights
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,025 people
- Iowa City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Keokuk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wellman, with the one closest to Wellman listed first.
- Kinross
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Kinross is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinross
- Population from the 2020 Census: 71 people
- Keota
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Harper
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Harper is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harper
- Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
- Talleyrand
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Talleyrand is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talleyrand
- South English
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- South English is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South English
- Population from the 2020 Census: 211 people
- Webster
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Webster is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
- Population from the 2020 Census: 71 people
- Keswick
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Richland
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Sigourney
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Aurora
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Aurora is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurora
- Ollie
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Ollie is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ollie
- Population from the 2020 Census: 207 people
- Hayesville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Hayesville is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayesville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 48 people
- Linn County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wellman, with the one closest to Wellman listed first.
- Walford
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Walford is located in Linn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,436 people
- Western
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Western is located in Linn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Western
- Ely
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Louisa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wellman, with the one closest to Wellman listed first.
- Gladwin
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Gladwin is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladwin
- Cotter
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Cotter is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotter
- Population from the 2020 Census: 42 people
- Wyman
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Wyman is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyman
- Columbus City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Columbus City is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbus City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 371 people
- Columbus Junction
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Fredonia
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Fredonia is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredonia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
- Muscatine County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wellman, with the one closest to Wellman listed first.
- Conesville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Conesville is located in Muscatine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conesville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 427 people
- Nichols
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Nichols is located in Muscatine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nichols
- Population from the 2020 Census: 358 people
- West Liberty
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Poweshiek County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wellman, with the one closest to Wellman listed first.
- Tilton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Tilton is located in Poweshiek County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tilton
- Deep River
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Deep River is located in Poweshiek County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deep River
- Population from the 2020 Census: 268 people
- Guernsey
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Victor
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Wellman, see our County-by-County Page for Wellman.
Cemeteries Near Wellman ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wellman.
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 Wellman - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Wellman covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Wellman, with the one closest to Wellman listed first.
- Mennonite Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Wellman Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Wassonville Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Taylor Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Bucker Hill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Pilot Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Coffman Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Schottler Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Lexington Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Brenneman Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Lower Deer Creek Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Continue List (381 more) ...
- Wertz Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Fairview Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Center Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
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 Wellman had a population of 118 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Wellman had a population of 1,401 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Wellman, with the one closest to Wellman listed first.
- Nira
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Nira is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nira
- Lexington
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Lexington is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lexington
- Green Center
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Green Center is located in Iowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Center
- Amish
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Amish is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amish
- Kalona
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Richmond
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Richmond is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmond
- Kinross
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Kinross is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinross
- Population from the 2020 Census: 71 people
- West Chester
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- West Chester is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Chester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 147 people
- Keota
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Holbrook
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Holbrook is located in Iowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holbrook
- Creswell
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Creswell is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creswell
- Windham
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Windham is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windham
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Sharon Center
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Sharon Center is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharon Center
- Parnell
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- North English
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Wellman. See our List of 1890's Communities around Wellman.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Wellman ...
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 172 newspapers that have been published in the area around Wellman.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Wellman. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Wellman and those printed in the larger area surrounding Wellman.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4> of Wellman.
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 helpful 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 Wellman:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Washington County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Benton County
- Cedar County
- Henry County
- Iowa County
- Jefferson County
- Johnson County
- Keokuk County
- Linn County
- Louisa County
- Muscatine County
- Poweshiek 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 Wellman, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Wellman) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |