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 Westwood (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 Westwood. 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 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.
Westwood 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 Westwood. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Westwood:
- Henry County (The home county of Westwood)
- The following are listed by their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- Oakland Mills
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Oakland Mills is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland Mills
- Rome
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Rome is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rome
- Population from the 2020 Census: 117 people
- Mount Pleasant
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Salem
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Hillsboro
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Hillsboro is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsboro
- Population from the 2020 Census: 173 people
- Swedesburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Swedesburg is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swedesburg
- New London
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Olds
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Olds is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olds
- Population from the 2020 Census: 222 people
- Wayland
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Mount Union
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Union is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Union
- Estimated population in 2017: 107 people
- Lowell
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Lowell is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowell
- Winfield
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Des Moines County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- Yarmouth
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Danville
(17 miles [27.4 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
- Kline
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Kline is located in Des Moines County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kline
- Middletown
(21 miles [33.8 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
- Dodgeville
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Dodgeville is located in Des Moines County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodgeville
- Mediapolis
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Sperry
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Sperry is located in Des Moines County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sperry
- West Burlington
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Burlington
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Patterson
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Patterson is located in Des Moines County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patterson
- Kingston
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Kingston is located in Des Moines County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingston
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- Lockridge
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Glasgow
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Glasgow is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glasgow
- Perlee
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Perlee is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perlee
- Pleasant Plain
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Pleasant Plain is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Plain
- Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
- Fairfield
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Maharishi Vedic City
(21 miles [33.8 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
- Libertyville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Libertyville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Libertyville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 341 people
- Packwood
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Packwood is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Packwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 225 people
- Abingdon
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Abingdon is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abingdon
- Batavia
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Linby
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Linby is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linby
- Pekin
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Pekin is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pekin
- Keokuk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- Richland
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Talleyrand
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Talleyrand is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talleyrand
- Ollie
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Ollie is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ollie
- Population from the 2020 Census: 207 people
- Lee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- Houghton
(12 miles [19.3 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
(12 miles [19.3 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
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- White Lane is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Lane
- Big Mound
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Big Mound is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Mound
- Mount Hamill
(14 miles [22.5 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
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Pilot Grove is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilot Grove
- Saint Paul
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Saint Paul is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Paul
- Population from the 2020 Census: 123 people
- Primrose
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Primrose is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Primrose
- West Point
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Franklin
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Franklin is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 132 people
- Denmark
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Donnellson
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Sawyer
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Sawyer is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sawyer
- Former names for Sawyer:
- Atlee
- Edwards
- Louisa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- Wyman
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Wyman is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyman
- Morning Sun
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Cotter
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Cotter is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotter
- Population from the 2020 Census: 42 people
- Columbus City
(24 miles [38.6 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
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Fredonia
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Fredonia is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredonia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
- Wapello
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Wapello is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wapello
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,999 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
- Gladwin
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Gladwin is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladwin
- Van Buren County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- Stockport
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Winchester
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Winchester is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winchester
- Birmingham
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Birmingham is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birmingham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 423 people
- Bonaparte
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Zion
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Zion is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
- Kilbourn
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Kilbourn is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kilbourn
- Farmington
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Keosauqua
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Douds
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Douds is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douds
- Leando
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Leando is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leando
- Mount Sterling
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Selma
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Selma is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selma
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- Coppock
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Coppock is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coppock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 48 people
- Crawfordsville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Brighton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Havre
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Havre is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Havre
- Ainsworth
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Washington
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Rubio
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Rubio is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rubio
- West Chester
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- West Chester is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Chester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 147 people
- Hancock County (IL)
- Niota
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Henderson County (IL)
- Gulf Port
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Gulf Port is located in Henderson County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulf Port
- Population from the 2020 Census: 46 people
- Clark County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- Athens
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Athens is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athens
- Anson
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Anson is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anson
- Acasto
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Acasto is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acasto
- Dumas
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Dumas is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dumas
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Westwood, see our County-by-County Page for Westwood.
Cemeteries Near Westwood ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Westwood.
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 Westwood - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Westwood covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- Robinson Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Cholera Hill Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Pleasant Point Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Oakland Mills Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Home Bethel Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Faulkner Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Old Richwoods Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Richwoods Cemetery (Old)
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Morman Graves
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Cedar Creek Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Cedar Creek Friends Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Continue List (528 more) ...
- Forest Home Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- St. Alphonsus Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Scott Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
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>
While we didn't find Westwood in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Westwood.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- Oakland Mills
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Oakland Mills is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland Mills
- Denova
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Denova is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denova
- Rome
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Rome is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rome
- Population from the 2020 Census: 117 people
- Mount Pleasant
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Traxler ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Traxler is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Traxler
- Trenton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Trenton is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trenton
- Lockridge
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Salem
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Glasgow
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Glasgow is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glasgow
- Hillsboro
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Hillsboro is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsboro
- Population from the 2020 Census: 173 people
- Merrimac
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Merrimac is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrimac
- Swedesburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Swedesburg is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swedesburg
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Houghton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Houghton is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houghton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
- New London
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Olds
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Olds is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olds
- Population from the 2020 Census: 222 people
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Westwood. See our List of 1890's Communities around Westwood.
Newspapers Published in Westwood ...
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 66 newspapers that have been published in the area around Westwood.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Westwood, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Westwood.
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 Westwood:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Henry County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Des Moines County
- Jefferson County
- Keokuk County
- Lee County
- Louisa County
- Van Buren County
- Washington County
- Hancock County
- Henderson County
- Clark 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 Westwood, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Westwood) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |