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 White Elm (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 White Elm. 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.
White Elm is located in Davis 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 Davis County: Appanoose, Jefferson, Monroe, Van Buren, Wapello, Schuyler (MO) & Scotland (MO).
Below are the counties that are near White Elm. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to White Elm:
- Davis County (The home county of White Elm)
- The following are listed by their distance from White Elm, with the one closest to White Elm listed first.
- Chequest
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Chequest is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chequest
- Floris
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Floris is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Floris
- Population from the 2020 Census: 143 people
- Pulaski
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Pulaski is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pulaski
- Population from the 2020 Census: 291 people
- Carbon
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Carbon is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbon
- Bloomfield
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Steuben
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Steuben is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steuben
- Drakesville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Stiles
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Stiles is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stiles
- Mark
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Mark is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mark
- Savannah
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Savannah is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savannah
- West Grove
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- West Grove is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Grove
- Paris
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Paris is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paris
- Appanoose County
- The following are listed by their distance from White Elm, with the one closest to White Elm listed first.
- Orleans
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Orleans is located in Appanoose County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orleans
- Unionville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Moulton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Moulton is located in Appanoose County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moulton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 580 people
- Udell
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Udell is located in Appanoose County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Udell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 44 people
- Henry County
- The following are listed by their distance from White Elm, with the one closest to White Elm listed first.
- Hillsboro
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Hillsboro is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsboro
- Population from the 2020 Census: 173 people
- Rome
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Rome is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rome
- Population from the 2020 Census: 117 people
- Salem
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from White Elm, with the one closest to White Elm listed first.
- Batavia
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Libertyville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Libertyville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Libertyville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 341 people
- Abingdon
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Abingdon is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abingdon
- Fairfield
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Maharishi Vedic City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- 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
- Linby
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Linby is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linby
- Packwood
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Packwood is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Packwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 225 people
- Pekin
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Pekin is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pekin
- Perlee
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Perlee is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perlee
- Glasgow
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Glasgow is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glasgow
- Lockridge
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant Plain
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant Plain is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Plain
- Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
- Keokuk County
- The following are listed by their distance from White Elm, with the one closest to White Elm listed first.
- Hedrick
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Hedrick is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hedrick
- Population from the 2020 Census: 743 people
- Martinsburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Martinsburg is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martinsburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
- Nugent
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Nugent is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nugent
- Ollie
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Ollie is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ollie
- Population from the 2020 Census: 207 people
- Richland
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Hayesville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Hayesville is located in Keokuk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayesville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 48 people
- Lee County
- The following are listed by their distance from White Elm, with the one closest to White Elm listed first.
- Big Mound
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Big Mound is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Mound
- Russellville ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Russellville is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russellville
- Russellville has also been known as:
- Doantown
- White Lane ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- White Lane is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Lane
- Mahaska County
- The following are listed by their distance from White Elm, with the one closest to White Elm listed first.
- Fremont
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Cedar
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Cedar is located in Mahaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar
- Monroe County
- Avery
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Avery is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avery
- Van Buren County
- The following are listed by their distance from White Elm, with the one closest to White Elm listed first.
- Selma
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Selma is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selma
- Douds
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Douds is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douds
- Leando
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Leando is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leando
- Kilbourn
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Kilbourn is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kilbourn
- Milton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Birmingham
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Birmingham is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birmingham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 423 people
- Mount Zion
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Mount Zion is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
- Keosauqua
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Winchester
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Winchester is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winchester
- Cantril
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Stockport
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Mount Sterling
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Bonaparte
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Wapello County
- The following are listed by their distance from White Elm, with the one closest to White Elm listed first.
- Eldon
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Cliffland
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Cliffland is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliffland
- Agency
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- East Ottumwa
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- East Ottumwa is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Ottumwa
- Ottumwa
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Dahlonega
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Dahlonega is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dahlonega
- Competine
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Competine is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Competine
- Highland Center
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Highland Center is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Center
- Bidwell
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Bidwell is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bidwell
- Keb ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Keb is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keb
- Chillicothe
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Chillicothe is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chillicothe
- Population from the 2020 Census: 97 people
- Blakesburg
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Dudley
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Dudley is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dudley
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from White Elm, with the one closest to White Elm listed first.
- Rubio
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Rubio is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rubio
- Brighton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Clark County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from White Elm, with the one closest to White Elm listed first.
- Acasto
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Acasto is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acasto
- Anson
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Anson is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anson
- Schuyler County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from White Elm, with the one closest to White Elm listed first.
- Downing
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Downing is located in Schuyler County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downing
- Population from the 2020 Census: 341 people
- Coatsville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Coatsville is located in Schuyler County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coatsville
- Lancaster
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Glenwood
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Glenwood is located in Schuyler County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 201 people
- Scotland County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from White Elm, with the one closest to White Elm listed first.
- Kilwinning
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Kilwinning is located in Scotland County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kilwinning
- Memphis
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Arbela
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Granger
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Granger is located in Scotland County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granger
- Population from the 2020 Census: 34 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to White Elm, see our County-by-County Page for White Elm.
Cemeteries Near White Elm ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of White Elm.
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 White Elm - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for White Elm covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from White Elm, with the one closest to White Elm listed first.
- Heidlebaugh Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Hem Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Anderson Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Glasgow Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Mt. Gilead Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Jackson Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Passmore Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Bethlehem Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Pagett Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Matthias Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Iowaville Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Litgner Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (493 more) ...
- Rouch Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Hissem Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Sedore Family Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
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 White Elm in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of White Elm.
These communities are listed based on their distance from White Elm, with the one closest to White Elm listed first.
- Chequest
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Chequest is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chequest
- Selma
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Selma is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selma
- Eldon
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Leando
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Leando is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leando
- Floris
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Floris is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Floris
- Population from the 2020 Census: 143 people
- Troy
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Troy is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Troy
- Lebanon
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Lebanon is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lebanon
- Batavia
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Cliffland
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Cliffland is located in Wapello County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliffland
- Belknap
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Belknap is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belknap
- Pulaski
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Pulaski is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pulaski
- Population from the 2020 Census: 291 people
- Agency
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Libertyville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Libertyville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Libertyville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 341 people
- Carbon
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Carbon is located in Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbon
- Bloomfield
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around White Elm. See our List of 1890's Communities around White Elm.
Newspapers Published in White Elm ...
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 147 newspapers that have been published in the area around White Elm.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of White Elm, 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 White Elm.
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 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 White Elm:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Davis County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Appanoose County
- Henry County
- Jefferson County
- Keokuk County
- Lee County
- Mahaska County
- Monroe County
- Van Buren County
- Wapello County
- Washington County
- Clark County
- Schuyler County
- Scotland 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 White Elm, 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- White Elm) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |