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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 Whitten (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 Whitten. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Whitten is located in Hardin 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 Hardin County: Butler, Franklin, Grundy, Hamilton, Marshall, Story & Wright.

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

  • Hardin County     (The home county of Whitten)
  • Black Hawk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whitten, with the one closest to Whitten listed first.
    • Voorhies
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Voorhies is located in Black Hawk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Voorhies
    • Blessing
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Hudson
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Butler County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whitten, with the one closest to Whitten listed first.
    • Sinclair
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Austinville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Austinville is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Austinville
    • Aplington
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Parkersburg
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Kesley
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • New Hartford
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Franklin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whitten, with the one closest to Whitten listed first.
    • Faulkner
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Bradford
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Bradford is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradford
    • Geneva
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Grundy County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whitten, with the one closest to Whitten listed first.
    • Conrad
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Beaman
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Beaman is located in Grundy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaman
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 183 people
    • Wellsburg
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Grundy Center
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Holland
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Morrison
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Buck Grove
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Buck Grove is located in Grundy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buck Grove
    • Fern
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Reinbeck
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Dike
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Stout
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Fredsville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Hamilton County
  • Jasper County
  • Marshall County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whitten, with the one closest to Whitten listed first.
    • Liscomb
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Bangor
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Albion
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Marietta
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Clemons
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Clemons is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clemons
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 141 people
    • Saint Anthony
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Saint Anthony is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Anthony
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 101 people
    • Green Mountain
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • LaMoille
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Marshalltown
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Luray
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • State Center
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Malta
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Malta is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malta
  • Story County
  • Tama County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whitten, with the one closest to Whitten listed first.
    • Gladbrook
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Lincoln
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Lincoln is located in Tama County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 148 people
    • Garwin
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Garwin is located in Tama County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garwin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 490 people
    • Dinsdale
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Montour
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Buckingham
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Buckingham is located in Tama County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckingham
    • Traer
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Toledo
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Tama
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Whitten ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Whitten.

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

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

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

  • Hauser Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Whitney Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Benson Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Francisco Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Union Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Bunch Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Sheppard Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Liscomb Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Melrose Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Xenia Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Miller Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Conrad Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (247 more) ...
    • Chester Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Bangor Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Buckner Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 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 Whitten had a population of 195 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Whitten had a population of 140 people.

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

  • Union
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Union is located in Hardin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 373 people
  • Liscomb
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Secor ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Secor is located in Hardin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Secor
  • Gifford
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Bangor
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Eldora
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Lawn Hill
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Lawn Hill is located in Hardin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawn Hill
  • New Providence
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Beaman
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Beaman is located in Grundy County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaman
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 183 people
  • Minerva
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Minerva is located in Marshall County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minerva
  • Steamboat Rock
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Moningers
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Moningers is located in Marshall County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moningers
  • Continue List   (18 more) ...
    • Albion
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Bromley
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Bromley is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bromley
    • Clemons
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Clemons is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clemons
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 141 people

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

Newspapers Published in Whitten ...

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 152 newspapers that have been published in the area around Whitten.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Whitten, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Whitten.

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 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 Whitten:

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 Whitten, 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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Whitten) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.