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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 Zearing (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 Zearing. 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 and hospitals 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.

Zearing is located in Story 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 Story County: Boone, Hamilton, Hardin, Jasper, Marshall & Polk.

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

  • Story County     (The home county of Zearing)
  • Boone County
  • Franklin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Zearing, with the one closest to Zearing listed first.
    • Oakland
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Popejoy
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Popejoy is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Popejoy
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 74 people
  • Grundy County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Zearing, with the one closest to Zearing listed first.
    • Conrad
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Beaman
      (24 miles [38.6 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
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Grundy Center
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Holland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Hamilton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Zearing, with the one closest to Zearing listed first.
    • Randall
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Ellsworth
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jewell
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Williams
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Stanhope
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Stanhope is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanhope
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 394 people
    • Kamrar
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Blairsburg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Blairsburg is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blairsburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 199 people
  • Hardin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Zearing, with the one closest to Zearing listed first.
    • Garden City
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Garden City is located in Hardin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
    • Hubbard
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • New Providence
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Radcliffe
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Sherman
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Sherman is located in Hardin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherman
    • Gifford
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Union
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Union is located in Hardin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 373 people
    • Whitten
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Eldora
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Buckeye
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Buckeye is located in Hardin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckeye
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
    • Owasa
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Steamboat Rock
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Jasper County
  • Marshall County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Zearing, with the one closest to Zearing listed first.
    • Saint Anthony
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Saint Anthony is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Anthony
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 101 people
    • Clemons
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Clemons is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clemons
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 141 people
    • Bangor
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • State Center
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Liscomb
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Albion
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Marietta
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • LaMoille
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Malta
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Malta is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malta
    • Rhodes
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Rhodes is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rhodes
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 298 people
    • Melbourne
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Luray
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
  • Polk County
  • Tama County

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

Cemeteries Near Zearing ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Zearing.

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

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

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

  • Zearing Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Sparrow Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Illinois Grove Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • McCallsburg Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Oak Hill Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Sacred Hearts Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Bergen Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Idaho Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Clemons Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Bevins Grove Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Stavanger Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (248 more) ...
    • Murphy Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Chester Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Honey Creek Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Zearing had a population of 242 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Zearing had a population of 517 people.

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

  • McCallsburg
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Saint Anthony
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Saint Anthony is located in Marshall County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Anthony
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 101 people
  • Clemons
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Clemons is located in Marshall County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clemons
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 141 people
  • Hubbard
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Bromley
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Bromley is located in Marshall County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bromley
  • Colo
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Bangor
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • New Providence
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Roland
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Minerva
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Minerva is located in Marshall County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minerva
  • Lawn Hill
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Lawn Hill is located in Hardin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawn Hill
  • Nevada
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • State Center
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Radcliffe
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Moningers
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Moningers is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moningers

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Zearing ...

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 177 newspapers that have been published in the area around Zearing.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Zearing. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Zearing and those printed in the larger area surrounding Zearing.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4> of Zearing.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Zearing:

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 Zearing, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Zearing) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.