RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Idaho >> Bannock County >> Downey >> Genealogy HelperIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
Idaho

The Commemorative Quarter for Idaho





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 Downey (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 Downey. 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 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.

Downey is located in Bannock County.

To see how the shape of Idaho's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Bannock County: Bingham, Caribou, Franklin, Oneida & Power.

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

  • Bannock County     (The home county of Downey)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Downey, with the one closest to Downey listed first.
    • Arimo
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arimo have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arimo
      • Arimo is located in Bannock County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 368 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Arimo <2>
    • Swanlake
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Robin
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robin
      • Robin is located in Bannock County
    • Lava Hot Springs
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lava Hot Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lava Hot Springs
      • Lava Hot Springs is located in Bannock County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 431 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lava Hot Springs <2>
    • McCammon
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McCammon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCammon
      • McCammon is located in Bannock County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 833 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for McCammon <2>
    • Inkom
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Inkom have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inkom
      • Inkom is located in Bannock County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 910 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Inkom <2>
  • Caribou County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Downey, with the one closest to Downey listed first.
    • Grace
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grace have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grace
      • Grace is located in Caribou County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 942 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Grace <2>
    • Bench
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bench
      • Bench is located in Caribou County
    • Bancroft
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bancroft have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bancroft
      • Bancroft is located in Caribou County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 395 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bancroft <2>
  • Franklin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Downey, with the one closest to Downey listed first.
    • Oxford
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxford
      • Oxford is located in Franklin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 52 people
    • Clifton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Thatcher
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thatcher have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thatcher
      • Thatcher is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Thatcher <2>
    • Dayton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dayton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dayton
      • Dayton is located in Franklin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 504 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dayton <2>
    • Preston
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Preston have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Preston
      • Preston is located in Franklin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,678 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Preston <2>
    • Weston
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Weston have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weston
      • Weston is located in Franklin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 482 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Weston <2>
    • Whitney
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitney
      • Whitney is located in Franklin County
    • Utida
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Utida have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Utida
      • Utida is located in Franklin County
  • Oneida County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Downey, with the one closest to Downey listed first.
    • Malad City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Malad City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malad City
      • Malad City is located in Oneida County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,117 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Malad City <2>
    • Saint Johns
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Johns
      • Saint Johns is located in Oneida County
    • Pleasantview
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasantview
      • Pleasantview is located in Oneida County
    • Gwenford
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gwenford
      • Gwenford is located in Oneida County
    • Cherry Creek
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Creek
      • Cherry Creek is located in Oneida County
    • Woodruff
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodruff
      • Woodruff is located in Oneida County
  • Power County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Downey, with the one closest to Downey listed first.
    • Arbon
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Pauline
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pauline
      • Pauline is located in Power County
  • Cache County (UT)
    • Utida
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Utida have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Utida
      • Utida is located in Cache County (UT)

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

Newspapers Published in Downey ...

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 8 newspapers that have been published in the area around Downey.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Downey, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Downey.

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 Downey:

Cemeteries Near Downey ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Downey.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

  • Marsh Valley Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Marsh Valley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Marsh Valley Cemetery
  • Downey Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Cambridge Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Byington Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Grant Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Woodland Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Red Rock Pass Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Marsh Center Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Arimo Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Swan Lake Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Robin Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Oxford Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oxford Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oxford Cemetery
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Lava Hot Springs Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Lava Hot Springs Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located less than 2 miles<3> to the north of Lava Hot Springs.
      • The Lava Hot Springs Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Lava Cemetery
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lava Hot Springs Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #80537 <4>
    • Norton Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Harkness Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Downey had railroad service and no post office. In 2020, Downey had a population of 634 people.

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

  • Swanlake
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • McCammon
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McCammon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCammon
    • McCammon is located in Bannock County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 833 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for McCammon <2>
  • Saint Johns
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Johns
    • Saint Johns is located in Oneida County
  • Malad City
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Malad City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malad City
    • Malad City is located in Oneida County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,117 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Malad City <2>
  • Cherry Creek
    (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Creek
    • Cherry Creek is located in Oneida County
  • Samaria
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Samaria have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Samaria
    • Samaria is located in Oneida County
  • Preston
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Preston have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Preston
    • Preston is located in Franklin County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,678 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Preston <2>
  • Inkom
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Inkom have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inkom
    • Inkom is located in Bannock County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 910 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Inkom <2>
  • Anderson
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Anderson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson
    • Anderson is located in Franklin County

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

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Downey. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Bannock County: www.co.bannock.id.us/

The official website for State of Idaho: www.state.id.us/

Footnotes ...

<1>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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- Downey) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Downey. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.4288, Longitude: -112.1231    
<4>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.
<5>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 Downey, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

Copyright 2024
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024