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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 Iona (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 Iona. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Iona is located in Murray County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Murray County: Cottonwood, Lyon, Nobles, Pipestone, Redwood & Rock.

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

  • Murray County     (The home county of Iona)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Iona, with the one closest to Iona listed first.
    • Slayton
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Hadley
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Avoca
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Avoca is located in Murray County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avoca
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 134 people
    • Chandler
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Chandler is located in Murray County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chandler
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 246 people
    • Fulda
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Lake Wilson
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Lake Wilson is located in Murray County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Wilson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 224 people
    • Lowville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Lowville is located in Murray County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowville
    • Currie
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Dovray
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • The Lakes
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • The Lakes is located in Murray County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Lakes
  • Cottonwood County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Iona, with the one closest to Iona listed first.
    • Westbrook
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Storden
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Jeffers
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Jeffers is located in Cottonwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeffers
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 346 people
  • Jackson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Iona, with the one closest to Iona listed first.
    • Heron Lake
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Heron Lake is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heron Lake
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 643 people
    • Okabena
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Wilder
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Lincoln County
  • Lyon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Iona, with the one closest to Iona listed first.
    • Garvin
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Garvin is located in Lyon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garvin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 129 people
    • Balaton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Tracy
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Florence
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Florence is located in Lyon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 35 people
    • Amiret
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Russell
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Russell is located in Lyon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 343 people
  • Nobles County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Iona, with the one closest to Iona listed first.
    • Wilmont
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Leota
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Leota is located in Nobles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leota
    • Lismore
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Lismore is located in Nobles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lismore
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 218 people
    • Reading
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Reading is located in Nobles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reading
    • Dundee
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Dundee is located in Nobles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dundee
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
    • Kinbrae
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Adrian
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Rushmore
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Rushmore is located in Nobles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rushmore
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 334 people
    • Brewster
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Worthington
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Org
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Ransom
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Bigelow
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Bigelow is located in Nobles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bigelow
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 226 people
  • Pipestone County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Iona, with the one closest to Iona listed first.
    • Woodstock
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Edgerton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Hatfield
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Holland
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Holland is located in Pipestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 172 people
    • Ruthton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Trosky
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Pipestone
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Ihlen
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Jasper Sunrise Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
    • Jasper
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Redwood County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Iona, with the one closest to Iona listed first.
    • Walnut Grove
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Revere
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Rock County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Iona, with the one closest to Iona listed first.
    • Kenneth
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Hardwick
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Magnolia
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Kanaranzi
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Luverne
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Iona ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Iona.

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

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

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

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 Iona had a population of 70 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Iona had a population of 131 people.

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

  • Slayton
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Hadley
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Avoca
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Avoca is located in Murray County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avoca
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 134 people
  • Chandler
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Chandler is located in Murray County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chandler
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 246 people
  • Fulda
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Lake Wilson
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Lake Wilson is located in Murray County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Wilson
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 224 people
  • Lowville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Lowville is located in Murray County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowville
  • Lime Creek
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Lime Creek is located in Murray County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lime Creek
  • Currie
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Kinbrae
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
  • Dundee
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Dundee is located in Nobles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dundee
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
  • Woodstock
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Current Lake
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Current Lake is located in Murray County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Current Lake
    • Edgerton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Westbrook
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Iona ...

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 122 newspapers that have been published in the area around Iona.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

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

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 Iona:

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