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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 Waterloo (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 Waterloo. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Waterloo is located in Clark County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Clark County: Lee (IA), Van Buren (IA), Hancock (IL), Knox, Lewis & Scotland.

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

  • Clark County     (The home county of Waterloo)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Waterloo, with the one closest to Waterloo listed first.
    • Clark City
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Clark City is located in Clark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clark City
    • Revere
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Kahoka
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Peaksville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Peaksville is located in Clark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaksville
    • Saint Francisville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Saint Francisville is located in Clark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Francisville
    • Dumas
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Dumas is located in Clark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dumas
    • Wayland
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Wayland is located in Clark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 506 people
    • Medill
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Medill is located in Clark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medill
    • Chambersburg
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Chambersburg is located in Clark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chambersburg
    • Athens
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Athens is located in Clark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athens
    • Anson
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Anson is located in Clark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anson
    • Neeper
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Neeper is located in Clark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neeper
    • Luray
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Luray is located in Clark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luray
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 94 people
  • Knox County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Waterloo, with the one closest to Waterloo listed first.
    • Colony
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Colony is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colony
    • Forest Springs
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Forest Springs is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Springs
    • Rutledge
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Knox City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Jeddo
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jeddo is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeddo
    • Greensburg
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Greensburg is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greensburg
  • Lewis County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Waterloo, with the one closest to Waterloo listed first.
    • Williamstown
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Williamstown is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamstown
    • Monticello
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Monticello is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monticello
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 92 people
    • Canton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • New Court Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • New Court Village is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Court Village
    • Lewistown
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Sellers
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Sellers is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sellers
    • La Belle
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Gilead
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Gilead is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilead
    • La Grange
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Ewing
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Weber
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Weber is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weber
  • Scotland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Waterloo, with the one closest to Waterloo listed first.
    • Granger
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Granger is located in Scotland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granger
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 34 people
    • Arbela
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Gorin
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Gorin is located in Scotland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gorin
    • South Gorin
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • South Gorin is located in Scotland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Gorin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 93 people
    • Memphis
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Pleasant Retreat
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Pleasant Retreat is located in Scotland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Retreat
  • Henry County (IA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Waterloo, with the one closest to Waterloo listed first.
    • Hillsboro
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Hillsboro is located in Henry County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsboro
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 173 people
    • Salem
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Salem is located in Henry County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 380 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Salem <1>
    • Lowell
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Lowell is located in Henry County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowell
  • Lee County (IA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Waterloo, with the one closest to Waterloo listed first.
    • Vincennes
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Vincennes is located in Lee County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vincennes
    • Argyle
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Croton
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Croton is located in Lee County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Croton
    • New Boston
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • New Boston is located in Lee County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Boston
    • Charleston
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Charleston is located in Lee County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charleston
    • Buena Vista ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Buena Vista is located in Lee County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
    • Keokuk
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Keokuk is located in Lee County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keokuk
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,090 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Keokuk <1>
    • Sandusky
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Sandusky is located in Lee County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandusky
    • Donnellson
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Montrose
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Galland
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Galland is located in Lee County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galland
    • Primrose
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Primrose is located in Lee County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Primrose
    • Jeffersonville ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jeffersonville is located in Lee County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeffersonville
  • Van Buren County (IA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Waterloo, with the one closest to Waterloo listed first.
    • Farmington
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Bonaparte
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Mount Sterling
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Cantril
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Cantril is located in Van Buren County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cantril
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 208 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cantril <1>
    • Keosauqua
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Mount Zion
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Mount Zion is located in Van Buren County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
    • Stockport
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Kilbourn
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Kilbourn is located in Van Buren County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kilbourn
    • Milton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Milton is located in Van Buren County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 400 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Milton <1>
    • Winchester
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Winchester is located in Van Buren County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winchester
  • Adams County (IL)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Waterloo, with the one closest to Waterloo listed first.
    • Meyer
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Meyer is located in Adams County (IL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meyer
    • Lima
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Lima is located in Adams County (IL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lima
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 146 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lima <1>
    • Marcelline
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Marcelline is located in Adams County (IL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcelline
    • Ursa
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Ursa is located in Adams County (IL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ursa
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 596 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ursa <1>
  • Hancock County (IL)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Waterloo, with the one closest to Waterloo listed first.
    • Warsaw
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Warsaw is located in Hancock County (IL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warsaw
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,456 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Warsaw <1>
    • Hamilton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Hamilton is located in Hancock County (IL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamilton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,673 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hamilton <1>
    • Nauvoo
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Nauvoo is located in Hancock County (IL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nauvoo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,044 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nauvoo <1>
    • Sutter
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Sutter is located in Hancock County (IL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sutter
    • Powellton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Powellton is located in Hancock County (IL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powellton
    • Elvaston
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Niota
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Adrian
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Basco
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Basco is located in Hancock County (IL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Basco
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 88 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Basco <1>
    • Ferris
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Ferris is located in Hancock County (IL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferris
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 143 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ferris <1>
    • Colusa
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Pontoosuc
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Pontoosuc is located in Hancock County (IL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pontoosuc
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 132 people
    • Carthage
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Carthage is located in Hancock County (IL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carthage
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,419 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Carthage <1>

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

Cemeteries Near Waterloo ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Waterloo.

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

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

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

  • Waterloo Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Clark City Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Prairie Church Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • St. Paul Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Northrup Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Oak Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Revere Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Revere Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Revere Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the northwest of Revere.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1673869 <2>
  • Sugar Creek Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Peaksville Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Walker Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Wolf Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Sand Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (382 more) ...
    • Sand Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Oakland Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Medill Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)

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 Waterloo in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Waterloo.

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

  • Clark City
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Clark City is located in Clark County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clark City
  • Kahoka
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Revere
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Peaksville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Peaksville is located in Clark County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaksville
  • Medill
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Medill is located in Clark County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medill
  • Wayland
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Wayland is located in Clark County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayland
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 506 people
  • Saint Francisville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Saint Francisville is located in Clark County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Francisville
  • Dumas
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Dumas is located in Clark County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dumas
  • Vincennes
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Vincennes is located in Lee County (IA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vincennes
  • Argyle
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Ashton
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Ashton is located in Clark County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashton
  • Antioch
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Antioch is located in Clark County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antioch
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Chambersburg
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Chambersburg is located in Clark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chambersburg
    • Winchester
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Winchester is located in Clark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winchester
    • Sugar Creek ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Sugar Creek is located in Lee County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Creek

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Waterloo ...

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 154 newspapers that have been published in the area around Waterloo.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

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

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 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 Waterloo:

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 Waterloo, 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- Waterloo) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.