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 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.
Iona is located in Lebanon County.
To see how the shape of Pennsylvania's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Lebanon County: Berks, Dauphin, Lancaster & Schuylkill.
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:
- Lebanon County (The home county of Iona)
- The following are listed by their distance from Iona, with the one closest to Iona listed first.
- Avon
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Avon is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avon
- Avon Heights
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Avon Heights is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avon Heights
- Prescott
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Prescott is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prescott
- Lebanon
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Cornwall
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Cornwall Junction
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Cornwall Junction is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornwall Junction
- Pleasant Hill
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Pleasant Hill is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
- Sand Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Sand Hill is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Hill
- Miners Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Miners Village is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miners Village
- Johnstown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Johnstown is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnstown
- Burd Coleman Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Burd Coleman Village is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burd Coleman Village
- Quentin
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Berks County
- The following are listed by their distance from Iona, with the one closest to Iona listed first.
- Mount Aetna
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Wintersville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Wintersville is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wintersville
- Womelsdorf
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Meckville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Meckville is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meckville
- Bethel
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Rehrersburg
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Rehrersburg is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rehrersburg
- Robesonia
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- North Heidelberg
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- North Heidelberg is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Heidelberg
- New Schaefferstown
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- New Schaefferstown is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Schaefferstown
- Schubert
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Schubert is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schubert
- Brownsville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Brownsville is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsville
- Bernville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Chester County
- The following are listed by their distance from Iona, with the one closest to Iona listed first.
- Cambridge
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Cambridge is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambridge
- Honey Brook
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Suplee
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Suplee is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suplee
- Elverson
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Compass
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Compass is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Compass
- Dampman
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Dampman is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dampman
- Cumberland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Iona, with the one closest to Iona listed first.
- New Cumberland
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Lemoyne
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Lower Allen
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Lower Allen is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lower Allen
- West Fairview
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- West Fairview is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Fairview
- Wormleysburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Camp Hill
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Enola
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Lisburn
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Lisburn is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lisburn
- Westwood Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Westwood Village is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood Village
- Dauphin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Iona, with the one closest to Iona listed first.
- Bachmanville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Bachmanville is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bachmanville
- Grantville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Hershey
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Shellsville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Shellsville is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shellsville
- Union Deposit
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Union Deposit is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Deposit
- Hummelstown
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Manadahill
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Manadahill is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manadahill
- Skyline View
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Skyline View is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skyline View
- Clifton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Clifton is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
- Middletown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Royalton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Royalton is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royalton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,019 people
- Rutherford
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Rutherford is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutherford
- Lancaster County
- The following are listed by their distance from Iona, with the one closest to Iona listed first.
- Poplar Grove
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Poplar Grove is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Grove
- Mount Hope
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Mount Hope is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hope
- Brickerville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Elm
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Elm is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elm
- Elstonville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Elstonville is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elstonville
- Hopeland
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Hopeland is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopeland
- Cocalico
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Cocalico is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cocalico
- Clay
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Clay is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clay
- Manheim
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Brunnerville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Mastersonville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Mastersonville is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mastersonville
- Fairland
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Fairland is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairland
- Luzerne County
- Newtown
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Newtown is located in Luzerne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newtown
- Northumberland County
- Leck Kill
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Leck Kill is located in Northumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leck Kill
- Perry County
- Marysville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Schuylkill County
- The following are listed by their distance from Iona, with the one closest to Iona listed first.
- Irving
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Irving is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irving
- Marstown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Marstown is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marstown
- Pine Grove
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Suedberg
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Suedberg is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suedberg
- Beuchler
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Beuchler is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beuchler
- Moyers
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Moyers is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moyers
- Paradise
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Paradise is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise
- Ravine
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Ravine is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ravine
- Lorberry Junction
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Lorberry Junction is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lorberry Junction
- Summit Station
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Summit Station is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit Station
- Echo Valley
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Echo Valley is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo Valley
- Aucheys
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Aucheys is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aucheys
- York County
- The following are listed by their distance from Iona, with the one closest to Iona listed first.
- Wrightsville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- East Prospect
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- East Prospect is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Prospect
- Population from the 2020 Census: 912 people
- Goldsboro
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Goldsboro is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goldsboro
- Population from the 2020 Census: 938 people
- York Haven
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Valley Green
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Valley Green is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Green
- Marsh Run
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Marsh Run is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marsh Run
- Hallam
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Hallam is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallam
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,634 people
- Manchester
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Wolf
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Redland Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Redland Village is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redland Village
- Starview
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Starview is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Starview
- Craley
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Craley is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craley
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.
- Hebron Moravian Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Cornwall Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Holy Savior Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Miners Village Mennonite Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Kimmerlings Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimmerlings Cemetery
- The Kimmerlings Cemetery has also been known as:
- St. Jacob's Kimmerlings Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #292170 <2>
- Lapps Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Mt. Lebanon Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Horst Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horst Cemetery
- The Horst Cemetery has also been known as:
- Snavely Cemetery
- Union Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Holy Cross Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holy Cross Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Holy Cross Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the northwest of Lebanon.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #45105 <2>
- Mountain View Mennonite Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Mt. Hope Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (285 more) ...
- Bachman Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Fairland Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- South Annville Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Annville Cemetery
- The South Annville Cemetery has also been known as:
- Long's Cemetery
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.<4>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Iona had a population of 104 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Iona, with the one closest to Iona listed first.
- Avon
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Avon is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avon
- Prescott
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Prescott is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prescott
- Lebanon
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- North Cornwall
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- North Cornwall is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Cornwall
- Cornwall
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Rexmont
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Rexmont is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rexmont
- Reistville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Reistville is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reistville
- Cornwall Junction
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Cornwall Junction is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornwall Junction
- Miners Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Miners Village is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miners Village
- Schaefferstown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Coheva
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Coheva is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coheva
- West Lebanon
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- West Lebanon is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Lebanon
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Myerstown
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Zion
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Mount Zion is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
- Westmont
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Westmont is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westmont
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 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 85 newspapers that have been published in the area around Iona.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Iona, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Iona.
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 either 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:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Lebanon County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Berks County
- Chester County
- Cumberland County
- Dauphin County
- Lancaster County
- Luzerne County
- Northumberland County
- Perry County
- Schuylkill County
- York County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Pennsylvania
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> | 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'. |
| <4> | 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. |