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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 Iola (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 Iola. 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.

Iola is located in Grimes County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Grimes County: Brazos, Madison, Montgomery, Walker, Waller & Washington.

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

  • Grimes County     (The home county of Iola)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Iola, with the one closest to Iola listed first.
    • Bedias
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Roans Prairie
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Shiro
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Anderson
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Apolonia
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Apolonia is located in Grimes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apolonia
    • Richards
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Brazos County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Iola, with the one closest to Iola listed first.
    • Kurten
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Wixon Valley
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Wixon Valley is located in Brazos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wixon Valley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 254 people
    • Edge
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Edge is located in Brazos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edge
    • Boonville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Boonville is located in Brazos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boonville
    • Tabor
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Tabor is located in Brazos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tabor
    • College Station
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Bryan
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Bryan is located in Brazos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryan
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 88,165 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bryan <1>
    • Wellborn
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Millican
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Rye ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Rye is located in Brazos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rye
    • Navasota
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Allen Farm
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Allen Farm is located in Brazos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allen Farm
  • Burleson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Iola, with the one closest to Iola listed first.
    • Clay
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Snook
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Leon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Iola, with the one closest to Iola listed first.
    • Normangee
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Wealthy
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Wealthy is located in Leon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wealthy
    • Hilltop Lakes
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Flynn
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Leona
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Middleton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Middleton is located in Leon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middleton
  • Madison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Iola, with the one closest to Iola listed first.
    • Zulch ‑ Historic
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Zulch is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zulch
    • North Zulch
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • George
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • George is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for George
    • Madisonville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Midway
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Montgomery County
    • Dacus
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Dacus is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dacus
  • Robertson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Iola, with the one closest to Iola listed first.
    • Wheelock
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Benchley
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Benchley is located in Robertson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benchley
    • New Baden
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Franklin
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Ridge
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Ridge is located in Robertson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridge
    • Mumford
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Walker County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Iola, with the one closest to Iola listed first.
    • Wesley Grove
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Wesley Grove is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wesley Grove
    • Goshen ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Goshen is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goshen

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

Cemeteries Near Iola ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Iola.

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

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

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

  • Zion Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Howard Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Enon Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Lake Grove Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Williamson Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Bethel Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Old Bethel Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Bedias Baptist Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Willow Hole Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Hole Cemetery
    • The Willow Hole Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Willow Hole Church Cemetery
    • Willowhole Cemetery
    • Willowhole Chapel Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #290864 <2>
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Tryson Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Oxford Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (152 more) ...
    • Fridel Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Stick Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Nash Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Iola had a population of 109 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Iola had a population of 433 people.

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

  • Bedias
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Zulch ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Zulch is located in Madison County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zulch
  • Keith
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Keith is located in Grimes County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keith
  • Kurten
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Harvey
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Harvey is located in Brazos County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvey
  • Roans Prairie
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Madisonville
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Tabor
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Tabor is located in Brazos County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tabor
  • Bryan
    (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Bryan is located in Brazos County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryan
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 88,165 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bryan <1>
  • College Station
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
  • Anderson
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
  • Connor
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Connor is located in Madison County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Connor
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Wheelock
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Wellborn
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Apolonia
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Apolonia is located in Grimes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apolonia

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

Newspapers Published in Iola ...

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 48 newspapers that have been published in the area around Iola.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Iola, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Iola.

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 professional and volunteer 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 Iola:

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 '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- Iola) 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 Iola, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.