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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 Beloit (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 Beloit. 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 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.

Beloit is located in Lyon County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Lyon County: Osceola, Sioux, Nobles (MN), Rock (MN), Lincoln (SD) & Minnehaha (SD).

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

  • Lyon County     (The home county of Beloit)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Beloit, with the one closest to Beloit listed first.
    • Inwood
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Klondike
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Larchwood
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Alvord
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Lester
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Lester is located in Lyon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lester
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 303 people
    • Doon
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Rock Rapids
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Edna
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • George
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Plymouth County
    • Craig
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Craig is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craig
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 91 people
  • Sioux County
  • Rock County (MN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Beloit, with the one closest to Beloit listed first.
    • Bruce
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Bruce is located in Rock County (MN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruce
    • Hills
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Hills is located in Rock County (MN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hills
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 647 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hills <1>
    • Manley
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Steen
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Beaver Creek
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Ash Creek
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Clay County (SD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Beloit, with the one closest to Beloit listed first.
    • Glenwood ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Glenwood is located in Clay County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood
      • Estimated population in 2014: 103 people
    • Komstad ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Alsen
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Riverside ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Hub City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Hub City is located in Clay County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hub City
    • Lodi
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Lodi is located in Clay County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lodi
      • Estimated population in 2014: 82 people
    • Greenfield
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Lincoln County (SD)
  • Minnehaha County (SD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Beloit, with the one closest to Beloit listed first.
    • Rowena
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Split Rock Heights
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Split Rock Heights is located in Minnehaha County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Split Rock Heights
      • Estimated population in 2014: 216 people
    • Pine Lakes Addition
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Pine Lakes Addition is located in Minnehaha County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Lakes Addition
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 314 people
    • Sioux Falls
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Hayward Addition
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Hayward Addition is located in Minnehaha County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayward Addition
      • Estimated population in 2014: 380 people
    • Silver Valley Addition
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Silver Valley Addition is located in Minnehaha County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Valley Addition
      • Estimated population in 2014: 112 people
    • Brandon
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Brandon is located in Minnehaha County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,168 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brandon <1>
    • Norton Acres
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Norton Acres is located in Minnehaha County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norton Acres
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 342 people
    • Valley Springs
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • El Rancho Acres
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • El Rancho Acres is located in Minnehaha County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for El Rancho Acres
      • Estimated population in 2014: 27 people
    • Webster Grove Addition
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Webster Grove Addition is located in Minnehaha County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster Grove Addition
      • Estimated population in 2014: 156 people
    • West Acres Development
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • West Acres Development is located in Minnehaha County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Acres Development
      • Estimated population in 2014: 180 people
  • Turner County (SD)
  • Union County (SD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Beloit, with the one closest to Beloit listed first.
    • Alcester
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Beresford
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Emmet
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Emmet is located in Union County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmet
      • Estimated population in 2014: 231 people
    • Big Springs
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Nora
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Nora is located in Union County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nora
      • Estimated population in 2014: 240 people
    • Spink
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)

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

Cemeteries Near Beloit ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Beloit.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Beloit, with the one closest to Beloit 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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Beloit had a population of 204 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Canton
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Fairview
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Inwood
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Moe
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Worthing
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Harrisburg
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Granite
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Granite is located in Lyon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granite
  • Shindler
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Larchwood
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Rock Valley
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Alvord
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Lester
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Lester is located in Lyon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lester
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 303 people
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Benclare
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Benclare is located in Minnehaha County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benclare
    • Rowena
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Lennox
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Lennox is located in Lincoln County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lennox
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,500 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lennox <1>

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Beloit ...

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 114 newspapers that have been published in the area around Beloit.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Beloit. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Beloit and those printed in the larger area surrounding Beloit.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<2> of Beloit.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with 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 Beloit:

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>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- Beloit) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<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 Beloit, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.