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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 Fenton (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 Fenton. 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 hospitals and 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.

Fenton is located in Kossuth 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 Kossuth County: Emmet, Hancock, Humboldt, Palo Alto, Winnebago, Faribault (MN) & Martin (MN).

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

  • Kossuth County     (The home county of Fenton)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fenton, with the one closest to Fenton listed first.
    • Lone Rock
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Seneca
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Seneca is located in Kossuth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seneca
    • Burt
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Burt is located in Kossuth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burt
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 493 people
    • Whittemore
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Whittemore is located in Kossuth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whittemore
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 469 people
    • Bancroft
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Bancroft is located in Kossuth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bancroft
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 684 people
    • Swea City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Algona
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Gerled
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Gerled is located in Kossuth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gerled
    • Irvington
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Irvington is located in Kossuth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irvington
    • Titonka
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Titonka is located in Kossuth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Titonka
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 433 people
    • Ledyard
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Sexton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Sexton is located in Kossuth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sexton
  • Clay County
    • Dickens
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Dickens is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickens
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 168 people
  • Dickinson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fenton, with the one closest to Fenton listed first.
    • Terril
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Terril is located in Dickinson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terril
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 338 people
    • Superior
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Emmet County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fenton, with the one closest to Fenton listed first.
    • Ringsted
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Hoprig
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Hoprig is located in Emmet County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoprig
    • Armstrong
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Armstrong is located in Emmet County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armstrong
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 841 people
    • Gruver
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Gruver is located in Emmet County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gruver
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 82 people
    • Dolliver
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Wallingford
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Wallingford is located in Emmet County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallingford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 168 people
    • Estherville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
  • Hancock County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fenton, with the one closest to Fenton listed first.
    • Woden
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Hutchins
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Hutchins is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hutchins
    • Corwith
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Corwith is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corwith
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 245 people
  • Humboldt County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fenton, with the one closest to Fenton listed first.
    • Ottosen
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Ottosen is located in Humboldt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ottosen
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 36 people
    • Bode
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Bode is located in Humboldt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bode
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 286 people
    • Livermore
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Livermore is located in Humboldt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Livermore
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 361 people
    • Bradgate
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Bradgate is located in Humboldt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradgate
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 84 people
    • Arnold
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Arnold is located in Humboldt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnold
  • Palo Alto County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fenton, with the one closest to Fenton listed first.
    • Cylinder
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Cylinder is located in Palo Alto County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cylinder
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 84 people
    • Rodman
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Rodman is located in Palo Alto County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodman
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 41 people
    • Emmetsburg
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Graettinger
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • West Bend
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Curlew
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Curlew is located in Palo Alto County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curlew
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 55 people
    • Ayrshire
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Mallard
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Ruthven
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
  • Pocahontas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fenton, with the one closest to Fenton listed first.
    • Plover
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Plover is located in Pocahontas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plover
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 69 people
    • Rolfe
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Rolfe is located in Pocahontas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rolfe
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 530 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rolfe <1>
    • Havelock
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Winnebago County
    • Buffalo Center
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Faribault County (MN)
    • Elmore
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Elmore is located in Faribault County (MN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmore
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 613 people
  • Martin County (MN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fenton, with the one closest to Fenton listed first.
    • Ceylon
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Ceylon is located in Martin County (MN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceylon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 337 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ceylon <1>
    • Dunnell
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Dunnell is located in Martin County (MN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunnell
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 145 people
    • Fairmont
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)

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

Cemeteries Near Fenton ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Fenton.

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

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

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

  • United Methodist Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Fenton Twp. Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • St. Lukes Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Blackjar Lutheran Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Lutheran Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Lotts Creek Lutheran Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • St. Pauls Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Ringsted Memorial Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • St. Johns Lutheran Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Seneca Twp. Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (120 more) ...
    • Vernon Twp. Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • St. Michaels Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Union Twp. Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)

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.<2>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Fenton had a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Fenton had a population of 225 people.

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

  • Seneca
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Seneca is located in Kossuth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seneca
  • Ringsted
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Cylinder
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Cylinder is located in Palo Alto County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cylinder
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 84 people
  • Whittemore
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Whittemore is located in Kossuth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whittemore
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 469 people
  • Burt
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Burt is located in Kossuth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burt
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 493 people
  • Hoprig
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Hoprig is located in Emmet County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoprig
  • Bancroft
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Bancroft is located in Kossuth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bancroft
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 684 people
  • Armstrong
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Armstrong is located in Emmet County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armstrong
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 841 people
  • Swea ‑ Historic
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Swea is located in Kossuth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swea
  • Osgood
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Osgood is located in Palo Alto County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osgood
  • Emmetsburg
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Rodman
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Rodman is located in Palo Alto County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodman
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 41 people
  • Continue List   (18 more) ...
    • Algona
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Maple Hill
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Maple Hill is located in Emmet County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Hill
    • Graettinger
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Fenton ...

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 96 newspapers that have been published in the area around Fenton.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Fenton. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Fenton and those printed in the larger area surrounding Fenton.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3> of Fenton.

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 Fenton:

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>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 Fenton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Fenton) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.