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 Halfa (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 Halfa. 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.
Halfa is located in Emmet 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 Emmet County: Dickinson, Kossuth, Palo Alto, Jackson (MN) & Martin (MN).
Below are the counties that are near Halfa. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Halfa:
- Emmet County (The home county of Halfa)
- The following are listed by their distance from Halfa, with the one closest to Halfa listed first.
- Armstrong
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Armstrong is located in Emmet County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armstrong
- Population from the 2020 Census: 841 people
- Ringsted
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Hoprig
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Hoprig is located in Emmet County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoprig
- Dolliver
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Gruver
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Gruver is located in Emmet County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gruver
- Population from the 2020 Census: 82 people
- Wallingford
(12 miles [19.3 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
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Clay County
- The following are listed by their distance from Halfa, with the one closest to Halfa listed first.
- Dickens
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Dickens is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickens
- Population from the 2020 Census: 168 people
- Langdon
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Langdon is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langdon
- Dickinson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Halfa, with the one closest to Halfa listed first.
- Superior
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Terril
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Terril is located in Dickinson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terril
- Population from the 2020 Census: 338 people
- Orleans
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Orleans is located in Dickinson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orleans
- Population from the 2020 Census: 591 people
- Spirit Lake
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Arnolds Park
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Milford
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Okoboji
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Old Town
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Old Town is located in Dickinson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Town
- Kossuth County
- The following are listed by their distance from Halfa, with the one closest to Halfa listed first.
- Seneca
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Seneca is located in Kossuth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seneca
- Fenton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Fenton is located in Kossuth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fenton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 225 people
- Swea City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Lone Rock
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Bancroft
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Bancroft is located in Kossuth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bancroft
- Population from the 2020 Census: 684 people
- Gerled
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Gerled is located in Kossuth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gerled
- Ledyard
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Burt
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Burt is located in Kossuth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burt
- Population from the 2020 Census: 493 people
- Whittemore
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Whittemore is located in Kossuth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whittemore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 469 people
- Lakota
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Lakota is located in Kossuth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakota
- Population from the 2020 Census: 275 people
- Algona
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- German Valley
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- German Valley is located in Kossuth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for German Valley
- Titonka
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Titonka is located in Kossuth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Titonka
- Population from the 2020 Census: 433 people
- Palo Alto County
- The following are listed by their distance from Halfa, with the one closest to Halfa listed first.
- Graettinger
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Emmetsburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Cylinder
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Cylinder is located in Palo Alto County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cylinder
- Population from the 2020 Census: 84 people
- Rodman
(22 miles [35.4 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
- Ruthven
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Ayrshire
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Curlew
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Curlew is located in Palo Alto County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curlew
- Population from the 2020 Census: 55 people
- West Bend
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Mallard
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Winnebago County
- Buffalo Center
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Faribault County (MN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Halfa, with the one closest to Halfa listed first.
- Elmore
(25 miles [40.2 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
- Blue Earth
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Blue Earth is located in Faribault County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Earth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,098 people
- Former name for Blue Earth:
- Blue Earth City
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Blue Earth <1>
- Huntley
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Huntley is located in Faribault County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntley
- Jackson County (MN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Halfa, with the one closest to Halfa listed first.
- Petersburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Petersburg is located in Jackson County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersburg
- Alpha
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Alpha is located in Jackson County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpha
- Population from the 2020 Census: 119 people
- Jackson
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Martin County (MN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Halfa, with the one closest to Halfa listed first.
- Ceylon
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Dunnell
(18 miles [29 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
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Welcome
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Sherburn
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Granada
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Northrop
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Trimont
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Halfa, see our County-by-County Page for Halfa.
Cemeteries Near Halfa ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Halfa.
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 Halfa - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Halfa covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Halfa, with the one closest to Halfa listed first.
- Mt. Calvary Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- St. Marys Catholic Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Armstrong Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- St. Johns Lutheran Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Ringsted Memorial Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- St. Pauls Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Swan lake Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Seneca Twp. Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Swan Lake Village Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Lincoln Twp. Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- High Lake Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Blackjar Lutheran Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (128 more) ...
- Swea Twp. Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Palestine Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
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 Halfa in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Halfa.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Halfa, with the one closest to Halfa listed first.
- Ringsted
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Armstrong
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Armstrong is located in Emmet County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armstrong
- Population from the 2020 Census: 841 people
- Maple Hill
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Maple Hill is located in Emmet County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Hill
- Hoprig
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Hoprig is located in Emmet County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoprig
- Seneca
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Seneca is located in Kossuth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seneca
- Dolliver
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Swea ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Swea is located in Kossuth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swea
- Fenton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Fenton is located in Kossuth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fenton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 225 people
- Wallingford
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Wallingford is located in Emmet County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallingford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 168 people
- Graettinger
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Osgood
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Osgood is located in Palo Alto County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osgood
- Estherville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Bancroft
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Bancroft is located in Kossuth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bancroft
- Population from the 2020 Census: 684 people
- Emmetsburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Cylinder
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Cylinder is located in Palo Alto County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cylinder
- Population from the 2020 Census: 84 people
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Halfa. See our List of 1890's Communities around Halfa.
Newspapers Published in Halfa ...
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 120 newspapers that have been published in the area around Halfa.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Halfa, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Halfa.
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 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 Halfa:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Emmet County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Clay County
- Dickinson County
- Kossuth County
- Palo Alto County
- Winnebago County
- Faribault County
- Jackson County
- Martin County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Iowa
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 Halfa, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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- Halfa) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |