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 Melvin (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 Melvin. 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 northwest 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 north.
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 north 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.
Melvin is located in Osceola 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 Osceola County: Dickinson, Lyon, O'Brien, Jackson (MN) & Nobles (MN).
Below are the counties that are near Melvin. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Melvin:
- Osceola County (The home county of Melvin)
- The following are listed by their distance from Melvin, with the one closest to Melvin listed first.
- Cloverdale
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Cloverdale is located in Osceola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverdale
- May City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- May City is located in Osceola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for May City
- Allendorf
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Allendorf is located in Osceola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allendorf
- Ocheyedan
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Ocheyedan is located in Osceola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocheyedan
- Population from the 2020 Census: 463 people
- Ashton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Sibley
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Harris
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Harris is located in Osceola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris
- Population from the 2020 Census: 158 people
- Cherokee County
- Larrabee
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Larrabee is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larrabee
- Population from the 2020 Census: 130 people
- Clay County
- The following are listed by their distance from Melvin, with the one closest to Melvin listed first.
- Everly
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Everly is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Everly
- Population from the 2020 Census: 541 people
- Royal
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Fostoria
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Fostoria is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fostoria
- Population from the 2020 Census: 219 people
- Spencer
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Langdon
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Langdon is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langdon
- Peterson
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Rossie
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Rossie is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rossie
- Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
- Greenville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Dickinson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Melvin, with the one closest to Melvin listed first.
- Lake Park
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Wahpeton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Wahpeton is located in Dickinson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wahpeton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 353 people
- West Okoboji
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- West Okoboji is located in Dickinson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Okoboji
- Population from the 2020 Census: 303 people
- Milford
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Old Town
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Old Town is located in Dickinson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Town
- Arnolds Park
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Okoboji
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Spirit Lake
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Orleans
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Orleans is located in Dickinson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orleans
- Population from the 2020 Census: 591 people
- Lyon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Melvin, with the one closest to Melvin listed first.
- Little Rock
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- George
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Edna
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Edna is located in Lyon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edna
- Rock Rapids
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- O'Brien County
- The following are listed by their distance from Melvin, with the one closest to Melvin listed first.
- Sanborn
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Hartley
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Hartley is located in O'Brien County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,556 people
- Primghar
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Archer
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Sheldon
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Moneta
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Moneta is located in O'Brien County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moneta
- Paullina
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Paullina is located in O'Brien County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paullina
- Population from the 2020 Census: 965 people
- Sutherland
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Calumet
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Calumet is located in O'Brien County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calumet
- Population from the 2020 Census: 155 people
- Germantown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Germantown is located in O'Brien County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Germantown
- Sioux County
- The following are listed by their distance from Melvin, with the one closest to Melvin listed first.
- Matlock
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Hospers
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Boyden
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Boyden is located in Sioux County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyden
- Population from the 2020 Census: 682 people
- Granville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Granville is located in Sioux County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 303 people
- Middleburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Middleburg is located in Sioux County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middleburg
- Hull
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Alton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Orange City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Perkins
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Perkins is located in Sioux County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perkins
- Jackson County (MN)
- Sioux Valley
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Sioux Valley is located in Jackson County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sioux Valley
- Nobles County (MN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Melvin, with the one closest to Melvin listed first.
- Bigelow
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Bigelow is located in Nobles County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bigelow
- Population from the 2020 Census: 226 people
- Round Lake
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Org
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Org is located in Nobles County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Org
- Ransom
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Ransom is located in Nobles County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ransom
- Worthington
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Rushmore
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Rushmore is located in Nobles County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rushmore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 334 people
- Ellsworth
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Adrian
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Brewster
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Brewster is located in Nobles County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brewster
- Population from the 2020 Census: 466 people
- Reading
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Reading is located in Nobles County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reading
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Melvin, see our County-by-County Page for Melvin.
Cemeteries Near Melvin ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Melvin.
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 Melvin - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Melvin covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Melvin, with the one closest to Melvin listed first.
- Baker Twp. Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Goewey Twp. Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Roseland Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- St. Cecilla Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Harrison Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Mennonite Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Ocheyedan Twp. Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Gilman Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Pleasant View Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Holman Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holman Cemetery
- The Holman Cemetery has also been known as:
- Holman Twp. Cemetery
- St. Andrews Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #95095 <2>
- St. Marys Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Steuck Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Continue List (109 more) ...
- Randolph Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Horton Twp. Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Center Twp. Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
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 Melvin in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Melvin.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Melvin, with the one closest to Melvin listed first.
- Sanborn
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- May City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- May City is located in Osceola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for May City
- Hartley
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Hartley is located in O'Brien County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,556 people
- Ocheyedan
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Ocheyedan is located in Osceola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocheyedan
- Population from the 2020 Census: 463 people
- Ashton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Sibley
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Ritter
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Ritter is located in O'Brien County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ritter
- Sheldon
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Archer
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Primghar
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Harris
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Harris is located in Osceola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris
- Population from the 2020 Census: 158 people
- Bigelow
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Bigelow is located in Nobles County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bigelow
- Population from the 2020 Census: 226 people
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Everly
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Everly is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Everly
- Population from the 2020 Census: 541 people
- Matlock
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Little Rock
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Melvin. See our List of 1890's Communities around Melvin.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Melvin ...
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 136 newspapers that have been published in the area around Melvin.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Melvin. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Melvin and those printed in the larger area surrounding Melvin.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<4> of Melvin.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we start with 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 Melvin:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Osceola County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cherokee County
- Clay County
- Dickinson County
- Lyon County
- O'Brien County
- Sioux County
- Jackson County
- Nobles 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 Melvin, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Melvin) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |