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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 Osgood (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 Osgood. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Osgood is located in Palo Alto 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 Palo Alto County: Buena Vista, Clay, Dickinson, Emmet, Humboldt, Kossuth & Pocahontas.

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

  • Palo Alto County     (The home county of Osgood)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Osgood, with the one closest to Osgood listed first.
    • Graettinger
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Emmetsburg
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Cylinder
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Cylinder is located in Palo Alto County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cylinder
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 84 people
    • Ruthven
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Ayrshire
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Curlew
      (14 miles [22.5 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
    • Rodman
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Rodman is located in Palo Alto County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodman
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 41 people
    • Mallard
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • West Bend
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Buena Vista County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Osgood, with the one closest to Osgood listed first.
    • Marathon
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Marathon is located in Buena Vista County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marathon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 228 people
    • Sioux Rapids
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Clay County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Osgood, with the one closest to Osgood listed first.
    • Dickens
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Dickens is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickens
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 168 people
    • Langdon
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Langdon is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langdon
    • Gillett Grove
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Gillett Grove is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gillett Grove
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 47 people
    • Spencer
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Webb
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Webb is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webb
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 126 people
    • Fostoria
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Fostoria is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fostoria
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 219 people
    • Greenville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Cornell
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Cornell is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornell
    • Rossie
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Rossie is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rossie
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
    • Royal
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Dickinson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Osgood, with the one closest to Osgood listed first.
    • Terril
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Terril is located in Dickinson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terril
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 338 people
    • Superior
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Old Town
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Old Town is located in Dickinson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Town
    • Arnolds Park
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Milford
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Spirit Lake
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • West Okoboji
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • West Okoboji is located in Dickinson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Okoboji
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 303 people
    • Okoboji
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Orleans
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Orleans is located in Dickinson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orleans
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 591 people
    • Wahpeton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Wahpeton is located in Dickinson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wahpeton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 353 people
  • Emmet County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Osgood, with the one closest to Osgood listed first.
    • Hoprig
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Hoprig is located in Emmet County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoprig
    • Wallingford
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Wallingford is located in Emmet County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallingford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 168 people
    • Ringsted
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Gruver
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Gruver is located in Emmet County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gruver
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 82 people
    • Estherville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Armstrong
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Armstrong is located in Emmet County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armstrong
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 841 people
    • Dolliver
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
  • Humboldt County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Osgood, with the one closest to Osgood listed first.
    • Ottosen
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Ottosen is located in Humboldt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ottosen
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 36 people
    • Bode
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Bode is located in Humboldt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bode
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 286 people
    • Bradgate
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Bradgate is located in Humboldt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradgate
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 84 people
  • Kossuth County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Osgood, with the one closest to Osgood listed first.
    • Fenton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Fenton is located in Kossuth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fenton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 225 people
    • Whittemore
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Whittemore is located in Kossuth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whittemore
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 469 people
    • Seneca
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Seneca is located in Kossuth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seneca
    • Lone Rock
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Swea City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Burt
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Burt is located in Kossuth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burt
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 493 people
    • Algona
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Bancroft
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Bancroft is located in Kossuth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bancroft
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 684 people
    • Irvington
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Irvington is located in Kossuth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irvington
    • Gerled
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Gerled is located in Kossuth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gerled
  • Pocahontas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Osgood, with the one closest to Osgood listed first.
    • Plover
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Plover is located in Pocahontas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plover
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 69 people
    • Havelock
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Laurens
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Rolfe
      (27 miles [43.5 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>
  • Jackson County (MN)
    • Petersburg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Petersburg is located in Jackson County (MN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersburg
  • Martin County (MN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Osgood, with the one closest to Osgood listed first.
    • Ceylon
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • 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
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Dunnell is located in Martin County (MN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunnell
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 145 people

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

Cemeteries Near Osgood ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Osgood.

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

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

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

  • Valley View Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Vernon Twp. Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • St. Pauls Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • St. Jacobs Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • City Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Lost Island Lutheran Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • High Lake Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Highland Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Wallingford Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Lutheran Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (113 more) ...
    • Crown Hill Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Calvary Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • St. Johns Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 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, Osgood had a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Graettinger
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Emmetsburg
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Hoprig
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Hoprig is located in Emmet County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoprig
  • Wallingford
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Wallingford is located in Emmet County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallingford
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 168 people
  • Cylinder
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Cylinder is located in Palo Alto County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cylinder
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 84 people
  • Ringsted
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Ayrshire
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Fenton
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Fenton is located in Kossuth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fenton
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 225 people
  • Curlew
    (14 miles [22.5 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
  • Rodman
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Rodman is located in Palo Alto County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodman
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 41 people
  • Maple Hill
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Maple Hill is located in Emmet County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Hill
  • Estherville
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Dickens
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Dickens is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickens
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 168 people
    • Whittemore
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Whittemore is located in Kossuth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whittemore
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 469 people
    • Mallard
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in Osgood ...

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 101 newspapers that have been published in the area around Osgood.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Osgood, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Osgood.

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 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 Osgood:

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 Osgood, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Osgood) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.