Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
So far, we found very little information about Ratna. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>
We've added Ratna to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Ratna, please Contact Us.
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 Ratna (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 Ratna. 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 hospitals and 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.
Although our information shows that the community of Ratna is historic, it would have been located within present day Winnebago 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 Winnebago County: Cerro Gordo, Hancock, Kossuth, Worth, Faribault (MN) & Freeborn (MN).
Below are the counties that are near Ratna. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Ratna:
- Winnebago County (The home county of Ratna)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ratna, with the one closest to Ratna listed first.
- Leland
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Leland is located in Winnebago County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 268 people
- Lake Mills
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Forest City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Scarville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Vinje
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Vinje is located in Winnebago County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vinje
- Thompson
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Buffalo Center
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Rake
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Rake is located in Winnebago County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
- Cerro Gordo County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ratna, with the one closest to Ratna listed first.
- Creamery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Creamery is located in Cerro Gordo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creamery
- Ventura
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Clear Lake
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Mason City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Plymouth Junction
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Plymouth Junction is located in Cerro Gordo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plymouth Junction
- Plymouth
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Plymouth is located in Cerro Gordo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plymouth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 361 people
- Burchinal
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Burchinal is located in Cerro Gordo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burchinal
- Mason City Junction
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Mason City Junction is located in Cerro Gordo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason City Junction
- Rock Falls
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Rock Falls is located in Cerro Gordo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Falls
- Population from the 2020 Census: 146 people
- Cameron
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Cameron is located in Cerro Gordo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cameron
- Portland
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Portland is located in Cerro Gordo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portland
- Swaledale
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Swaledale is located in Cerro Gordo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swaledale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 157 people
- Floyd County
- Nora Springs
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Hancock County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ratna, with the one closest to Ratna listed first.
- Crystal Lake
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Crystal Lake is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 228 people
- Garner
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Duncan
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Duncan is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duncan
- Woden
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Britt
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Klemme
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Hutchins
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Hutchins is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hutchins
- Goodell
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Goodell is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 126 people
- Kanawha
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Corwith
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Corwith is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corwith
- Population from the 2020 Census: 245 people
- Kossuth County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ratna, with the one closest to Ratna listed first.
- German Valley
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- German Valley is located in Kossuth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for German Valley
- Titonka
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Titonka is located in Kossuth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Titonka
- Population from the 2020 Census: 433 people
- Wesley
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Wesley is located in Kossuth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wesley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 364 people
- Lakota
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Lakota is located in Kossuth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakota
- Population from the 2020 Census: 275 people
- Mitchell County
- Carpenter
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Carpenter is located in Mitchell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carpenter
- Population from the 2020 Census: 108 people
- Worth County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ratna, with the one closest to Ratna listed first.
- Joice
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Joice is located in Worth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joice
- Population from the 2020 Census: 209 people
- Bristol
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Bristol is located in Worth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bristol
- Fertile
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Hanlontown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Hanlontown is located in Worth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanlontown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
- Silver Lake
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Silver Lake is located in Worth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Lake
- Kensett
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Kensett is located in Worth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kensett
- Population from the 2020 Census: 249 people
- Manly
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Northwood
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Bolan
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Bolan is located in Worth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolan
- Grafton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Faribault County (MN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ratna, with the one closest to Ratna listed first.
- Kiester
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Walters
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Walters is located in Faribault County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walters
- Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
- Bricelyn
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Bricelyn is located in Faribault County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bricelyn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 334 people
- Frost
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Frost is located in Faribault County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frost
- Population from the 2020 Census: 181 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Frost <2>
- Dell
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Dell is located in Faribault County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dell
- Elmore
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Elmore is located in Faribault County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 613 people
- Wells
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Wells is located in Faribault County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wells
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,157 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wells <2>
- Freeborn County (MN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ratna, with the one closest to Ratna listed first.
- Emmons
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Emmons is located in Freeborn County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmons
- Population from the 2020 Census: 380 people
- Twin Lakes
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Twin Lakes is located in Freeborn County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Lakes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 149 people
- Conger
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Conger is located in Freeborn County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conger
- Population from the 2020 Census: 144 people
- Glenville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Alden
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Albert Lea
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Myrtle
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Myrtle is located in Freeborn County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myrtle
- Population from the 2020 Census: 46 people
- Manchester
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Manchester is located in Freeborn County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manchester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 55 people
- Hayward
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- London
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- London is located in Freeborn County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for London
- Freeborn
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Ratna, see our County-by-County Page for Ratna.
Cemeteries Near Ratna ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ratna.
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 Ratna - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Ratna covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Ratna, with the one closest to Ratna listed first.
- Union Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- South Bethel Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Kingland Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Beaver Creek Lutheran Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Forest Home Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Mt. Valley Twp. Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Bethel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Oakland Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Chapel Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Center Synod Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Synod Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Sunnyside Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Continue List (191 more) ...
- St. James Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Pilot Knob Lutheran Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Elim Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 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.
While we didn't find Ratna in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Ratna.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Ratna, with the one closest to Ratna listed first.
- Leland
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Leland is located in Winnebago County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 268 people
- Forest City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Lake Mills
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Bristol
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Bristol is located in Worth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bristol
- Fertile
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Miller
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Miller is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miller
- Somber
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Somber is located in Worth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somber
- Norman ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Norman is located in Winnebago County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norman
- Thompson
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Hayfield
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Hayfield is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayfield
- Emmons
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Emmons is located in Freeborn County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmons
- Population from the 2020 Census: 380 people
- Crystal Lake
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Crystal Lake is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 228 people
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Creamery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Creamery is located in Cerro Gordo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creamery
- Silver Lake
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Silver Lake is located in Worth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Lake
- Garner
(15 miles [24.1 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 Ratna. See our List of 1890's Communities around Ratna.
Newspapers Published in Ratna ...
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 116 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ratna.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ratna, 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 Ratna.
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 Ratna:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Winnebago County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cerro Gordo County
- Floyd County
- Hancock County
- Kossuth County
- Mitchell County
- Worth County
- Faribault County
- Freeborn County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Iowa
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Ratna, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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- Ratna) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |