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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 Ringsted (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 Ringsted. 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.

Ringsted 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 Ringsted. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Ringsted:

  • Emmet County     (The home county of Ringsted)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ringsted, with the one closest to Ringsted listed first.
    • Hoprig
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Armstrong
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Gruver
      (11 miles [17.7 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
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Wallingford
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Estherville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Clay County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ringsted, with the one closest to Ringsted listed first.
    • Dickens
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Langdon
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Dickinson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ringsted, with the one closest to Ringsted listed first.
    • Superior
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Terril
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Orleans
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Orleans is located in Dickinson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orleans
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 591 people
  • Hancock County
  • Humboldt County
    • Ottosen
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Ottosen is located in Humboldt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ottosen
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 36 people
  • Kossuth County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ringsted, with the one closest to Ringsted listed first.
    • Seneca
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Fenton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Fenton is located in Kossuth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fenton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 225 people
    • Lone Rock
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Swea City
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Bancroft
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Burt
      (15 miles [24.1 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
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Whittemore is located in Kossuth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whittemore
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 469 people
    • Gerled
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Ledyard
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Lakota
      (21 miles [33.8 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
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Titonka
      (23 miles [37 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 Ringsted, with the one closest to Ringsted listed first.
    • Graettinger
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Cylinder
      (14 miles [22.5 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
    • Emmetsburg
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Rodman
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Ruthven
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • West Bend
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Ayrshire
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Curlew
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Mallard
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
  • Pocahontas County
    • Plover
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Winnebago County
    • Buffalo Center
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Faribault County (MN)
    • 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
  • Jackson County (MN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ringsted, with the one closest to Ringsted listed first.
    • Petersburg
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Alpha
      (29 miles [46.7 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
  • Martin County (MN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ringsted, with the one closest to Ringsted listed first.
    • Ceylon
      (17 miles [27.4 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
      (22 miles [35.4 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
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Welcome
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Sherburn
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Granada
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Northrop
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)

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

Cemeteries Near Ringsted ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ringsted.

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

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

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

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Ringsted had a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Ringsted had a population of 365 people.

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

  • Hoprig
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Fenton
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Fenton is located in Kossuth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fenton
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 225 people
  • Seneca
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Armstrong
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Maple Hill
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Maple Hill is located in Emmet County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Hill
  • Swea ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Swea is located in Kossuth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swea
  • Osgood
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Osgood is located in Palo Alto County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osgood
  • Graettinger
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Dolliver
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Cylinder
    (14 miles [22.5 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
  • Bancroft
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Wallingford
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Emmetsburg
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Burt
      (15 miles [24.1 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
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Whittemore is located in Kossuth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whittemore
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 469 people

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Ringsted ...

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 94 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ringsted.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Ringsted. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Ringsted and those printed in the larger area surrounding Ringsted.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<4> of Ringsted.

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 Ringsted:

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 Ringsted, 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 from Point A (ie- Ringsted) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.