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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 Albert Lea (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 Albert Lea. 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.

Name Variations for Albert Lea ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

In past government published Postal Guides, Albert Lea was referred to as Albert Lea Courthouse.

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

For more information about how community names might have been affected by the Board of Geographic Names (BGN), see our page about Placename Rules.

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 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.

Albert Lea is located in Freeborn County and is the County Seat.

To see how the shape of Minnesota's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Freeborn County: Winnebago (IA), Worth (IA), Faribault, Mower, Steele & Waseca.

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

  • Freeborn County     (The home county of Albert Lea)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Albert Lea, with the one closest to Albert Lea listed first.
    • Hayward
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Manchester
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Manchester is located in Freeborn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manchester
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 55 people
    • Twin Lakes
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Glenville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Clarks Grove
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Conger
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Conger is located in Freeborn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conger
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 144 people
    • Alden
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Hollandale
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Myrtle
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Emmons
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Emmons is located in Freeborn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmons
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 380 people
    • Bath
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Freeborn
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Dodge County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Albert Lea, with the one closest to Albert Lea listed first.
    • Westfield Center ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Westfield Center is located in Dodge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westfield Center
    • Hayfield
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Faribault County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Albert Lea, with the one closest to Albert Lea listed first.
    • Walters
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Walters is located in Faribault County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walters
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
    • Kiester
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Wells
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Wells is located in Faribault County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wells
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,157 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wells <1>
    • Bricelyn
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Bricelyn is located in Faribault County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bricelyn
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 334 people
    • Minnesota Lake
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Dell
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Easton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Easton is located in Faribault County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 183 people
    • Frost
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Frost is located in Faribault County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frost
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 181 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Frost <1>
  • Mower County
  • Steele County
  • Waseca County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Albert Lea, with the one closest to Albert Lea listed first.
    • New Richland
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Vista
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Waldorf
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Waldorf is located in Waseca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldorf
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 224 people
    • Wilton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Wilton is located in Waseca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilton
    • Waseca
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Cerro Gordo County (IA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Albert Lea, with the one closest to Albert Lea listed first.
    • Creamery
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Plymouth
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Mitchell County (IA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Albert Lea, with the one closest to Albert Lea listed first.
    • Carpenter
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Carpenter is located in Mitchell County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carpenter
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 108 people
    • Toeterville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Saint Ansgar
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Winnebago County (IA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Albert Lea, with the one closest to Albert Lea listed first.
    • Lake Mills
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Scarville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Vinje
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Leland
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Thompson
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Thompson is located in Winnebago County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 466 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Thompson <1>
    • Forest City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Rake
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Rake is located in Winnebago County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rake
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
  • Worth County (IA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Albert Lea, with the one closest to Albert Lea listed first.
    • Silver Lake
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Northwood
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Bristol
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Joice
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Joice is located in Worth County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joice
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 209 people
    • Kensett
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Kensett is located in Worth County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kensett
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 249 people
    • Bolan
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Hanlontown
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Hanlontown is located in Worth County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanlontown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
    • Fertile
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Manly
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Grafton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Albert Lea ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Albert Lea.

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 Albert Lea - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Lakewood Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • St. Theodores Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Graceland Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Itasca Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Hillcrest Memorial Gardens
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Freeborn County Poor Farm Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Shady Oak Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Green Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Glenville Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Central Lutheran Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Concordia Lutheran Church Cemetery of Pickerel Lake
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Lunder Lutheran Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (246 more) ...
    • East Freeborn Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • North Round Prairie Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Hayward Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)

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 Albert Lea had a population of 3,305 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Albert Lea had a population of 17,733 people.

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

  • Armstrong
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Armstrong is located in Freeborn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armstrong
  • Twin Lakes
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Hayward
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Manchester
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Manchester is located in Freeborn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manchester
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 55 people
  • Glenville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Clarks Grove
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Gordonsville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Gordonsville is located in Freeborn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordonsville
  • Alden
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Emmons
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Emmons is located in Freeborn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmons
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 380 people
  • Silver Lake
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Myrtle
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Norman ‑ Historic
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Norman is located in Winnebago County (IA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norman
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Albert Lea ...

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 108 newspapers that have been published in the area around Albert Lea.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Albert Lea. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Albert Lea and those printed in the larger area surrounding Albert Lea.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3> of Albert Lea.

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 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 Albert Lea:

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