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 Alden (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 Alden. 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 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.
Alden is located in Freeborn County.
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 Alden. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Alden:
- Freeborn County (The home county of Alden)
- The following are listed by their distance from Alden, with the one closest to Alden listed first.
- Conger
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Conger is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conger
- Population from the 2020 Census: 144 people
- Freeborn
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Manchester
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Manchester is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manchester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 55 people
- Albert Lea
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Hartland
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Hartland is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 307 people
- Twin Lakes
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Twin Lakes is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Lakes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 149 people
- Emmons
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Emmons is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmons
- Population from the 2020 Census: 380 people
- Clarks Grove
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Bath
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Bath is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bath
- Hayward
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Glenville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Geneva
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Hollandale
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Blue Earth County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alden, with the one closest to Alden listed first.
- Pemberton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Pemberton is located in Blue Earth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pemberton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 241 people
- Mapleton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Beauford
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Beauford is located in Blue Earth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beauford
- Faribault County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alden, with the one closest to Alden listed first.
- Walters
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Walters is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walters
- Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
- Wells
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Kiester
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bricelyn
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Bricelyn is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bricelyn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 334 people
- Minnesota Lake
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Dell
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Dell is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dell
- Easton
(17 miles [27.4 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
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Delavan
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Delavan is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delavan
- Population from the 2020 Census: 166 people
- Blue Earth
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Blue Earth is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Earth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,098 people
- Former name for Blue Earth:
- Blue Earth City
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Blue Earth <1>
- Elmore
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Elmore is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 613 people
- Winnebago
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Mower County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alden, with the one closest to Alden listed first.
- Austin
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Mapleview
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Mapleview is located in Mower County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mapleview
- Population from the 2020 Census: 177 people
- Lansing
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Lansing is located in Mower County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lansing
- Steele County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alden, with the one closest to Alden listed first.
- Ellendale
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- River Point
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- River Point is located in Steele County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Point
- Hope
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Hope is located in Steele County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope
- Union
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Union is located in Steele County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
- Steele Center
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Steele Center is located in Steele County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steele Center
- Blooming Prairie
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Waseca County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alden, with the one closest to Alden listed first.
- New Richland
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Waldorf
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Waldorf is located in Waseca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldorf
- Population from the 2020 Census: 224 people
- Vista
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Vista is located in Waseca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vista
- Wilton
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Wilton is located in Waseca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilton
- Alma City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Alma City is located in Waseca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alma City
- Waseca
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Winnebago County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Alden, with the one closest to Alden listed first.
- Scarville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Vinje
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Vinje is located in Winnebago County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vinje
- Lake Mills
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Rake
(21 miles [33.8 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
- Thompson
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Leland
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Leland is located in Winnebago County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 268 people
- Buffalo Center
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Forest City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Worth County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Alden, with the one closest to Alden listed first.
- Silver Lake
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Silver Lake is located in Worth County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Lake
- Bristol
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Bristol is located in Worth County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bristol
- Joice
(21 miles [33.8 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
- Northwood
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Hanlontown
(28 miles [45.1 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
- Kensett
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Kensett is located in Worth County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kensett
- Population from the 2020 Census: 249 people
- Fertile
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Bolan
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Bolan is located in Worth County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolan
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Alden, see our County-by-County Page for Alden.
Cemeteries Near Alden ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Alden.
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 Alden - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Alden covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Alden, with the one closest to Alden listed first.
- Alden Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Carlston Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Conger Community Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Concordia Lutheran Church Cemetery of Pickerel Lake
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- United Lutheran Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for United Lutheran Cemetery
- The United Lutheran Cemetery has also been known as:
- St. John's Cemetery
- St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery
- St. John's Lutheran Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2443887 <2>
- Mansfield Lutheran Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Schnieder Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Bear Lake Concordia Lutheran Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Shady Oak Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- West Freeborn Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Freeborn Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeborn Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Freeborn Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the north of Freeborn.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #82353 <2>
- Rice Lake Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Continue List (231 more) ...
- United Brethren Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Itasca Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Zion Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Alden had a population of 276 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Alden had a population of 642 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Alden, with the one closest to Alden listed first.
- Armstrong
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Armstrong is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armstrong
- Mansfield
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Mansfield is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mansfield
- Freeborn
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Manchester
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Manchester is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manchester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 55 people
- Twin Lakes
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Twin Lakes is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Lakes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 149 people
- Albert Lea
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Hartland
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Hartland is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 307 people
- Kiester
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Norman ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Norman is located in Winnebago County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norman
- Emmons
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Emmons is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmons
- Population from the 2020 Census: 380 people
- Clarks Grove
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Bath
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Bath is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bath
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Silver Lake
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Silver Lake is located in Worth County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Lake
- Glenville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Hayward
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Alden. See our List of 1890's Communities around Alden.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Alden ...
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 135 newspapers that have been published in the area around Alden.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Alden. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Alden and those printed in the larger area surrounding Alden.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4> of Alden.
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 Alden:
- Websites specific to Minnesota
- Pages specific to Freeborn County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Blue Earth County
- Faribault County
- Mower County
- Steele County
- Waseca County
- Winnebago County
- Worth County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Minnesota
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 Alden, 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' (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- Alden) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |