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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 Ash Creek (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 Ash Creek. 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 Ash Creek ...

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.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Ash Creek: Ash Crk. (or less commonly used: Ash Ck. or Ash Cr.)

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Ash Creek. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Ash Creek.

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.

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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Ash Creek is located in Rock 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 Rock County: Lyon (IA), Murray, Nobles, Pipestone, Minnehaha (SD) & Moody (SD).

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

  • Rock County     (The home county of Ash Creek)
  • Murray County
    • Chandler
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Chandler is located in Murray County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chandler
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 246 people
  • Nobles County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ash Creek, with the one closest to Ash Creek listed first.
    • Ellsworth
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Adrian
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Lismore
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Lismore is located in Nobles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lismore
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 218 people
    • Ransom
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Rushmore
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Rushmore is located in Nobles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rushmore
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 334 people
    • Leota
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Leota is located in Nobles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leota
    • Wilmont
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Bigelow
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Bigelow is located in Nobles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bigelow
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 226 people
    • Reading
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Reading is located in Nobles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reading
    • Org
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Worthington
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Pipestone County
  • Lyon County (IA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ash Creek, with the one closest to Ash Creek listed first.
    • Rock Rapids
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Lester
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Lester is located in Lyon County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lester
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 303 people
    • Edna
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Larchwood
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Alvord
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • George
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • George is located in Lyon County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for George
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,029 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for George <1>
    • Little Rock
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Doon
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Doon is located in Lyon County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 599 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Doon <1>
    • Klondike
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Inwood
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Beloit
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
  • O'Brien County (IA)
    • Sheldon
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Sheldon is located in O'Brien County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheldon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,071 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sheldon <1>
  • Osceola County (IA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ash Creek, with the one closest to Ash Creek listed first.
    • Sibley
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Sibley is located in Osceola County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sibley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,586 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sibley <1>
    • Ashton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Ashton is located in Osceola County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 419 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ashton <1>
    • Allendorf
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Cloverdale
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Sioux County (IA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ash Creek, with the one closest to Ash Creek listed first.
    • Rock Valley
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Hull
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Hull is located in Sioux County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hull
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,296 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hull <1>
    • Perkins
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Matlock
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Boyden
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Middleburg
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Lincoln County (SD)
  • Minnehaha County (SD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ash Creek, with the one closest to Ash Creek listed first.
    • Valley Springs
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Rowena
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Garretson
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Garretson is located in Minnehaha County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garretson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,147 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Garretson <1>
    • Brandon
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Brandon is located in Minnehaha County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,168 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brandon <1>
    • Sherman
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Pine Lakes Addition
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Pine Lakes Addition is located in Minnehaha County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Lakes Addition
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 314 people
    • Split Rock Heights
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Split Rock Heights is located in Minnehaha County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Split Rock Heights
      • Estimated population in 2014: 216 people
    • Norton Acres
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Norton Acres is located in Minnehaha County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norton Acres
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 342 people
    • Meadow View Addition
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Meadow View Addition is located in Minnehaha County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow View Addition
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 538 people
    • Renner Corner
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Renner Corner is located in Minnehaha County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Renner Corner
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 305 people
    • Renner
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Sioux Falls
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)

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

Cemeteries Near Ash Creek ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ash Creek.

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 Ash Creek - one of the links might be able to help.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Ash Creek, with the one closest to Ash Creek 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 Ash Creek had a population of 74 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Steen
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Kanaranzi
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Luverne
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Rock Rapids
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Ellsworth
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Hills
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Lester
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Lester is located in Lyon County (IA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lester
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 303 people
  • Magnolia
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Beaver Creek
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Bruce
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Bruce is located in Rock County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruce
  • Edna
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Manley
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in Ash Creek ...

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 Ash Creek.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ash Creek, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Ash Creek.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Ash Creek:

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