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 Bear River (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 Bear River. 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 Bear River ...

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.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Bear River: Bear Riv.

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 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.

Bear River is primarily located in Saint Louis County. A portion of Bear River extends into Itasca County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Saint Louis County: Aitkin, Carlton, Itasca, Koochiching, Lake & Douglas (WI).

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

• Saint Louis County     (The home county of Bear River)
  • The following are listed by their distance from Bear River, with the one closest to Bear River listed first.
  • Side Lake
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Side Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Side Lake
    • Side Lake is located in Saint Louis County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Side Lake <2>
  • Gheen Corner
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gheen Corner
    • Gheen Corner is located in Saint Louis County
  • Cook
    (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cook have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cook
    • Cook is located in Saint Louis County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 562 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cook <2>
  • Angora
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Angora have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angora
    • Angora is located in Saint Louis County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Angora <2>
  • Orr
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Orr have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orr
    • Orr is located in Saint Louis County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 332 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Orr <2>
  • Chisholm
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chisholm have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chisholm
    • Chisholm is located in Saint Louis County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,803 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chisholm <2>
  • Nett Lake
    (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nett Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nett Lake
    • Nett Lake is located in Saint Louis County
  • Ruby Junction
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruby Junction
    • Ruby Junction is located in Saint Louis County
  • Buhl
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buhl have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buhl
    • Buhl is located in Saint Louis County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 969 people
  • Kinney
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kinney have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinney
    • Kinney is located in Saint Louis County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 144 people
  • Hibbing
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hibbing
    • Hibbing is located in Saint Louis County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 15,716 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hibbing <2>
  • Britt
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Britt have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Britt
    • Britt is located in Saint Louis County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Britt <2>
• Itasca County
  • The following are listed by their distance from Bear River, with the one closest to Bear River listed first.
  • Keewatin
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Keewatin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keewatin
    • Keewatin is located in Itasca County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,010 people
  • Bigfork
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bigfork
    • Bigfork is located in Itasca County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 444 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bigfork <2>
  • Effie
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Effie have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Effie
    • Effie is located in Itasca County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 118 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Effie <2>
  • Nashwauk
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nashwauk have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nashwauk
    • Nashwauk is located in Itasca County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 951 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nashwauk <2>
  • Marcell
    (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marcell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcell
    • Marcell is located in Itasca County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marcell <2>

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Bear River ...

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 48 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bear River.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

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

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with 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 Bear River:

• Websites specific to Minnesota
  • Jump to Cyndi's List
  • Jump to Family Search
  • Jump to Genealogy Trails
  • Website for the Minnesota State Archives

• Pages specific to Saint Louis County
  • Jump to Cyndi's List
  • Jump to Family Search
  • Jump to Genealogy Trails

• Genealogy information for nearby counties
  • Itasca County
    • Jump to Cyndi's List
    • Jump to Family Search
    • Jump to Genealogy Trails

• Cemetery Information and Directories for Minnesota
  • Cemetery Junction: Cemeteries of Minnesota
  • Cyndi's List
  • Cemeteries of Minnesota
  • Cemeteries of Saint Louis County
  • FamilySearch.org: Cemeteries of Minnesota
  • Find-A-Grave: Home Page
  • Interment.net
  • Cemeteries of Minnesota
  • Cemeteries of Saint Louis County

Cemeteries Near Bear River ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bear River.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

• Morcom Cemetery
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Morcom Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Morcom Cemetery
• Bearville Cemetery
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bearville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bearville Cemetery
• Carpenter Cemetery
  (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Carpenter Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Carpenter Cemetery
• Celina Cemetery
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Celina Cemetery
  • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2484553 <4>
• St.s Peter & Paul Cemetery
  (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St.s Peter & Paul Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St.s Peter & Paul Cemetery
• Greaney Cemetery
  (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Greaney Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Greaney Cemetery
• Willow Valley Cemetery
  (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Willow Valley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Willow Valley Cemetery
• Silverdale Cemetery
  (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Silverdale Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Silverdale Cemetery
• Alango Cemetery
  (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Alango Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Alango Cemetery
• Little Fork Cemetery
  (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Little Fork Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Little Fork Cemetery
• Cook Cemetery
  (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cook Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cook Cemetery
• Chisholm Cemetery
  (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
  • The Chisholm Cemetery has also been known as:
  • Calvary Cemetery
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Chisholm Cemetery
  • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1576546 <4>
• Continue List   (22 more) ...
  • Hillside Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hillside Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hillside Cemetery
  • Teigland Family Cemetery
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Teigland Family Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Teigland Family Cemetery
  • Idington Cemetery
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Idington Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Idington Cemetery

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

Off-the-Road Links ...

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Bear River. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Saint Louis County: www.co.st-louis.mn.us/

The official website for State of Minnesota: https://mn.gov/