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 Bena (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 Bena. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals 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.

Bena is located in Cass 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 Cass County: Aitkin, Beltrami, Crow Wing, Hubbard, Itasca, Morrison, Todd & Wadena.

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

• Cass County     (The home county of Bena)
  • The following are listed by their distance from Bena, with the one closest to Bena listed first.
  • Ryan Village
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ryan Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ryan Village
    • Ryan Village is located in Cass County
  • Federal Dam
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Federal Dam have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Federal Dam
    • Federal Dam is located in Cass County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 110 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Federal Dam <2>
  • Boy River
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Boy River have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boy River
    • Boy River is located in Cass County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 51 people
  • North Central Cass
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Central Cass have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Central Cass
    • North Central Cass is located in Cass County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 29 people
  • Cass Lake
    (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cass Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cass Lake
    • Cass Lake is located in Cass County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 764 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cass Lake <2>
  • Whipholt
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whipholt
    • Whipholt is located in Cass County
  • Remer
    (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Remer
    • Remer is located in Cass County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 395 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Remer <2>
  • Longville
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Longville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longville
    • Longville is located in Cass County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 148 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Longville <2>
  • Ah-gwah-ching
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ah-gwah-ching have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ah-gwah-ching
    • Ah-gwah-ching is located in Cass County
  • Walker
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walker have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walker
    • Walker is located in Cass County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 928 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Walker <2>
  • Wabedo
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wabedo
    • Wabedo is located in Cass County
• Beltrami County
  • The following are listed by their distance from Bena, with the one closest to Bena listed first.
  • Pennington
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennington
    • Pennington is located in Beltrami County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pennington <2>
  • Rosby
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rosby have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosby
    • Rosby is located in Beltrami County
  • Lavinia
    (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lavinia
    • Lavinia is located in Beltrami County
  • Turtle River
    (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turtle River
    • Turtle River is located in Beltrami County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 80 people
• Hubbard County
  • The following are listed by their distance from Bena, with the one closest to Bena listed first.
  • Benedict
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Benedict have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benedict
    • Benedict is located in Hubbard County
  • Laporte
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Laporte have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laporte
    • Laporte is located in Hubbard County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 118 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Laporte <2>
• Itasca County
  • The following are listed by their distance from Bena, with the one closest to Bena listed first.
  • Deer River
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Deer River have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer River
    • Deer River is located in Itasca County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 930 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Deer River <2>
  • Zemple
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Zemple have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zemple
    • Zemple is located in Itasca County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 90 people
  • Max
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Max have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Max
    • Max is located in Itasca County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Max <2>
  • Squaw Lake
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Squaw Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Squaw Lake
    • Squaw Lake is located in Itasca County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 106 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Squaw Lake <2>
  • Bowstring
    (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bowstring have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowstring
    • Bowstring is located in Itasca County
  • Spring Lake
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Lake
    • Spring Lake is located in Itasca County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Spring Lake <2>
  • Talmoon
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Talmoon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talmoon
    • Talmoon is located in Itasca County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Talmoon <2>
  • Cohasset
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cohasset have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cohasset
    • Cohasset is located in Itasca County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,739 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cohasset <2>
  • Dora Lake
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dora Lake
    • Dora Lake is located in Itasca County
  • Wirt
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wirt have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wirt
    • Wirt is located in Itasca County
  • Marcell
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • 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 Bena, see our County-by-County Page for Bena.

Cemeteries Near Bena ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bena.

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 Bena covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

• Rabbits Cemetery
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rabbits Cemetery
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rabbits Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
• Fairview Cemetery
  (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fairview Cemetery
• White Cloud Cemetery
  (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the White Cloud Cemetery
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the White Cloud Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
• Arlington Cemetery
  (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Arlington Cemetery
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Arlington Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
• Tibbets Cemetery
  (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Tibbets Cemetery
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Tibbets Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
• Fairbanks Cemetery
  (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fairbanks Cemetery
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fairbanks Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
• Island Zion Cemetery
  (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Island Zion Cemetery
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Island Zion Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
• Mary Donald Cemetery
  (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mary Donald Cemetery
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mary Donald Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
• St. Joseph Cemetery
  (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Joseph Cemetery
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Joseph Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
• Gilfillan Church Cemetery
  (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gilfillan Church Cemetery
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gilfillan Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
• Lindenwood - Independent Apostolic Lutheran Cemetery
  (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lindenwood - Independent Apostolic Lutheran Cemetery
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lindenwood - Independent Apostolic Lutheran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
• Olivet Cemetery
  (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Olivet Cemetery
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Olivet Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
• Continue List   (51 more) ...
  • South Round Lake Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the South Round Lake Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the South Round Lake Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • John Brown Cutback Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the John Brown Cutback Cemetery
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the John Brown Cutback Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
  • Inger Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Inger Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Inger Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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.<4>

While we didn't find Bena in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Bena.

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

• Deer River
  (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Deer River have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer River
  • Deer River is located in Itasca County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 930 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Deer River <2>
• Cohasset
  (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cohasset have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cohasset
  • Cohasset is located in Itasca County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,739 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cohasset <2>

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

Newspapers Published in Bena ...

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 23 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bena.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bena, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bena.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Bena:

• 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 Cass County
  • Jump to Cyndi's List
  • Jump to Family Search
  • Jump to Genealogy Trails

• Genealogy information for nearby counties
  • Beltrami County
    • Jump to Cyndi's List
    • Jump to Family Search
    • Jump to Genealogy Trails
  • Hubbard County
    • Jump to Cyndi's List
    • Jump to Family Search
    • Jump to Genealogy Trails
  • 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 Cass County
  • FamilySearch.org: Cemeteries of Minnesota
  • Find-A-Grave: Home Page
  • Interment.net
  • Cemeteries of Minnesota
  • Cemeteries of Cass County

Off-the-Road Links ...

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

The official website for Cass County: www.co.cass.mn.us/

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