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 Big Lake Chapel (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 Big Lake Chapel. 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 Big Lake Chapel ...
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 occur.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Big Lake Chapel: Big Lk. Chapel
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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Big Lake Chapel is located in Carlton 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 Carlton County: Aitkin, Pine, Saint Louis & Douglas (WI).
Below are the counties that are near Big Lake Chapel. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Big Lake Chapel:
- Carlton County (The home county of Big Lake Chapel)
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Lake Chapel, with the one closest to Big Lake Chapel listed first.
- Sawyer
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Sawyer is located in Carlton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sawyer
- Cloquet
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Scanlon
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Scanlon is located in Carlton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scanlon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 945 people
- Otter Creek
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Otter Creek is located in Carlton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otter Creek
- Carlton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Thomson
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Thomson is located in Carlton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomson
- Estimated population in 2014: 158 people
- Mahtowa
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Mahtowa is located in Carlton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mahtowa
- Esko
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Wrenshall
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Cromwell
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Barnum
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Wright
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Holyoke
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Holyoke is located in Carlton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holyoke
- Aitkin County
- Tamarack
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Tamarack is located in Aitkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tamarack
- Population from the 2020 Census: 94 people
- Pine County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Lake Chapel, with the one closest to Big Lake Chapel listed first.
- Sturgeon Lake
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Kerrick
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Denham
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Denham is located in Pine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 34 people
- Bruno
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Bruno is located in Pine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruno
- Population from the 2020 Census: 97 people
- Willow River
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Saint Louis County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Lake Chapel, with the one closest to Big Lake Chapel listed first.
- Brookston
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Saginaw
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Saginaw is located in Saint Louis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saginaw
- Adolph
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Twig
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Twig is located in Saint Louis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twig
- Gary
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Gary is located in Saint Louis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gary
- Hermantown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Proctor
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Alborn
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Alborn is located in Saint Louis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alborn
- New Duluth
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- New Duluth is located in Saint Louis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Duluth
- Oneota
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Oneota is located in Saint Louis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oneota
- Floodwood
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Canyon
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Duluth
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Douglas County (WI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Lake Chapel, with the one closest to Big Lake Chapel listed first.
- Oliver
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Oliver is located in Douglas County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oliver
- Population from the 2020 Census: 416 people
- Dedham
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Dedham is located in Douglas County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dedham
- Superior Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Superior Village is located in Douglas County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Superior Village
- Population from the 2020 Census: 713 people
- Superior
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Superior is located in Douglas County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Superior
- Population from the 2020 Census: 26,213 people
- Saunders
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Saunders is located in Douglas County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saunders
- South Range
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- South Range is located in Douglas County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Range
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Big Lake Chapel, see our County-by-County Page for Big Lake Chapel.
Cemeteries Near Big Lake Chapel ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Big Lake Chapel.
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 Big Lake Chapel - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Big Lake Chapel covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Big Lake Chapel, with the one closest to Big Lake Chapel listed first.
- Methodist Indian Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Big Lake Indian Catholic Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Sawyer Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Birch Lake Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Brevator Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- New Calvary Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Maple Grove Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Holy Family Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Calvary Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Hillcrest Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Bethel Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Brevator Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (94 more) ...
- Salem Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- St. Francis Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Hillside Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
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>
While we didn't find Big Lake Chapel in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Big Lake Chapel.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Big Lake Chapel, with the one closest to Big Lake Chapel listed first.
- Sawyer
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Sawyer is located in Carlton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sawyer
- Otter Creek
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Otter Creek is located in Carlton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otter Creek
- Cloquet
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Corona
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Corona is located in Carlton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corona
- Carlton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Mahtowa
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Mahtowa is located in Carlton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mahtowa
- Thomson
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Thomson is located in Carlton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomson
- Estimated population in 2014: 158 people
- Cromwell
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Barnum
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Fond du Lac
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Fond du Lac is located in Saint Louis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fond du Lac
- Independence
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Independence is located in Saint Louis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Independence
- New Duluth
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- New Duluth is located in Saint Louis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Duluth
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Smithville
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Smithville is located in Saint Louis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smithville
- West Duluth
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- West Duluth is located in Saint Louis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Duluth
- Wright
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Big Lake Chapel. See our List of 1890's Communities around Big Lake Chapel.
Newspapers Published in Big Lake Chapel ...
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 28 newspapers that have been published in the area around Big Lake Chapel.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Big Lake Chapel, 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 Big Lake Chapel.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Big Lake Chapel:
- Websites specific to Minnesota
- Pages specific to Carlton County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Aitkin County
- Pine County
- Saint Louis County
- Douglas 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 Big Lake Chapel, 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- Big Lake Chapel) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |