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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 Blue Earth (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 Blue Earth. 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 Blue Earth ...

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.

Prior to its current name of Blue Earth, it was known as Blue Earth City.

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.

Blue Earth is located in Faribault County and is the County Seat.

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 Faribault County: Kossuth (IA), Winnebago (IA), Blue Earth, Freeborn, Martin & Waseca.

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

  • Faribault County     (The home county of Blue Earth)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blue Earth, with the one closest to Blue Earth listed first.
    • Dell
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Frost
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Frost is located in Faribault County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frost
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 181 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Frost <1>
    • Winnebago
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Delavan
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Delavan is located in Faribault County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delavan
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 166 people
    • Huntley
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Elmore
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Elmore is located in Faribault County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmore
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 613 people
    • Easton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Easton is located in Faribault County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 183 people
    • Bricelyn
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Bricelyn is located in Faribault County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bricelyn
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 334 people
    • Wells
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Wells is located in Faribault County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wells
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,157 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wells <1>
    • Minnesota Lake
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Kiester
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Walters
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Walters is located in Faribault County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walters
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
  • Blue Earth County
  • Freeborn County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blue Earth, with the one closest to Blue Earth listed first.
    • Alden
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Conger
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Conger is located in Freeborn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conger
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 144 people
    • Freeborn
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
  • Martin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blue Earth, with the one closest to Blue Earth listed first.
    • Granada
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Fairmont
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Northrop
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Truman
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Truman is located in Martin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Truman
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,028 people
    • Welcome
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Ceylon
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
  • Waseca County
    • Waldorf
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Waldorf is located in Waseca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldorf
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 224 people
  • Watonwan County
    • Lewisville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Lewisville is located in Watonwan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewisville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 244 people
  • Emmet County (IA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blue Earth, with the one closest to Blue Earth listed first.
    • Armstrong
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Dolliver
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Hancock County (IA)
  • Kossuth County (IA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blue Earth, with the one closest to Blue Earth listed first.
    • Ledyard
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Gerled
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Lakota
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Lakota is located in Kossuth County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakota
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 275 people
    • Swea City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Bancroft
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • German Valley
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Titonka
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Titonka is located in Kossuth County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Titonka
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 433 people
    • Seneca
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Burt
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Burt is located in Kossuth County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burt
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 493 people
    • Lone Rock
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Winnebago County (IA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blue Earth, with the one closest to Blue Earth listed first.
    • Rake
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Rake is located in Winnebago County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rake
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
    • Buffalo Center
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Thompson
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Thompson is located in Winnebago County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 466 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Thompson <1>
    • Vinje
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Scarville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Blue Earth ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Blue Earth.

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 Blue Earth - one of the links might be able to help.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Blue Earth, with the one closest to Blue Earth 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 Blue Earth had a population of 1,569 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Blue Earth had a population of 3,098 people.

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

  • Pilot Grove
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Pilot Grove is located in Faribault County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilot Grove
  • Elmore
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Elmore is located in Faribault County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmore
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 613 people
  • Winnebago
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Dell
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Delavan
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Delavan is located in Faribault County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delavan
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 166 people
  • Huntley
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Easton
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Easton is located in Faribault County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easton
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 183 people
  • Rake
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Rake is located in Winnebago County (IA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rake
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
  • Ledyard
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
  • Nashville Center
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Nashville Center is located in Martin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nashville Center
  • Fairmont
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
  • Amboy
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Buffalo Center
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Sterling Center
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Sterling Center is located in Blue Earth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sterling Center
    • Amund
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Amund is located in Winnebago County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amund

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Blue Earth ...

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 91 newspapers that have been published in the area around Blue Earth.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Blue Earth. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Blue Earth and those printed in the larger area surrounding Blue Earth.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4> of Blue Earth.

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 Blue Earth:

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 Blue Earth, 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- Blue Earth) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.