RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Minnesota >> Nobles County >> Brewster >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Brewster (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 Brewster. 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.

Brewster is located in Nobles 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 Nobles County: Lyon (IA), Osceola (IA), Cottonwood, Jackson, Murray & Rock.

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

  • Nobles County     (The home county of Brewster)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brewster, with the one closest to Brewster listed first.
    • Kinbrae
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Worthington
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Dundee
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Dundee is located in Nobles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dundee
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
    • Round Lake
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Org
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Reading
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Reading is located in Nobles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reading
    • Bigelow
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Bigelow is located in Nobles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bigelow
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 226 people
    • Rushmore
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Rushmore is located in Nobles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rushmore
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 334 people
    • Wilmont
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Ransom
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Adrian
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Lismore
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Lismore is located in Nobles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lismore
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 218 people
  • Cottonwood County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brewster, with the one closest to Brewster listed first.
    • Windom
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Windom is located in Cottonwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windom
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,403 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Windom <1>
    • Westbrook
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Storden
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Bingham Lake
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Jeffers
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jeffers is located in Cottonwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeffers
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 346 people
  • Jackson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brewster, with the one closest to Brewster listed first.
    • Okabena
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Heron Lake
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Heron Lake is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heron Lake
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 643 people
    • Sioux Valley
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Lakefield
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Wilder
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jackson
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Petersburg
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Alpha
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Alpha is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpha
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 119 people
  • Murray County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brewster, with the one closest to Brewster listed first.
    • Fulda
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Avoca
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Avoca is located in Murray County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avoca
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 134 people
    • Iona
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Dovray
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Slayton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Currie
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Chandler
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Chandler is located in Murray County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chandler
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 246 people
    • Hadley
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Rock County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brewster, with the one closest to Brewster listed first.
    • Kenneth
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
    • Magnolia
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Dickinson County (IA)
  • Lyon County (IA)
  • Osceola County (IA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brewster, with the one closest to Brewster listed first.
    • Harris
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Ocheyedan
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Allendorf
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Sibley
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • 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>
    • May City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Cloverdale
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Melvin
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Melvin is located in Osceola County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melvin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 197 people

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

Cemeteries Near Brewster ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Brewster.

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 Brewster - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Sacred Heart Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Trinity Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Hersey Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Grace Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Worthington Twp. Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • St. John's Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Kinbrae Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Church of the Brethren Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Garden of Memories
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Pauls Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (104 more) ...
    • Lakeside Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Sacred Heart Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • First Lutheran Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)

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.<2>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Brewster had a population of 100 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Brewster had a population of 466 people.

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

  • Worthington
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Okabena
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Kinbrae
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Heron Lake
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Heron Lake is located in Jackson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heron Lake
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 643 people
  • Dundee
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Dundee is located in Nobles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dundee
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
  • Round Lake
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Org
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Sioux Valley
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Fulda
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Lime Creek
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Lime Creek is located in Murray County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lime Creek
  • Lakefield
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Wilder
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Rushmore
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Rushmore is located in Nobles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rushmore
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 334 people
    • Bigelow
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Bigelow is located in Nobles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bigelow
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 226 people
    • Harris
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Brewster ...

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 111 newspapers that have been published in the area around Brewster.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

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

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 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 Brewster:

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>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 Brewster, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Brewster) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.