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 Bricelyn (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 Bricelyn. 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.
Bricelyn is located in Faribault 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 Faribault County: Kossuth (IA), Winnebago (IA), Blue Earth, Freeborn, Martin & Waseca.
Below are the counties that are near Bricelyn. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Bricelyn:
- Faribault County (The home county of Bricelyn)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bricelyn, with the one closest to Bricelyn listed first.
- Kiester
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Frost
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Dell
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Dell is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dell
- Walters
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Walters is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walters
- Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
- Wells
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Easton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Easton is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 183 people
- Elmore
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Elmore is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 613 people
- Blue Earth
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Blue Earth is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Earth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,098 people
- Former name for Blue Earth:
- Blue Earth City
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Blue Earth <1>
- Delavan
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Delavan is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delavan
- Population from the 2020 Census: 166 people
- Minnesota Lake
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Winnebago
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Huntley
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Huntley is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntley
- Blue Earth County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bricelyn, with the one closest to Bricelyn listed first.
- Mapleton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Amboy
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Pemberton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Pemberton is located in Blue Earth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pemberton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 241 people
- Freeborn County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bricelyn, with the one closest to Bricelyn listed first.
- Conger
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Conger is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conger
- Population from the 2020 Census: 144 people
- Alden
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Emmons
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Emmons is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmons
- Population from the 2020 Census: 380 people
- Freeborn
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Twin Lakes
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Twin Lakes is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Lakes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 149 people
- Manchester
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Manchester is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manchester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 55 people
- Albert Lea
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Hartland
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Hartland is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 307 people
- Glenville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Bath
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Bath is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bath
- Clarks Grove
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Hayward
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Martin County
- Granada
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Waseca County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bricelyn, with the one closest to Bricelyn listed first.
- Waldorf
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Waldorf is located in Waseca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldorf
- Population from the 2020 Census: 224 people
- New Richland
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Hancock County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bricelyn, with the one closest to Bricelyn listed first.
- Crystal Lake
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Crystal Lake is located in Hancock County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 228 people
- Woden
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Kossuth County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bricelyn, with the one closest to Bricelyn listed first.
- Lakota
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Lakota is located in Kossuth County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakota
- Population from the 2020 Census: 275 people
- Ledyard
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Gerled
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Gerled is located in Kossuth County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gerled
- German Valley
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- German Valley is located in Kossuth County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for German Valley
- Titonka
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Titonka is located in Kossuth County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Titonka
- Population from the 2020 Census: 433 people
- Bancroft
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Bancroft is located in Kossuth County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bancroft
- Population from the 2020 Census: 684 people
- Swea City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Winnebago County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bricelyn, with the one closest to Bricelyn listed first.
- Rake
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Rake is located in Winnebago County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
- Vinje
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Vinje is located in Winnebago County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vinje
- Scarville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Thompson
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Buffalo Center
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Lake Mills
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Leland
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Leland is located in Winnebago County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 268 people
- Forest City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Worth County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bricelyn, with the one closest to Bricelyn listed first.
- Bristol
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Bristol is located in Worth County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bristol
- Joice
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Joice is located in Worth County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joice
- Population from the 2020 Census: 209 people
- Silver Lake
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Silver Lake is located in Worth County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Lake
- Fertile
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Hanlontown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Hanlontown is located in Worth County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanlontown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
- Northwood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Bricelyn, see our County-by-County Page for Bricelyn.
Cemeteries Near Bricelyn ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bricelyn.
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 Bricelyn - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Bricelyn covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Bricelyn, with the one closest to Bricelyn listed first.
- Bricelyn Lutheran Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Clayton Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- South Blue Earth Lutheran Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Bethany Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Eden Twp. Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- North Blue Earth Lutheran Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- American Lutheran Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Fairview Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Brush Creek Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- East Lutheran Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- United Lutheran Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for United Lutheran Cemetery
- The United Lutheran Cemetery has also been known as:
- St. John's Cemetery
- St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery
- St. John's Lutheran Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2443887 <2>
- Rice Lake Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (200 more) ...
- Dell Lutheran Church Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Emerald Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- West Lutheran Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
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 Bricelyn in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Bricelyn.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Bricelyn, with the one closest to Bricelyn listed first.
- Kiester
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Amund
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Amund is located in Winnebago County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amund
- Dell
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Dell is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dell
- Rake
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Rake is located in Winnebago County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
- Mansfield
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Mansfield is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mansfield
- Buffalo Center
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Thompson
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Elmore
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Elmore is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 613 people
- Easton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Easton is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 183 people
- Alden
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Blue Earth
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Blue Earth is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Earth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,098 people
- Former name for Blue Earth:
- Blue Earth City
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Blue Earth <1>
- Norman ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Norman is located in Winnebago County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norman
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Emmons
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Emmons is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmons
- Population from the 2020 Census: 380 people
- Leland
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Leland is located in Winnebago County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 268 people
- Lake Mills
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Bricelyn. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bricelyn.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Bricelyn ...
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 Bricelyn.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Bricelyn. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Bricelyn and those printed in the larger area surrounding Bricelyn.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4> of Bricelyn.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Bricelyn:
- Websites specific to Minnesota
- Pages specific to Faribault County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Blue Earth County
- Freeborn County
- Martin County
- Waseca County
- Hancock County
- Kossuth County
- Winnebago County
- Worth 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 Bricelyn, 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- Bricelyn) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |