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 Browns Valley (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 Browns Valley. 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 Browns Valley ...
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.
- A typical abbreviation for Browns Valley: Browns Vly. (or less commonly used: Browns Vally. or Browns Vlly.)
- While the name of this city is Browns Valley, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Browns Valley may originally have been Brown's Valley.
Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Browns Valley might be written as Brown Valley.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Browns Valley. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Browns Valley.
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 southwest 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 south.
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 south 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.
Browns Valley is located in Traverse 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 Traverse County: Big Stone, Grant, Stevens, Wilkin, Richland (ND) & Roberts (SD).
Below are the counties that are near Browns Valley. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Browns Valley:
- Traverse County (The home county of Browns Valley)
- The following are listed by their distance from Browns Valley, with the one closest to Browns Valley listed first.
- Collis
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Collis is located in Traverse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collis
- Dumont
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Dumont is located in Traverse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dumont
- Population from the 2020 Census: 87 people
- Wheaton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Big Stone County
- The following are listed by their distance from Browns Valley, with the one closest to Browns Valley listed first.
- Beardsley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Barry
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Barry is located in Big Stone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barry
- Population from the 2020 Census: 15 people
- Graceville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Clinton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Johnson
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Johnson is located in Big Stone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 27 people
- Ortonville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Day County (SD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Browns Valley, with the one closest to Browns Valley listed first.
- Grenville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Waubay
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Grant County (SD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Browns Valley, with the one closest to Browns Valley listed first.
- Marvin
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Milbank
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Twin Brooks
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Big Stone City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Marshall County (SD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Browns Valley, with the one closest to Browns Valley listed first.
- Veblen
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Eden
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Eden is located in Marshall County (SD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden
- Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eden <2>
- Lake City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Roberts County (SD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Browns Valley, with the one closest to Browns Valley listed first.
- Peever
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Peever Flats
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Peever Flats is located in Roberts County (SD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peever Flats
- Sisseton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Goodwill
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Goodwill is located in Roberts County (SD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodwill
- Estimated population in 2014: 876 people
- Wilmot
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- South Dakota Park
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- South Dakota Park is located in Roberts County (SD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Dakota Park
- Estimated population in 2014: 15 people
- Spring Grove
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Spring Grove is located in Roberts County (SD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Grove
- Estimated population in 2014: 125 people
- Hartford Beach
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Hartford Beach is located in Roberts County (SD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartford Beach
- Estimated population in 2014: 126 people
- Shady Beach
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Shady Beach is located in Roberts County (SD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Beach
- Long Hollow Housing
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Long Hollow Housing is located in Roberts County (SD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Hollow Housing
- Population from the 2010 Census: 192 people
- New Effington
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Corona
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Browns Valley, see our County-by-County Page for Browns Valley.
Cemeteries Near Browns Valley ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Browns Valley.
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 Browns Valley - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Browns Valley covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Browns Valley, with the one closest to Browns Valley listed first.
- Plateau Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Valley View Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Midway Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Beardsley Community Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Peever Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- St. Mary Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Holden Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Concordia Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Holden Lutheran Church Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- North Concordia Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Lake View Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Emanuel Lutheran Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (92 more) ...
- Sisseton City Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- St. Peters Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Goodwill Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Browns Valley had a population of 498 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Browns Valley had a population of 522 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Browns Valley, with the one closest to Browns Valley listed first.
- Beardsley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Goodwill
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Goodwill is located in Roberts County (SD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodwill
- Estimated population in 2014: 876 people
- Wilmot
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Barry
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Barry is located in Big Stone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barry
- Population from the 2020 Census: 15 people
- Corona
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Graceville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Collis
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Collis is located in Traverse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collis
- Clinton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Dumont
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Dumont is located in Traverse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dumont
- Population from the 2020 Census: 87 people
- Wheaton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Summit
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Marvin
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Continue List (7 more) ...
- Johnson
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Johnson is located in Big Stone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 27 people
- White Rock
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- White Rock is located in Roberts County (SD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Rock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3 people
- Twin Brooks
(27 miles [43.5 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 Browns Valley. See our List of 1890's Communities around Browns Valley.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Browns Valley ...
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 72 newspapers that have been published in the area around Browns Valley.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Browns Valley. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Browns Valley and those printed in the larger area surrounding Browns Valley.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<5> of Browns Valley.
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 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 Browns Valley:
- Websites specific to Minnesota
- Pages specific to Traverse County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Big Stone County
- Day County
- Grant County
- Marshall County
- Roberts County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Minnesota
Footnotes ...
| <1> | It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties). |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 Browns Valley, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <5> | 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- Browns Valley) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |