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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 Cambria (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 Cambria. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most 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.

Cambria is located in Blue Earth 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 Blue Earth County: Brown, Faribault, Le Sueur, Martin, Nicollet, Waseca & Watonwan.

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

  • Blue Earth County     (The home county of Cambria)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cambria, with the one closest to Cambria listed first.
    • Judson
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Judson is located in Blue Earth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Judson
    • Lake Crystal
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Garden City
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Garden City is located in Blue Earth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
    • Rapidan
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Rapidan is located in Blue Earth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rapidan
    • Skyline
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Skyline is located in Blue Earth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skyline
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 299 people
    • Mankato
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Mankato is located in Blue Earth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mankato
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 43,435 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mankato <1>
    • Vernon Center
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Vernon Center is located in Blue Earth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vernon Center
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 313 people
    • Good Thunder
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Eagle Lake
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Willow Creek
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Willow Creek is located in Blue Earth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Creek
    • Beauford
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Beauford is located in Blue Earth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beauford
    • Madison Lake
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
  • Brown County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cambria, with the one closest to Cambria listed first.
    • Searles
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Searles is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Searles
    • New Ulm
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Hanska
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Essig
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Iberia
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Iberia is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iberia
    • Sleepy Eye
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Leavenworth
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Leavenworth is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leavenworth
    • Cobden
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Cobden is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobden
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 35 people
    • Evan
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Evan is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evan
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 84 people
    • Comfrey
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Le Sueur County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cambria, with the one closest to Cambria listed first.
    • Kasota
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Ottawa
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Ottawa is located in Le Sueur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ottawa
    • Cleveland
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Marysburg
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Marysburg is located in Le Sueur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marysburg
    • Le Sueur
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Greenland
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Greenland is located in Le Sueur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenland
    • Le Center
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Martin County
    • Truman
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Truman is located in Martin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Truman
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,028 people
  • McLeod County
    • Fernando
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Fernando is located in McLeod County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fernando
  • Nicollet County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cambria, with the one closest to Cambria listed first.
    • Courtland
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Nicollet
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Oshawa
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Oshawa is located in Nicollet County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oshawa
    • New Sweden
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • New Sweden is located in Nicollet County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Sweden
    • North Mankato
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Lafayette
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Saint Peter
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
  • Renville County
    • Fairfax
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Sibley County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cambria, with the one closest to Cambria listed first.
    • Winthrop
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Gaylord
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Gibbon
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Arlington
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Henderson
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • New Auburn
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Watonwan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cambria, with the one closest to Cambria listed first.
    • Madelia
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • La Salle
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • La Salle is located in Watonwan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Salle
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 86 people
    • Godahl
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Godahl is located in Watonwan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Godahl
    • Grogan
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Grogan is located in Watonwan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grogan
    • Lewisville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Lewisville is located in Watonwan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewisville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 244 people
    • Saint James
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Darfur
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Darfur is located in Watonwan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darfur
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 102 people
    • Butterfield
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Butterfield is located in Watonwan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butterfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 582 people

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

Cemeteries Near Cambria ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Cambria.

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

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

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

  • Cambria Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Zimmerman Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Courtland Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Fechner Farm Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Evangelical Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Trinity Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Rice Lake Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Jerusalem Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Williams Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Zion Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (220 more) ...
    • Our Saviors Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • St. Pauls Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Nicollet Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)

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>

While we didn't find Cambria in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Cambria.

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

  • Courtland
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Linden
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Linden is located in Brown County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linden
  • Judson
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Judson is located in Blue Earth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Judson
  • Nicollet
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • New Ulm
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Hanska
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Lake Crystal
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Oshawa
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Oshawa is located in Nicollet County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oshawa
  • New Sweden
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • New Sweden is located in Nicollet County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Sweden
  • Madelia
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
  • Bernadotte
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Bernadotte is located in Nicollet County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bernadotte
  • Garden City
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Garden City is located in Blue Earth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Rapidan
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Rapidan is located in Blue Earth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rapidan
    • Norseland
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Norseland is located in Nicollet County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norseland
    • Essig
      (15 miles [24.1 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 Cambria. See our List of 1890's Communities around Cambria.

Newspapers Published in Cambria ...

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 129 newspapers that have been published in the area around Cambria.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Cambria, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Cambria.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with 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 Cambria:

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 Cambria, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Cambria) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.