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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 Carlisle (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 Carlisle. 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 doctors 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.

Carlisle is located in Otter Tail 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 Otter Tail County: Becker, Clay, Douglas, Grant, Todd, Wadena & Wilkin.

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

  • Otter Tail County     (The home county of Carlisle)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Carlisle, with the one closest to Carlisle listed first.
    • Elizabeth
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Fergus Falls
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Rothsay
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Erhard
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Edwards
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Edwards is located in Otter Tail County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwards
    • Pelican Rapids
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Western
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Western is located in Otter Tail County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Western
    • Underwood
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Maine
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Maine is located in Otter Tail County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maine
    • Dalton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Amor
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Amor is located in Otter Tail County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amor
    • Battle Lake
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Dent
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Dent is located in Otter Tail County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dent
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 185 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dent <1>
  • Becker County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Carlisle, with the one closest to Carlisle listed first.
    • Cormorant
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Cormorant is located in Becker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cormorant
    • Bucks Mill
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Bucks Mill is located in Becker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bucks Mill
  • Clay County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Carlisle, with the one closest to Carlisle listed first.
    • Barnesville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Rollag
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Rollag is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rollag
    • Baker
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Baker is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baker
  • Douglas County
    • Melby
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Melby is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melby
  • Grant County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Carlisle, with the one closest to Carlisle listed first.
    • Wendell
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Ashby
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Elbow Lake
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Thorsborg
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Thorsborg is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorsborg
  • Traverse County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Carlisle, with the one closest to Carlisle listed first.
    • Tintah
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Tintah is located in Traverse County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tintah
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 56 people
    • Charlesville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Charlesville is located in Traverse County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlesville
  • Wilkin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Carlisle, with the one closest to Carlisle listed first.
    • Foxhome
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Foxhome is located in Wilkin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foxhome
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 112 people
    • Lawndale
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Lawndale is located in Wilkin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawndale
    • Doran
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Doran is located in Wilkin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doran
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 47 people
    • Breckenridge
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Campbell
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Campbell is located in Wilkin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 152 people
    • Nashua
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Nashua is located in Wilkin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nashua
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 66 people
    • Kent
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Kent is located in Wilkin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 72 people
    • Tenney
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Tenney is located in Wilkin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tenney
      • Estimated population in 2011: 5 people
    • Childs
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Childs is located in Wilkin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Childs
    • Wolverton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Wolverton is located in Wilkin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolverton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 129 people
  • Richland County (ND)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Carlisle, with the one closest to Carlisle listed first.
    • Wahpeton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Wahpeton is located in Richland County (ND)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wahpeton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,728 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wahpeton <1>
    • Abercrombie
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Dwight
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Dwight is located in Richland County (ND)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dwight
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 77 people
    • Fairmount
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Galchutt
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Galchutt is located in Richland County (ND)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galchutt

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

Cemeteries Near Carlisle ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Carlisle.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Carlisle, with the one closest to Carlisle 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 in 1895, Carlisle had a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Elizabeth
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • French
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • French is located in Otter Tail County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for French
  • Fergus Falls
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Rothsay
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Erhard
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Wall Lake
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Wall Lake is located in Otter Tail County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wall Lake
  • Edwards
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Edwards is located in Otter Tail County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwards
  • Everdell
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Everdell is located in Wilkin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Everdell
  • Parkdale
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Parkdale is located in Otter Tail County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkdale
  • Western
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Western is located in Otter Tail County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Western
  • Pelican Rapids
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Lawndale
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Lawndale is located in Wilkin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawndale
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Underwood
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Norwegian Grove
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Norwegian Grove is located in Otter Tail County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwegian Grove
    • Phelps
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Phelps is located in Otter Tail County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phelps

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

Newspapers Published in Carlisle ...

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 87 newspapers that have been published in the area around Carlisle.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Carlisle, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Carlisle.

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 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 Carlisle:

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 Carlisle, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Carlisle) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.