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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 Childs (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 Childs. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors 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.

Childs is located in Wilkin County.

To see how the shape of Minnesota's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Wilkin County: Clay, Grant, Otter Tail, Traverse, Cass (ND) & Richland (ND).

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

  • Wilkin County     (The home county of Childs)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Childs, with the one closest to Childs listed first.
    • Tenney
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tenney have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tenney
      • Tenney is located in Wilkin County
      • Estimated population in 2011: 5 people
    • Campbell
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Campbell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell
      • Campbell is located in Wilkin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 152 people
    • Doran
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Doran. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doran
      • Doran is located in Wilkin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 47 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Doran
      • From Childs to Doran
    • Nashua
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nashua have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nashua
      • Nashua is located in Wilkin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 66 people
    • Breckenridge
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Foxhome
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Foxhome have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foxhome
      • Foxhome is located in Wilkin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 112 people
    • Kent
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
  • Grant County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Childs, with the one closest to Childs listed first.
    • Wendell
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Norcross
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Norcross have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norcross
      • Norcross is located in Grant County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 71 people
    • Herman
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Elbow Lake
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
  • Otter Tail County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Childs, with the one closest to Childs listed first.
    • Western
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Western. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Western
      • Western is located in Otter Tail County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Western
      • From Childs to Western
    • Fergus Falls
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Elizabeth
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elizabeth have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elizabeth
      • Elizabeth is located in Otter Tail County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 170 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elizabeth <3>
    • Dalton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Rothsay
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rothsay have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rothsay
      • Rothsay is located in Otter Tail County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 476 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rothsay <3>
  • Traverse County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Childs, with the one closest to Childs listed first.
    • Tintah
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Charlesville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Wheaton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wheaton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheaton
      • Wheaton is located in Traverse County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,269 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wheaton <3>
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Wheaton
      • From Childs to Wheaton
    • Dumont
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dumont have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dumont
      • Dumont is located in Traverse County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 87 people
    • Collis
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Richland County (ND)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Childs, with the one closest to Childs listed first.
    • Fairmount
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Oswald
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Oswald. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oswald
      • Oswald is located in Richland County (ND)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Oswald
      • From Childs to Oswald
    • Wahpeton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wahpeton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wahpeton
      • Wahpeton is located in Richland County (ND)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,728 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wahpeton <3>
    • Great Bend
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Great Bend have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Great Bend
      • Great Bend is located in Richland County (ND)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 56 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Great Bend <3>
    • Hankinson
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Dwight
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Fairview Junction
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Mooreton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Mantador
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mantador have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mantador
      • Mantador is located in Richland County (ND)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 65 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mantador <3>
    • Galchutt
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Barney
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Barney have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barney
      • Barney is located in Richland County (ND)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 50 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Barney <3>
    • Abercrombie
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
  • Roberts County (SD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Childs, with the one closest to Childs listed first.
    • White Rock
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for White Rock have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Rock
      • White Rock is located in Roberts County (SD)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3 people
    • Rosholt
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rosholt have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosholt
      • Rosholt is located in Roberts County (SD)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 424 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rosholt <3>
    • New Effington
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Effington have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Effington
      • New Effington is located in Roberts County (SD)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 246 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for New Effington <3>
    • Hammer
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hammer have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hammer
      • Hammer is located in Roberts County (SD)
      • Estimated population in 2014: 241 people
    • Claire City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Claire City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claire City
      • Claire City is located in Roberts County (SD)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 74 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Claire City <3>

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

Cemeteries Near Childs ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Childs.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

  • Pleasant Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Calvary Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Calvary Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Fairmount Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fairmount Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fairmount Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sticklestad Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sticklestad Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sticklestad Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lake View Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lake View Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lake View Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Riverside Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Riverside Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Riverside Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Old Vikku Lutheran Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Vikku Lutheran Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Vikku Lutheran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Josephs Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Josephs Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Josephs Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Immanuel Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Immanuel Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Immanuel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Galls Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Galls Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Galls Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Riverside Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Riverside Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Riverside Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bohemian National Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bohemian National Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bohemian National Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (109 more) ...
    • Riverside Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Riverside Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Riverside Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Monson Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Monson Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Monson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Sharon Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sharon Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sharon Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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 in 1895, Childs had railroad service and no post office.

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

  • Fairmount
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Tenney
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tenney have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tenney
    • Tenney is located in Wilkin County
    • Estimated population in 2011: 5 people
  • Campbell
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Campbell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell
    • Campbell is located in Wilkin County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 152 people
  • Tyler
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tyler have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyler
    • Tyler is located in Richland County (ND)
  • Doran
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Doran. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doran
    • Doran is located in Wilkin County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 47 people
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Doran
    • From Childs to Doran
  • White Rock
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for White Rock have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Rock
    • White Rock is located in Roberts County (SD)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3 people
  • Sonora
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sonora have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sonora
    • Sonora is located in Richland County (ND)
  • Oswald
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Oswald. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oswald
    • Oswald is located in Richland County (ND)
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Oswald
    • From Childs to Oswald
  • Tintah
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Breckenridge
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Wahpeton
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wahpeton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wahpeton
    • Wahpeton is located in Richland County (ND)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,728 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wahpeton <3>
  • Great Bend
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Great Bend have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Great Bend
    • Great Bend is located in Richland County (ND)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 56 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Great Bend <3>
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Everdell
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Everdell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Everdell
      • Everdell is located in Wilkin County
    • Wheaton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wheaton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheaton
      • Wheaton is located in Traverse County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,269 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wheaton <3>
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Wheaton
      • From Childs to Wheaton
    • Western
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Western. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Western
      • Western is located in Otter Tail County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Western
      • From Childs to Western

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

Newspapers Published in Childs ...

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 38 newspapers that have been published in the area around Childs.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Childs, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Childs.

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 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 Childs:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Childs. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Wilkin County: www.co.wilkin.mn.us/

The official website for State of Minnesota: https://mn.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<2>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Childs, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Childs) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Childs. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.0654, Longitude: -96.5343       In this case, the coordinates for Childs have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025