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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 Churchill (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 Churchill. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Churchill is located in Renville 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 Renville County: Brown, Chippewa, Kandiyohi, McLeod, Meeker, Nicollet, Redwood, Sibley & Yellow Medicine.

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

  • Renville County     (The home county of Churchill)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Churchill, with the one closest to Churchill listed first.
    • Hector
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Buffalo Lake
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Bird Island
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Olivia
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Fairfax
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Danube
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Franklin
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Morton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Renville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
  • Kandiyohi County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Churchill, with the one closest to Churchill listed first.
    • Lake Lillian
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Blomkest
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Blomkest is located in Kandiyohi County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blomkest
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 157 people
    • Svea
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Svea is located in Kandiyohi County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Svea
    • Atwater
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Roseland
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Roseland is located in Kandiyohi County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseland
    • Kandiyohi
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Kandiyohi is located in Kandiyohi County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kandiyohi
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 477 people
    • Prinsburg
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Prinsburg is located in Kandiyohi County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prinsburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 497 people
    • Willmar
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Wilmar
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Wilmar is located in Kandiyohi County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmar
    • Raymond
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • McLeod County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Churchill, with the one closest to Churchill listed first.
    • Stewart
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Stewart is located in McLeod County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stewart
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 533 people
    • Hutchinson
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Fernando
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Fernando is located in McLeod County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fernando
    • Brownton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Biscay
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Biscay is located in McLeod County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Biscay
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 109 people
    • Sumter
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Sumter is located in McLeod County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumter
    • Silver Lake
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Glencoe
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
  • Meeker County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Churchill, with the one closest to Churchill listed first.
    • Cosmos
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Cedar Mills
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Cedar Mills is located in Meeker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Mills
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 51 people
    • Rosendale
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Rosendale is located in Meeker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosendale
    • Litchfield
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Grove City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Darwin
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Dassel
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Forest City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Forest City is located in Meeker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest City
    • Manannah
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Manannah is located in Meeker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manannah
  • Nicollet County
    • Lafayette
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Redwood County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Churchill, with the one closest to Churchill listed first.
    • North Redwood
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • North Redwood is located in Redwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Redwood
    • Redwood Falls
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Delhi
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Delhi is located in Redwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delhi
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 63 people
    • Morgan
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Morgan is located in Redwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 832 people
  • Sibley County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Churchill, with the one closest to Churchill listed first.
    • Gibbon
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • New Auburn
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Winthrop
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Gaylord
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Wright County
    • Cokato
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Churchill ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Churchill.

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

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

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

  • Methodist Episcopal Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Brookfield Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Friends Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • St. Pauls Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Evangelical Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • St. John's Catholic Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Hector Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Zion Lutheran Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • St. Paul Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Preston Lake Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • United Church of Hope Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (208 more) ...
    • St. John's Lutheran Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Cosmos Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • St. John's Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 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.<3>

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

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

  • Hector
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Lakeside
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Lakeside is located in Renville County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeside
  • Buffalo Lake
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Cosmos
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Bird Island
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Stewart
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Stewart is located in McLeod County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stewart
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 533 people
  • Cedar Mills
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Cedar Mills is located in Meeker County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Mills
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 51 people
  • Lake Lillian
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Greenleaf
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Greenleaf is located in Meeker County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenleaf
  • Olivia
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
  • Hutchinson
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
  • Rosendale
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Rosendale is located in Meeker County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosendale
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Brownton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Biscay
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Biscay is located in McLeod County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Biscay
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 109 people
    • Fairfax
      (20 miles [32.2 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 Churchill. See our List of 1890's Communities around Churchill.

Newspapers Published in Churchill ...

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 Churchill.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Churchill, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Churchill.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Churchill:

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