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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 Clarissa (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 Clarissa. 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 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.

Clarissa is located in Todd 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 Todd County: Douglas, Morrison, Otter Tail, Stearns & Wadena.

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

  • Todd County     (The home county of Clarissa)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clarissa, with the one closest to Clarissa listed first.
    • Eagle Bend
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Browerville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Browerville is located in Todd County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browerville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 744 people
    • Clotho
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Clotho is located in Todd County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clotho
    • Bertha
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Long Prairie
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Philbrook
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Philbrook is located in Todd County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Philbrook
    • Hewitt
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Hewitt is located in Todd County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hewitt
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 260 people
    • Staples
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Pillsbury
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Pillsbury is located in Todd County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pillsbury
    • Burtrum
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • West Union
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • West Union is located in Todd County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Union
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 123 people
    • Grey Eagle
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
  • Cass County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clarissa, with the one closest to Clarissa listed first.
    • Pillager
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Ellis
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Ellis is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellis
  • Crow Wing County
    • Fort Ripley
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
  • Douglas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clarissa, with the one closest to Clarissa listed first.
    • Rose City
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Rose City is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose City
    • Belle River
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Belle River is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle River
    • Miltona
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Carlos
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Osakis
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Nelson
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Nelson is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nelson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 192 people
    • Alexandria
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Garfield
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Millerville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Millerville is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 103 people
    • Forada
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Morrison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clarissa, with the one closest to Clarissa listed first.
    • Lincoln
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Lincoln is located in Morrison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln
    • Cushing
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Motley
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Swanville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Randall
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Flensburg
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Flensburg is located in Morrison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flensburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 223 people
    • Sobieski
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Sobieski is located in Morrison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sobieski
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 194 people
    • Upsala
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Elmdale
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Elmdale is located in Morrison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmdale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 116 people
    • Belle Prairie
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Belle Prairie is located in Morrison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Prairie
    • Little Falls
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Otter Tail County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clarissa, with the one closest to Clarissa listed first.
    • Parkers Prairie
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Wadena
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Wadena is located in Otter Tail County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wadena
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,121 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wadena <1>
    • Deer Creek
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Deer Creek is located in Otter Tail County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Creek
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 321 people
    • Urbank
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Urbank is located in Otter Tail County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Urbank
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 52 people
    • Bluffton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Bluffton is located in Otter Tail County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluffton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 216 people
    • Henning
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Vining
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Pope County
    • Westport
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Westport is located in Pope County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westport
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 61 people
  • Stearns County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clarissa, with the one closest to Clarissa listed first.
    • Sauk Centre
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Saint Rosa
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Saint Rosa is located in Stearns County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Rosa
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 71 people
  • Wadena County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clarissa, with the one closest to Clarissa listed first.
    • Aldrich
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Aldrich is located in Wadena County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aldrich
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 46 people
    • Verndale
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)

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

Cemeteries Near Clarissa ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Clarissa.

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

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

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

  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Woodmans Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • St. Joseph Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Deer Park Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Matthews Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Freemans Creek Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Bethlehem Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Eagle Bend Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Freemans Creek Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Swedish Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Hope Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (179 more) ...
    • German Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Weitemier Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Zoar Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Clarissa had a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Clarissa had a population of 651 people.

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

  • Eagle Bend
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Browerville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Browerville is located in Todd County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browerville
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 744 people
  • Clotho
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Clotho is located in Todd County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clotho
  • Bertha
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Long Prairie
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Round Prairie
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Round Prairie is located in Todd County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Prairie
  • Hewitt
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Hewitt is located in Todd County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hewitt
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 260 people
  • Lincoln
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Lincoln is located in Morrison County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln
  • Philbrook
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Philbrook is located in Todd County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Philbrook
  • Wrightstown
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Wrightstown is located in Otter Tail County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wrightstown
  • Belle River
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Belle River is located in Douglas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle River
  • Aldrich
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Aldrich is located in Wadena County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aldrich
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 46 people
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Miltona
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Cushing
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Staples
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Clarissa ...

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 74 newspapers that have been published in the area around Clarissa.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Clarissa. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Clarissa and those printed in the larger area surrounding Clarissa.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3> of Clarissa.

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 websites either 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 Clarissa:

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 Clarissa, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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 from Point A (ie- Clarissa) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.