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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 Clontarf (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 Clontarf. 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 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.

Clontarf is located in Swift 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 Swift County: Big Stone, Chippewa, Kandiyohi, Lac qui Parle, Pope & Stevens.

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

  • Swift County     (The home county of Clontarf)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clontarf, with the one closest to Clontarf listed first.
    • Benson
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Danvers
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Danvers is located in Swift County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danvers
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 89 people
    • Swift Falls
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Swift Falls is located in Swift County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swift Falls
    • De Graff
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • De Graff is located in Swift County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Graff
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 120 people
    • Holloway
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Holloway is located in Swift County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holloway
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 85 people
    • Murdock
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Murdock is located in Swift County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murdock
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 260 people
    • Appleton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Kerkhoven
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Big Stone County
    • Correll
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Correll is located in Big Stone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Correll
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 31 people
  • Chippewa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clontarf, with the one closest to Clontarf listed first.
    • Big Bend City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Big Bend City is located in Chippewa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Bend City
    • Milan
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Watson
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Montevideo
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Douglas County
    • Kensington
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
  • Kandiyohi County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clontarf, with the one closest to Clontarf listed first.
    • Sunburg
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Sunburg is located in Kandiyohi County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 99 people
    • Pennock
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Pennock is located in Kandiyohi County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennock
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 509 people
  • Lac qui Parle County
    • Louisburg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Louisburg is located in Lac qui Parle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Louisburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 43 people
  • Pope County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clontarf, with the one closest to Clontarf listed first.
    • Cyrus
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • New Prairie ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • New Prairie is located in Pope County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Prairie
    • Starbuck
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Long Beach
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Long Beach is located in Pope County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Beach
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 417 people
    • Lowry
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Glenwood
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Sedan
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Sedan is located in Pope County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedan
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 50 people
    • Farwell
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Farwell is located in Pope County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farwell
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 52 people
    • Grove Lake
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Grove Lake is located in Pope County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove Lake
    • Villard
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Stearns County
    • Brooten
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Brooten is located in Stearns County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooten
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 750 people
  • Stevens County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clontarf, with the one closest to Clontarf listed first.
    • Hancock
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Morris
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Alberta
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Alberta is located in Stevens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alberta
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 102 people
    • Chokio
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Donnelly
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Donnelly is located in Stevens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donnelly
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 233 people

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

Cemeteries Near Clontarf ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Clontarf.

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

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

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

  • St. Malachy Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Erickson Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Benson City Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • St. Francis Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Our Redeemer Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Lake Hazel Lutheran Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • West Zion Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Six Mile Grove Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Ellerson - Mortenson Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Lake Emily Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Trinity Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • East Zion Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (146 more) ...
    • St. John's Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • St. Pauli Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Lakeside Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)

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 Clontarf had a population of 45 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Clontarf had a population of 158 people.

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

  • Benson
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Danvers
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Danvers is located in Swift County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danvers
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 89 people
  • Hancock
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • De Graff
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • De Graff is located in Swift County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Graff
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 120 people
  • Swift Falls
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Swift Falls is located in Swift County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swift Falls
  • Holloway
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Holloway is located in Swift County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holloway
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 85 people
  • Fairfield
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Fairfield is located in Swift County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield
  • Cyrus
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
  • Hagan
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Hagan is located in Chippewa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hagan
  • Murdock
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Murdock is located in Swift County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murdock
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 260 people
  • Starbuck
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Morris
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Terrace
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Terrace is located in Pope County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terrace
    • Appleton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Milan
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Clontarf ...

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 73 newspapers that have been published in the area around Clontarf.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Clontarf, 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 Clontarf.

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 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 Clontarf:

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 Clontarf, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Clontarf) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.