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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 Comus (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 Comus. 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 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.

Comus is located in Rice 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 Rice County: Dakota, Dodge, Goodhue, Le Sueur, Scott, Steele & Waseca.

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

  • Rice County     (The home county of Comus)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Comus, with the one closest to Comus listed first.
    • Dundas
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Millersburg
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Millersburg is located in Rice County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millersburg
    • Cannon City
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Cannon City is located in Rice County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannon City
    • Northfield
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Faribault
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Nerstrand
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Trondjem
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Trondjem is located in Rice County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trondjem
    • Lonsdale
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Webster
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Walcott
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Walcott is located in Rice County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walcott
    • Warsaw
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Warsaw is located in Rice County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warsaw
    • Wheatland
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Wheatland is located in Rice County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheatland
  • Blue Earth County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Comus, with the one closest to Comus listed first.
    • Madison Lake
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Smiths Mill
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Smiths Mill is located in Blue Earth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smiths Mill
  • Dakota County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Comus, with the one closest to Comus listed first.
    • Waterford
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Waterford is located in Dakota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterford
    • Castle Rock
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Castle Rock is located in Dakota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castle Rock
    • Eureka Center
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Eureka Center is located in Dakota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka Center
    • Randolph
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Randolph is located in Dakota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randolph
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 444 people
    • Farmington
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Lakeville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Hampton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • New Trier
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • New Trier is located in Dakota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Trier
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 106 people
    • Vermillion
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Apple Valley
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Coates
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Coates is located in Dakota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coates
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 155 people
    • Burnsville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
  • Dodge County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Comus, with the one closest to Comus listed first.
    • West Concord
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Claremont
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Concord
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Concord is located in Dodge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
  • Goodhue County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Comus, with the one closest to Comus listed first.
    • Dennison
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Wangs
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Wangs is located in Goodhue County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wangs
    • Stanton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Stanton is located in Goodhue County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanton
    • Kenyon
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Cannon Falls
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Hader
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Hader is located in Goodhue County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hader
    • Wanamingo
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Belle Creek
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Belle Creek is located in Goodhue County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Creek
    • White Rock
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • White Rock is located in Goodhue County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Rock
    • Roscoe
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Roscoe is located in Goodhue County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roscoe
    • Welch
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Zumbrota
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Le Sueur County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Comus, with the one closest to Comus listed first.
    • Kilkenny
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Montgomery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Waterville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Heidelberg
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Heidelberg is located in Le Sueur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heidelberg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 122 people
    • Cordova
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Cordova is located in Le Sueur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cordova
    • Lexington
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Lexington is located in Le Sueur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lexington
    • Le Center
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Saint Thomas
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Saint Thomas is located in Le Sueur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Thomas
    • Greenland
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Greenland is located in Le Sueur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenland
    • Cleveland
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Marysburg
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Marysburg is located in Le Sueur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marysburg
  • Scott County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Comus, with the one closest to Comus listed first.
    • Elko
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Elko New Market
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Elko New Market is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elko New Market
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,733 people
    • New Market
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Cedar Lake
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Cedar Lake is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Lake
    • Saint Patrick
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Saint Patrick is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Patrick
    • New Prague
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Credit River
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Credit River is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Credit River
    • Union Hill
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Union Hill is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Hill
    • Prior Lake
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Savage
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Jordan
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Marystown
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Marystown is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marystown
  • Steele County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Comus, with the one closest to Comus listed first.
    • Medford
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Medford is located in Steele County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,255 people
    • Owatonna
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Rice Lake
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Rice Lake is located in Steele County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rice Lake
    • Havana
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Havana is located in Steele County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Havana
    • Pratt
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Pratt is located in Steele County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pratt
    • Steele Center
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Steele Center is located in Steele County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steele Center
    • Hope
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Hope is located in Steele County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope
    • River Point
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • River Point is located in Steele County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Point
  • Waseca County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Comus, with the one closest to Comus listed first.
    • Palmer
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Palmer is located in Waseca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmer
    • Elysian
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Waseca
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Janesville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Wilton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Wilton is located in Waseca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilton

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

Cemeteries Near Comus ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Comus.

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

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

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

  • Oak Grove Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Oak Ridge Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Ridge Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Oak Ridge Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the north of Faribault.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #82928 <2>
  • St. Lawrence Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Forest Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Rolling Green Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Maple Lawn Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Meadow Ridge Memorial Park
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Oak Lawn Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Woodman Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (255 more) ...
    • Prairie Creek Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Denison Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Nerstrand Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)

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 Comus in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Comus.

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

  • Dundas
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Millersburg
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Millersburg is located in Rice County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millersburg
  • Faribault
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Northfield
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Shieldsville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Shieldsville is located in Rice County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shieldsville
  • Waterford
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Waterford is located in Dakota County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterford
  • Nerstrand
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Trondjem
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Trondjem is located in Rice County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trondjem
  • Hazelwood
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Hazelwood is located in Rice County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazelwood
  • Dennison
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Warsaw
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Warsaw is located in Rice County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warsaw
  • Walcott
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Walcott is located in Rice County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walcott
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Webster
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Castle Rock
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Castle Rock is located in Dakota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castle Rock
    • Wheatland
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Wheatland is located in Rice County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheatland

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

Newspapers Published in Comus ...

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 169 newspapers that have been published in the area around Comus.

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

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Comus:

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 Comus, 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- Comus) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.