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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 Dalton (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 Dalton. 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.

Dalton is located in Otter Tail 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 Otter Tail County: Becker, Clay, Douglas, Grant, Todd, Wadena & Wilkin.

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

  • Otter Tail County     (The home county of Dalton)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dalton, with the one closest to Dalton listed first.
    • Underwood
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Underwood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Underwood
      • Underwood is located in Otter Tail County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 364 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Underwood <2>
    • Fergus Falls
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Battle Lake
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Western
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Western have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Western
      • Western is located in Otter Tail County
    • Clitherall
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clitherall have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clitherall
      • Clitherall is located in Otter Tail County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 106 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clitherall <2>
    • Nirvana
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nirvana
      • Nirvana is located in Otter Tail County
    • Elizabeth
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • 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 <2>
    • Amor
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Amor have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amor
      • Amor is located in Otter Tail County
    • Urbank
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Urbank have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Urbank
      • Urbank is located in Otter Tail County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 52 people
    • Vining
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Edwards
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwards
      • Edwards is located in Otter Tail County
    • Erhard
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Erhard have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erhard
      • Erhard is located in Otter Tail County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 145 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Erhard <2>
    • Henning
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Henning have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henning
      • Henning is located in Otter Tail County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 806 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Henning <2>
  • Douglas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dalton, with the one closest to Dalton listed first.
    • Melby
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melby
      • Melby is located in Douglas County
    • Evansville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Millerville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Millerville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerville
      • Millerville is located in Douglas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 103 people
    • Brandon
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brandon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandon
      • Brandon is located in Douglas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 489 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brandon <2>
    • Garfield
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garfield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garfield
      • Garfield is located in Douglas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 349 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Garfield <2>
    • Kensington
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Holmes City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holmes City
      • Holmes City is located in Douglas County
  • Grant County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dalton, with the one closest to Dalton listed first.
    • Ashby
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ashby have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashby
      • Ashby is located in Grant County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 444 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ashby <2>
    • Elbow Lake
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Erdahl
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erdahl
      • Erdahl is located in Grant County
    • Wendell
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Barrett
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Barrett have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrett
      • Barrett is located in Grant County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 414 people
    • Hoffman
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Norcross
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • 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
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Herman have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herman
      • Herman is located in Grant County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 445 people
  • Traverse County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dalton, with the one closest to Dalton listed first.
    • Charlesville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Charlesville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlesville
      • Charlesville is located in Traverse County
    • Tintah
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tintah
      • Tintah is located in Traverse County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 56 people
  • Wilkin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dalton, with the one closest to Dalton listed first.
    • Nashua
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • 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
    • Foxhome
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • 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
    • Campbell
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • 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
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Doran have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doran
      • Doran is located in Wilkin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 47 people
    • Tenney
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • 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
    • Childs
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Childs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Childs
      • Childs is located in Wilkin County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Dalton ...

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 55 newspapers that have been published in the area around Dalton.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Dalton. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Dalton and those printed in the larger area surrounding Dalton.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<3> of Dalton.

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 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 Dalton:

Cemeteries Near Dalton ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Dalton.

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 Dalton covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Zion Lutheran Church Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Zion Lutheran Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Zion Lutheran Church Cemetery
  • Ten Mile Lake Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ten Mile Lake Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ten Mile Lake Cemetery
  • St. Olaf Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Olaf Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Olaf Cemetery
  • Sarpsborg Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sarpsborg Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sarpsborg Cemetery
  • Kvam Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Kvam Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Kvam Cemetery
  • Swan Lake Lutheran Church Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Swan Lake Lutheran Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Swan Lake Lutheran Church Cemetery
  • Evangelical Lutheran Rolling Prairie Congregational Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Hjerdal Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hjerdal Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hjerdal Cemetery
  • Lakeside Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lakeside Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lakeside Cemetery
  • Swan Lake Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Swan Lake Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Swan Lake Cemetery
  • Free Lutheran Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Free Lutheran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Free Lutheran Cemetery
  • Bethel Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bethel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bethel Cemetery
  • Continue List   (190 more) ...
    • Tordenskjold Free Mission Church Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Tordenskjold Free Mission Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Tordenskjold Free Mission Church Cemetery
    • Norwegian Methodist Episcopal Church Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Bethlehem Lutheran Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bethlehem Lutheran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bethlehem Lutheran Cemetery

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, Dalton had a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Dalton had a population of 248 people.

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

  • Parkdale
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Parkdale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkdale
    • Parkdale is located in Otter Tail County
  • Ashby
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ashby have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashby
    • Ashby is located in Grant County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 444 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ashby <2>
  • Wall Lake
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wall Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wall Lake
    • Wall Lake is located in Otter Tail County
  • Underwood
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Underwood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Underwood
    • Underwood is located in Otter Tail County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 364 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Underwood <2>
  • Fergus Falls
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Melby
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melby
    • Melby is located in Douglas County
  • Elbow Lake
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Battle Lake
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Western
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Western have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Western
    • Western is located in Otter Tail County
  • Wendell
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Thorsborg
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thorsborg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorsborg
    • Thorsborg is located in Grant County
  • Erdahl
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erdahl
    • Erdahl is located in Grant County
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Phelps
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Phelps have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phelps
      • Phelps is located in Otter Tail County
    • Evansville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Clitherall
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clitherall have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clitherall
      • Clitherall is located in Otter Tail County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 106 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clitherall <2>

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

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

The official website for Otter Tail County: www.co.otter-tail.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>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Dalton) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Dalton. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.1738, Longitude: -95.9157    
<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 Dalton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024