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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 Darfur (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 Darfur. 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 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.

Darfur is located in Watonwan 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 Watonwan County: Blue Earth, Brown, Cottonwood, Jackson & Martin.

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

  • Watonwan County     (The home county of Darfur)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Darfur, with the one closest to Darfur listed first.
    • Butterfield
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Butterfield is located in Watonwan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butterfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 582 people
    • Godahl
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Godahl is located in Watonwan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Godahl
    • Saint James
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • La Salle
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • La Salle is located in Watonwan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Salle
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 86 people
    • Odin
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Odin is located in Watonwan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Odin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 104 people
    • Grogan
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Grogan is located in Watonwan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grogan
    • Madelia
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Lewisville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Lewisville is located in Watonwan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewisville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 244 people
  • Blue Earth County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Darfur, with the one closest to Darfur listed first.
    • Lake Crystal
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Willow Creek
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Willow Creek is located in Blue Earth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Creek
  • Brown County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Darfur, with the one closest to Darfur listed first.
    • Comfrey
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Leavenworth
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Leavenworth is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leavenworth
    • Iberia
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Iberia is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iberia
    • Springfield
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Cobden
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Cobden is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobden
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 35 people
    • Sleepy Eye
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Hanska
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Evan
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Evan is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evan
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 84 people
    • Essig
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Searles
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Searles is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Searles
    • New Ulm
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Cottonwood County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Darfur, with the one closest to Darfur listed first.
    • Mountain Lake
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Bingham Lake
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Jeffers
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Jeffers is located in Cottonwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeffers
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 346 people
    • Windom
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Windom is located in Cottonwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windom
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,403 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Windom <1>
    • Storden
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Storden is located in Cottonwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Storden
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 204 people
    • Westbrook
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Jackson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Darfur, with the one closest to Darfur listed first.
    • Wilder
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Wilder is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilder
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 56 people
    • Alpha
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Alpha is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpha
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 119 people
    • Heron Lake
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Heron Lake is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heron Lake
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 643 people
    • Jackson
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Lakefield
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Martin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Darfur, with the one closest to Darfur listed first.
    • Ormsby
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Ormsby is located in Martin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ormsby
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 121 people
    • Trimont
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Truman
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Truman is located in Martin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Truman
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,028 people
    • Sherburn
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Northrop
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Welcome
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Nicollet County
    • Courtland
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Redwood County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Darfur, with the one closest to Darfur listed first.
    • Sanborn
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Lamberton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Morgan
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Morgan is located in Redwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 832 people
    • Clements
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Clements is located in Redwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clements
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 140 people
    • Wanda
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Revere
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Darfur ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Darfur.

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

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

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

  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Bethlehem Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Haseman Post Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • First Mennonite Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Salem Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Congregational Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Mennonite Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • West Sveadahl Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Faith Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Christian Reformed Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Butterfield Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Mennonite Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (151 more) ...
    • St. John's Lutheran Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • East Sveadahl Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Delton Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)

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>

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

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

  • Comfrey
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Butterfield
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Butterfield is located in Watonwan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butterfield
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 582 people
  • Mountain Lake
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Saint James
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Leavenworth
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Leavenworth is located in Brown County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leavenworth
  • Odin
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Odin is located in Watonwan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Odin
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 104 people
  • Bingham Lake
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Springfield
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Iberia
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Iberia is located in Brown County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iberia
  • Cobden
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Cobden is located in Brown County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobden
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 35 people
  • Grogan
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Grogan is located in Watonwan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grogan
  • Sleepy Eye
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Windom
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Windom is located in Cottonwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windom
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,403 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Windom <1>
    • South Branch
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • South Branch is located in Watonwan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Branch
    • Hanska
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)

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

Newspapers Published in Darfur ...

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 96 newspapers that have been published in the area around Darfur.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Darfur, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Darfur.

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 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 Darfur:

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