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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 Dawson (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 Dawson. 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 northwest 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 north.

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 north 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.

Dawson is located in Lac qui Parle 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 Lac qui Parle County: Big Stone, Chippewa, Swift, Yellow Medicine, Deuel (SD) & Grant (SD).

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

  • Lac qui Parle County     (The home county of Dawson)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dawson, with the one closest to Dawson listed first.
    • Providence
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Providence is located in Lac qui Parle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
    • Madison
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Madison is located in Lac qui Parle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madison
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,376 people
    • Boyd
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Boyd is located in Lac qui Parle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyd
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 154 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Boyd <1>
    • Louisburg
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Louisburg is located in Lac qui Parle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Louisburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 43 people
    • Bellingham
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Bellingham is located in Lac qui Parle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellingham
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 147 people
    • Marietta
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Marietta is located in Lac qui Parle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marietta
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 138 people
    • Nassau
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Nassau is located in Lac qui Parle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nassau
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 66 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nassau <1>
  • Big Stone County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dawson, with the one closest to Dawson listed first.
    • Correll
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Correll is located in Big Stone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Correll
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 31 people
    • Odessa
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Chippewa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dawson, with the one closest to Dawson listed first.
    • Watson
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Milan
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Montevideo
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Big Bend City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Big Bend City is located in Chippewa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Bend City
    • Maynard
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
  • Lyon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dawson, with the one closest to Dawson listed first.
    • Taunton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Minneota
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Cottonwood
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Ghent
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Swift County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dawson, with the one closest to Dawson listed first.
    • Appleton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Holloway
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Holloway is located in Swift County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holloway
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 85 people
    • Danvers
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Danvers is located in Swift County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danvers
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 89 people
  • Yellow Medicine County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dawson, with the one closest to Dawson listed first.
    • Saint Leo
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Saint Leo is located in Yellow Medicine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Leo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 90 people
    • Clarkfield
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Canby
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Canby is located in Yellow Medicine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canby
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,645 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Canby <1>
    • Porter
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Porter is located in Yellow Medicine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 164 people
    • Hazel Run
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Hazel Run is located in Yellow Medicine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazel Run
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 56 people
    • Granite Falls
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Hanley Falls
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Hanley Falls is located in Yellow Medicine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanley Falls
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 273 people
  • Deuel County (SD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dawson, with the one closest to Dawson listed first.
    • Gary
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Gary is located in Deuel County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gary
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 229 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gary <1>
    • Moritz
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Moritz is located in Deuel County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moritz
      • Estimated population in 2011: 13 people
  • Grant County (SD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dawson, with the one closest to Dawson listed first.
    • Albee
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Albee is located in Grant County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albee
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17 people
    • Revillo
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)

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

Cemeteries Near Dawson ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Dawson.

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

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

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

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 Dawson had a population of 418 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Dawson had a population of 1,378 people.

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

  • Providence
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Providence is located in Lac qui Parle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
  • Boyd
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Boyd is located in Lac qui Parle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyd
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 154 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Boyd <1>
  • Lac qui Parle
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Lac qui Parle is located in Lac qui Parle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lac qui Parle
  • Cerro Gordo
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Cerro Gordo is located in Lac qui Parle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cerro Gordo
  • Madison
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Madison is located in Lac qui Parle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madison
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,376 people
  • Watson
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Saint Leo
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Saint Leo is located in Yellow Medicine County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Leo
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 90 people
  • Milan
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Clarkfield
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Montevideo
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
  • Louisburg
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Louisburg is located in Lac qui Parle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Louisburg
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 43 people
  • Canby
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Canby is located in Yellow Medicine County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canby
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,645 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Canby <1>
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Appleton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Bellingham
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Bellingham is located in Lac qui Parle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellingham
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 147 people
    • Marietta
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Marietta is located in Lac qui Parle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marietta
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 138 people

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Dawson ...

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 81 newspapers that have been published in the area around Dawson.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Dawson. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Dawson and those printed in the larger area surrounding Dawson.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<4> of Dawson.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with 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 Dawson:

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