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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 Dell (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 Dell. 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 northeast 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 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 east 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.

Dell is located in Faribault 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 Faribault County: Kossuth (IA), Winnebago (IA), Blue Earth, Freeborn, Martin & Waseca.

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

  • Faribault County     (The home county of Dell)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dell, with the one closest to Dell listed first.
    • Frost
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Frost is located in Faribault County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frost
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 181 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Frost <1>
    • Bricelyn
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Bricelyn is located in Faribault County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bricelyn
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 334 people
    • Easton
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Easton is located in Faribault County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 183 people
    • Blue Earth
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Delavan
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Delavan is located in Faribault County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delavan
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 166 people
    • Kiester
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Elmore
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Elmore is located in Faribault County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmore
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 613 people
    • Walters
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Walters is located in Faribault County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walters
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
    • Wells
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Wells is located in Faribault County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wells
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,157 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wells <1>
    • Minnesota Lake
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Winnebago
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Huntley
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Blue Earth County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dell, with the one closest to Dell listed first.
    • Mapleton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Amboy
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Willow Creek
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Beauford
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Vernon Center
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Vernon Center is located in Blue Earth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vernon Center
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 313 people
    • Good Thunder
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Pemberton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Pemberton is located in Blue Earth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pemberton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 241 people
  • Freeborn County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dell, with the one closest to Dell listed first.
    • Alden
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Conger
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Conger is located in Freeborn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conger
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 144 people
    • Freeborn
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Emmons
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Emmons is located in Freeborn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmons
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 380 people
    • Manchester
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Manchester is located in Freeborn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manchester
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 55 people
    • Twin Lakes
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Hartland
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Hartland is located in Freeborn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 307 people
    • Albert Lea
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Bath
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Clarks Grove
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Martin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dell, with the one closest to Dell listed first.
    • Granada
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Fairmont
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Northrop
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Truman
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Truman is located in Martin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Truman
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,028 people
  • Waseca County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dell, with the one closest to Dell listed first.
    • Waldorf
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Waldorf is located in Waseca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldorf
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 224 people
    • Alma City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • New Richland
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Hancock County (IA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dell, with the one closest to Dell listed first.
    • Woden
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Crystal Lake
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Crystal Lake is located in Hancock County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Lake
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 228 people
  • Kossuth County (IA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dell, with the one closest to Dell listed first.
    • Ledyard
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Lakota
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Lakota is located in Kossuth County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakota
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 275 people
    • Gerled
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • German Valley
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Swea City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Titonka
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Titonka is located in Kossuth County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Titonka
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 433 people
    • Bancroft
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Winnebago County (IA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dell, with the one closest to Dell listed first.
    • Rake
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Rake is located in Winnebago County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rake
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
    • Vinje
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Buffalo Center
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Thompson
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Thompson is located in Winnebago County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 466 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Thompson <1>
    • Scarville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Lake Mills
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Leland
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Forest City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Worth County (IA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dell, with the one closest to Dell listed first.
    • Bristol
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Silver Lake
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Joice
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Joice is located in Worth County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joice
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 209 people

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

Cemeteries Near Dell ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Dell.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Dell, with the one closest to Dell 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 in 1895, Dell had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Rake
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Rake is located in Winnebago County (IA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rake
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
  • Easton
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Easton is located in Faribault County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easton
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 183 people
  • Blue Earth
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Elmore
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Elmore is located in Faribault County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmore
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 613 people
  • Kiester
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Delavan
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Delavan is located in Faribault County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delavan
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 166 people
  • Amund
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Amund is located in Winnebago County (IA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amund
  • Mansfield
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Mansfield is located in Freeborn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mansfield
  • Minnesota Lake
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
  • Winnebago
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Pilot Grove
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Pilot Grove is located in Faribault County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilot Grove
  • Buffalo Center
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (18 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in Dell ...

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 119 newspapers that have been published in the area around Dell.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Dell, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Dell.

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 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 Dell:

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