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 Dent (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 Dent. 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 and doctors 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.

Dent 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 Dent. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Dent:

• Otter Tail County     (The home county of Dent)
  • The following are listed by their distance from Dent, with the one closest to Dent listed first.
  • Richville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Richville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richville
    • Richville is located in Otter Tail County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Richville <2>
  • Perham
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Perham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perham
    • Perham is located in Otter Tail County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,638 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Perham <2>
  • Vergas
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vergas have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vergas
    • Vergas is located in Otter Tail County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 354 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vergas <2>
  • Amor
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Amor. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amor
    • Amor is located in Otter Tail County
  • Maine
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Maine. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maine
    • Maine is located in Otter Tail County
  • Ottertail
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ottertail have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ottertail
    • Ottertail is located in Otter Tail County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 660 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ottertail <2>
  • Edwards
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwards
    • Edwards is located in Otter Tail County
  • Leaf City
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Leaf City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leaf City
    • Leaf City is located in Otter Tail County
  • New York Mills
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New York Mills
    • New York Mills is located in Otter Tail County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,220 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for New York Mills <2>
  • Pelican Rapids
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pelican Rapids
    • Pelican Rapids is located in Otter Tail County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,634 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pelican Rapids <2>
  • Battle Lake
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Battle Lake
    • Battle Lake is located in Otter Tail County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 929 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Battle Lake <2>
  • Erhard
    (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • 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>
  • Clitherall
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • 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>
• Becker County
  • The following are listed by their distance from Dent, with the one closest to Dent listed first.
  • Frazee
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Frazee have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frazee
    • Frazee is located in Becker County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,381 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Frazee <2>
  • Bucks Mill
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bucks Mill. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bucks Mill
    • Bucks Mill is located in Becker County
  • Detroit Lakes
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Detroit Lakes have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Detroit Lakes
    • Detroit Lakes is located in Becker County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,255 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Detroit Lakes <2>
  • Evergreen
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen
    • Evergreen is located in Becker County
  • Cormorant
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cormorant
    • Cormorant is located in Becker County
  • Rochert
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rochert have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochert
    • Rochert is located in Becker County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rochert <2>
  • Wolf Lake
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wolf Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Lake
    • Wolf Lake is located in Becker County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 55 people
  • Audubon
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Audubon
    • Audubon is located in Becker County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 517 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Audubon <2>
  • Richwood
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Richwood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richwood
    • Richwood is located in Becker County
  • Lake Park
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Park
    • Lake Park is located in Becker County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 787 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lake Park <2>
• Clay County
  • Rollag
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rollag. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rollag
    • Rollag is located in Clay County
• Wadena County
  • Sebeka
    (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sebeka have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sebeka
    • Sebeka is located in Wadena County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 668 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sebeka <2>
• Wilkin County
  • Lawndale
    (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lawndale. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawndale
    • Lawndale is located in Wilkin County

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

Cemeteries Near Dent ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Dent.

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

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

• Pleasant Hill Cemetery
  (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Hill Cemetery
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
• Sacred Heart Cemetery
  (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sacred Heart Cemetery
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sacred Heart Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
• Immanuel Cemetery
  (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Immanuel Cemetery
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Immanuel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
• Pleasant Hill Cemetery
  (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Hill Cemetery
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
• Richville Cemetery
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Richville Cemetery
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Richville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
• St. Joseph Cemetery
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Joseph Cemetery
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Joseph Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
• Weimann Community Cemetery
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Weimann Community Cemetery
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Weimann Community Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
• St. Johns Cemetery
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Johns Cemetery
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Johns Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
• Sybil Lake Cemetery
  (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sybil Lake Cemetery
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sybil Lake Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
• Flatau Cemetery
  (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Flatau Cemetery
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Flatau Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
• St. Paul Cemetery
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Paul Cemetery
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Paul Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
• Memorial Cemetery
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Memorial Cemetery
• Continue List   (214 more) ...
  • Sacred Heart Catholic Church Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sacred Heart Catholic Church Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sacred Heart Catholic Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Stanislaus Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Stanislaus Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Stanislaus Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Henry Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Henry Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Henry Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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>

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

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

• Perham
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Perham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perham
  • Perham is located in Otter Tail County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,638 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Perham <2>
• Luce
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Luce have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luce
  • Luce is located in Otter Tail County
• Amor
  (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Amor. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amor
  • Amor is located in Otter Tail County
• Maine
  (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Maine. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maine
  • Maine is located in Otter Tail County
• Ottertail
  (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ottertail have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ottertail
  • Ottertail is located in Otter Tail County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 660 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ottertail <2>
• Phelps
  (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • 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
• Frazee
  (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Frazee have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frazee
  • Frazee is located in Becker County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,381 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Frazee <2>
• Edwards
  (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwards
  • Edwards is located in Otter Tail County
• Bucks Mill
  (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bucks Mill. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bucks Mill
  • Bucks Mill is located in Becker County
• New York Mills
  (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New York Mills
  • New York Mills is located in Otter Tail County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,220 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for New York Mills <2>
• Pelican Rapids
  (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pelican Rapids
  • Pelican Rapids is located in Otter Tail County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,634 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pelican Rapids <2>
• Erhard
  (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
  • 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>
• Continue List   (13 more) ...
  • Battle Lake
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Battle Lake
    • Battle Lake is located in Otter Tail County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 929 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Battle Lake <2>
  • Underwood
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • 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>
  • Clitherall
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • 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 Dent. See our List of 1890's Communities around Dent.

Newspapers Published in Dent ...

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 30 newspapers that have been published in the area around Dent.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Dent, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Dent.

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 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 Dent:

• Websites specific to Minnesota
  • Jump to Cyndi's List
  • Jump to Family Search
  • Jump to Genealogy Trails
  • Website for the Minnesota State Archives

• Pages specific to Otter Tail County
  • Jump to Cyndi's List
  • Jump to Family Search
  • Jump to Genealogy Trails

• Genealogy information for nearby counties
  • Becker County
    • Jump to Cyndi's List
    • Jump to Family Search
    • Jump to Genealogy Trails
  • Clay County
    • Jump to Cyndi's List
    • Jump to Family Search
    • Jump to Genealogy Trails
  • Wadena County
    • Jump to Cyndi's List
    • Jump to Family Search
    • Jump to Genealogy Trails
  • Wilkin County
    • Jump to Cyndi's List
    • Jump to Family Search
    • Jump to Genealogy Trails

• Cemetery Information and Directories for Minnesota
  • Cemetery Junction: Cemeteries of Minnesota
  • Cyndi's List
  • Cemeteries of Minnesota
  • Cemeteries of Otter Tail County
  • FamilySearch.org: Cemeteries of Minnesota
  • Find-A-Grave: Home Page
  • Interment.net
  • Cemeteries of Minnesota

Off-the-Road Links ...

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Dent. 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/