RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Minnesota >> Otter Tail County >> Edwards >> Genealogy HelperIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
Minnesota

The Commemorative Quarter for Minnesota





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 Edwards (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 Edwards. 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 and doctors 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.

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

  • Otter Tail County     (The home county of Edwards)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Edwards, with the one closest to Edwards listed first.
    • Erhard
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • 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>
    • Maine
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • 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
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Maine
      • From Edwards to Maine
    • Elizabeth
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • 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>
    • Pelican Rapids
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Amor
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • 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
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Amor
      • From Edwards to Amor
    • Fergus Falls
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Underwood
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • 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>
    • Dent
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dent have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dent
      • Dent is located in Otter Tail County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 185 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dent <2>
    • Rothsay
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rothsay have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rothsay
      • Rothsay is located in Otter Tail County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 476 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rothsay <2>
    • Vergas
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • 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>
    • Richville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • 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>
    • Battle Lake
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Dalton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
  • Becker County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Edwards, with the one closest to Edwards listed first.
    • Bucks Mill
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • 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
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Bucks Mill
      • From Edwards to Bucks Mill
    • Cormorant
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Frazee
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • 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>
    • Detroit Lakes
      (25 miles [40.2 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>
    • Audubon
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Lake Park
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • 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
    • The following are listed by their distance from Edwards, with the one closest to Edwards listed first.
    • Rollag
      (23 miles [37 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
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Rollag
      • From Edwards to Rollag
    • Barnesville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
  • Douglas County
  • Grant County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Edwards, with the one closest to Edwards listed first.
    • Ashby
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • 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>
    • Wendell
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Wilkin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Edwards, with the one closest to Edwards listed first.
    • Lawndale
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • 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
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Lawndale
      • From Edwards to Lawndale
    • Foxhome
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • 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
    • Doran
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Doran. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doran
      • Doran is located in Wilkin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 47 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Doran
      • From Edwards to Doran

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

Cemeteries Near Edwards ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Edwards.

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

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

  • Tonseth Lutheran Church Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Tonseth Lutheran Church Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Tonseth Lutheran Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lake Lida Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lake Lida Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lake Lida Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Paul Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • 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.
  • Maplewood Lutheran Church Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Immanuel Lutheran Church Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Immanuel Lutheran Church Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Immanuel Lutheran Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Scandinavian Christian Mission Church Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Scandinavian Christian Mission Church Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Scandinavian Christian Mission Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Stavanger Lutheran Church Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Stavanger Lutheran Church Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Stavanger Lutheran Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Swedish Baptist Church Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Swedish Baptist Church Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Swedish Baptist Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Central Swede Grove Lutheran Church Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Central Swede Grove Lutheran Church Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Central Swede Grove Lutheran Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bagstevold Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bagstevold Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bagstevold Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Zion Elizabeth Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Zion Elizabeth Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Zion Elizabeth Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • German Evangelical Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the German Evangelical Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the German Evangelical Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (194 more) ...
    • Evangelical Lutheran Kirchof Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Evangelical Lutheran Kirchof Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Evangelical Lutheran Kirchof Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Vang Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Vang Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Vang Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Tingvold Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Tingvold Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Tingvold 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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Edwards had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Erhard
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • 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>
  • Elizabeth
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • 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>
  • Maine
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • 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
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Maine
    • From Edwards to Maine
  • Phelps
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • 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
  • Pelican Rapids
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Wall Lake
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • 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
  • Carlisle
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carlisle have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlisle
    • Carlisle is located in Otter Tail County
  • Amor
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • 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
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Amor
    • From Edwards to Amor
  • Fergus Falls
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Underwood
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • 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>
  • Parkdale
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • 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
  • Rothsay
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rothsay have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rothsay
    • Rothsay is located in Otter Tail County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 476 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rothsay <2>
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • French
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for French have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for French
      • French is located in Otter Tail County
    • Norwegian Grove
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Norwegian Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwegian Grove
      • Norwegian Grove is located in Otter Tail County
    • Battle Lake
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Edwards ...

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 77 newspapers that have been published in the area around Edwards.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Edwards, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Edwards.

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 professional and volunteer 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 Edwards:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Edwards. 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>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<4>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.
<5>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 Edwards, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Edwards) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Edwards. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.4488, Longitude: -95.9889    









 

Copyright 2025
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025