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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 Erskine (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 Erskine. 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 and doctors 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.

Erskine is located in Polk 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 Polk County: Clearwater, Mahnomen, Marshall, Norman, Pennington, Red Lake, Grand Forks (ND) & Traill (ND).

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

  • Polk County     (The home county of Erskine)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Erskine, with the one closest to Erskine listed first.
    • McIntosh
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McIntosh have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McIntosh
      • McIntosh is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 596 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for McIntosh <2>
    • Mentor
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mentor have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mentor
      • Mentor is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 147 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mentor <2>
    • Winger
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Winger have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winger
      • Winger is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 208 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Winger <2>
    • Dugdale
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Fosston
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Fertile
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Trail
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Trail have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trail
      • Trail is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 46 people
    • Melvin
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Gully
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gully have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gully
      • Gully is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 66 people
    • Lengby
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lengby have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lengby
      • Lengby is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 86 people
    • Gentilly
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Beltrami
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beltrami have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beltrami
      • Beltrami is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 99 people
    • Crookston
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
  • Clearwater County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Erskine, with the one closest to Erskine listed first.
    • Gonvick
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gonvick have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gonvick
      • Gonvick is located in Clearwater County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 285 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gonvick <2>
    • Clearbrook
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clearbrook have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clearbrook
      • Clearbrook is located in Clearwater County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 535 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clearbrook <2>
    • Bagley
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bagley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bagley
      • Bagley is located in Clearwater County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,439 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bagley <2>
    • Rice Lake
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rice Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rice Lake
      • Rice Lake is located in Clearwater County
  • Mahnomen County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Erskine, with the one closest to Erskine listed first.
    • Bejou
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bejou have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bejou
      • Bejou is located in Mahnomen County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 90 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bejou <2>
    • Mahnomen
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mahnomen have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mahnomen
      • Mahnomen is located in Mahnomen County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,220 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mahnomen <2>
  • Norman County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Erskine, with the one closest to Erskine listed first.
    • Rindal
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rindal. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rindal
      • Rindal is located in Norman County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Rindal
      • From Erskine to Rindal
    • Flaming
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Flaming. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flaming
      • Flaming is located in Norman County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Flaming
      • From Erskine to Flaming
    • Gary
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gary have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gary
      • Gary is located in Norman County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 201 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gary <2>
    • Faith
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Twin Valley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Twin Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Valley
      • Twin Valley is located in Norman County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 750 people
  • Pennington County
    • Saint Hilaire
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Hilaire have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Hilaire
      • Saint Hilaire is located in Pennington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 258 people
  • Red Lake County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Erskine, with the one closest to Erskine listed first.
    • Brooks
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brooks have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooks
      • Brooks is located in Red Lake County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 136 people
    • Oklee
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oklee have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oklee
      • Oklee is located in Red Lake County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 428 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oklee <2>
    • Plummer
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plummer have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plummer
      • Plummer is located in Red Lake County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 289 people
    • Red Lake Falls
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Red Lake Falls have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Lake Falls
      • Red Lake Falls is located in Red Lake County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,409 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Red Lake Falls <2>
    • Dorothy
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Dorothy. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorothy
      • Dorothy is located in Red Lake County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Dorothy
      • From Erskine to Dorothy

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

Cemeteries Near Erskine ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Erskine.

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

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

  • Synod Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Synod Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Synod Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Fairview Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fairview Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fairview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pioneer Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pioneer Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pioneer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Salem Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Salem Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Salem Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Broderheim Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Broderheim Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Broderheim Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Rodnes Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rodnes Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rodnes Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bailey Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bailey Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bailey Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Gosen Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gosen Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gosen Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Saron Lutheran Church Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Dovre Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dovre Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dovre Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sorum Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sorum Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sorum Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • 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.
  • Continue List   (157 more) ...
    • Lima Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • St. Lukes Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Lukes Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Lukes Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Olivet Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Olivet Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Olivet 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, Erskine had a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Erskine had a population of 467 people.

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

  • McIntosh
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McIntosh have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McIntosh
    • McIntosh is located in Polk County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 596 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for McIntosh <2>
  • Mentor
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mentor have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mentor
    • Mentor is located in Polk County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 147 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mentor <2>
  • Winger
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Winger have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winger
    • Winger is located in Polk County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 208 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Winger <2>
  • Maple Bay
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maple Bay have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Bay
    • Maple Bay is located in Polk County
  • Rindal
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rindal. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rindal
    • Rindal is located in Norman County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Rindal
    • From Erskine to Rindal
  • Dugdale
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Fosston
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Fertile
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Olga
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Olga have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olga
    • Olga is located in Polk County
  • Melvin
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
  • Benoit
    (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Benoit have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benoit
    • Benoit is located in Polk County
  • Gentilly
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (8 more) ...
    • Gary
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gary have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gary
      • Gary is located in Norman County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 201 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gary <2>
    • Burwell
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Burwell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burwell
      • Burwell is located in Polk County
    • Beltrami
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beltrami have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beltrami
      • Beltrami is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 99 people

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Erskine ...

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 31 newspapers that have been published in the area around Erskine.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Erskine. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Erskine and those printed in the larger area surrounding Erskine.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<6> of Erskine.

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 Erskine:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Erskine. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Polk County: www.co.polk.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 Erskine, 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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Erskine) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Erskine. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 47.6639, Longitude: -96.0115    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025