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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 Fairfield (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 Fairfield. 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 doctors 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.

Fairfield is located in Swift 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 Swift County: Big Stone, Chippewa, Kandiyohi, Lac qui Parle, Pope & Stevens.

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

  • Swift County     (The home county of Fairfield)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fairfield, with the one closest to Fairfield listed first.
    • Holloway
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Holloway is located in Swift County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holloway
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 85 people
    • Appleton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Danvers
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Danvers is located in Swift County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danvers
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 89 people
    • Clontarf
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Benson
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • De Graff
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • De Graff is located in Swift County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Graff
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 120 people
    • Swift Falls
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Swift Falls is located in Swift County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swift Falls
    • Murdock
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Murdock is located in Swift County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murdock
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 260 people
  • Big Stone County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fairfield, with the one closest to Fairfield listed first.
    • Correll
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Correll is located in Big Stone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Correll
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 31 people
    • Odessa
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Johnson
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Johnson is located in Big Stone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 27 people
    • Clinton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Ortonville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Graceville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Barry
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Barry is located in Big Stone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barry
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 15 people
  • Chippewa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fairfield, with the one closest to Fairfield listed first.
    • Milan
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Big Bend City
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Big Bend City is located in Chippewa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Bend City
    • Watson
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
  • Douglas County
    • Kensington
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Grant County
    • Herman
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Herman is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herman
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 445 people
  • Lac qui Parle County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fairfield, with the one closest to Fairfield listed first.
    • Louisburg
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Louisburg is located in Lac qui Parle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Louisburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 43 people
    • Bellingham
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Bellingham is located in Lac qui Parle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellingham
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 147 people
    • Madison
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Madison is located in Lac qui Parle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madison
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,376 people
  • Pope County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fairfield, with the one closest to Fairfield listed first.
    • Cyrus
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • New Prairie ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • New Prairie is located in Pope County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Prairie
    • Starbuck
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Farwell
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Farwell is located in Pope County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farwell
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 52 people
  • Stevens County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fairfield, with the one closest to Fairfield listed first.
    • Hancock
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Alberta
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Alberta is located in Stevens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alberta
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 102 people
    • Morris
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Chokio
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Donnelly
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Donnelly is located in Stevens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donnelly
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 233 people
  • Traverse County
    • Collis
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Collis is located in Traverse County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collis
  • Grant County (SD)
    • Big Stone City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)

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

Cemeteries Near Fairfield ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Fairfield.

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

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

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

  • St. Agnes Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Trinity Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Evangelical Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Long Lake Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Immanuel Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Smith - Kepner Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Zion Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Good Shepherd Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • St. John's Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Trinity Lutheran Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Waldum Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (125 more) ...
    • Johnson Family Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Apostolic Christian Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Immanuel Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)

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, Fairfield had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Holloway
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Holloway is located in Swift County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holloway
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 85 people
  • Hancock
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Appleton
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Danvers
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Danvers is located in Swift County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danvers
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 89 people
  • Correll
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Correll is located in Big Stone County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Correll
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 31 people
  • Clontarf
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Morris
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Chokio
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Louisburg
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Louisburg is located in Lac qui Parle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Louisburg
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 43 people
  • Hagan
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Hagan is located in Chippewa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hagan
  • Benson
    (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
  • Odessa
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Milan
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Cyrus
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Johnson
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Johnson is located in Big Stone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 27 people

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

Newspapers Published in Fairfield ...

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 79 newspapers that have been published in the area around Fairfield.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Fairfield, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Fairfield.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Fairfield:

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 Fairfield, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Fairfield) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.