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A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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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 Fossum (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 Fossum. 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.

Fossum is located in Norman 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 Norman County: Becker, Clay, Mahnomen, Polk, Cass (ND) & Traill (ND).

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

  • Norman County     (The home county of Fossum)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fossum, with the one closest to Fossum listed first.
    • Faith
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Faith is located in Norman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Faith
    • Twin Valley
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Twin Valley is located in Norman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Valley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 750 people
    • Flom
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Gary
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Flaming
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Flaming is located in Norman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flaming
    • Borup
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Borup is located in Norman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borup
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 103 people
    • Ada
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Ada is located in Norman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ada
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,556 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ada <1>
    • Rindal
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Rindal is located in Norman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rindal
    • Hendrum
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Hendrum is located in Norman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hendrum
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 282 people
    • Perley
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Perley is located in Norman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 83 people
  • Becker County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fossum, with the one closest to Fossum listed first.
    • Ogema
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Ogema is located in Becker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogema
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 183 people
    • White Earth
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Callaway
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Lake Park
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Richwood
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Richwood is located in Becker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richwood
    • Audubon
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Elbow Lake
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Elbow Lake is located in Becker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elbow Lake
  • Clay County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fossum, with the one closest to Fossum listed first.
    • Ulen
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Hitterdal
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Hitterdal is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hitterdal
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 213 people
    • Felton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Hawley
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Muskoda
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Muskoda is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muskoda
  • Mahnomen County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fossum, with the one closest to Fossum listed first.
    • Waubun
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Mahnomen
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Bejou
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Naytahwaush
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Roy Lake
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Roy Lake is located in Mahnomen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roy Lake
  • Polk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fossum, with the one closest to Fossum listed first.
    • Fertile
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Winger
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Beltrami
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Beltrami is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beltrami
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 99 people
    • Melvin
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Melvin is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melvin
    • Erskine
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • Fosston
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
    • McIntosh
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Fossum ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Fossum.

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

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

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

  • East Wild Rice Lutheran Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Bethlehem Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • St. Olaf Lutheran Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Zion Memorial Gardens
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • St. Williams Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Twin Valley City Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Zion Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Hlubek Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Syre Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Aspelund Norwegian Lutheran Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Trinity Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (143 more) ...

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, Fossum had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Faith
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Faith is located in Norman County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Faith
  • Twin Valley
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Twin Valley is located in Norman County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Valley
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 750 people
  • Syre
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Syre is located in Norman County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Syre
  • Heiberg
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Heiberg is located in Norman County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heiberg
  • Gary
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Ulen
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Ada
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Ada is located in Norman County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ada
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,556 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ada <1>
  • Hitterdal
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Hitterdal is located in Clay County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hitterdal
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 213 people
  • White Earth
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
  • Rindal
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Rindal is located in Norman County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rindal
  • Felton
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
  • Fertile
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Winger
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Lockhart
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Lockhart is located in Norman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lockhart
    • Winnipeg Junction
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Winnipeg Junction is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winnipeg Junction

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

Newspapers Published in Fossum ...

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 Fossum.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Fossum, 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 Fossum.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Fossum:

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 Fossum, 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- Fossum) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.