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 Fox Lake (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 Fox Lake. 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.
Name Variations for Fox Lake ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Fox Lake: Fox Lk.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Fox Lake. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Fox Lake.
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.
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 doctors and hospitals 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.
Fox Lake is located in Martin 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 Martin County: Emmet (IA), Kossuth (IA), Blue Earth, Cottonwood, Faribault, Jackson & Watonwan.
Below are the counties that are near Fox Lake. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Fox Lake:
- Martin County (The home county of Fox Lake)
- The following are listed by their distance from Fox Lake, with the one closest to Fox Lake listed first.
- Welcome
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Sherburn
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Trimont
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Dunnell
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Dunnell is located in Martin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunnell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 145 people
- Fairmont
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Ceylon
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Northrop
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Ormsby
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Ormsby is located in Martin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ormsby
- Population from the 2020 Census: 121 people
- Granada
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Truman
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Truman is located in Martin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Truman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,028 people
- Blue Earth County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fox Lake, with the one closest to Fox Lake listed first.
- Willow Creek
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Willow Creek is located in Blue Earth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Creek
- Amboy
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Cottonwood County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fox Lake, with the one closest to Fox Lake listed first.
- Mountain Lake
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Bingham Lake
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Windom
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Faribault County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fox Lake, with the one closest to Fox Lake listed first.
- Huntley
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Huntley is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntley
- Winnebago
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Blue Earth
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Blue Earth is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Earth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,098 people
- Former name for Blue Earth:
- Blue Earth City
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Blue Earth <1>
- Elmore
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Elmore is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 613 people
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fox Lake, with the one closest to Fox Lake listed first.
- Alpha
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Alpha is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpha
- Population from the 2020 Census: 119 people
- Petersburg
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Petersburg is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersburg
- Jackson
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Lakefield
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Wilder
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Wilder is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilder
- Population from the 2020 Census: 56 people
- Watonwan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fox Lake, with the one closest to Fox Lake listed first.
- Odin
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Odin is located in Watonwan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Odin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 104 people
- Butterfield
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Butterfield is located in Watonwan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butterfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 582 people
- Lewisville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Lewisville is located in Watonwan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewisville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 244 people
- Saint James
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Grogan
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Grogan is located in Watonwan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grogan
- Darfur
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Darfur is located in Watonwan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darfur
- Population from the 2020 Census: 102 people
- La Salle
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- La Salle is located in Watonwan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Salle
- Population from the 2020 Census: 86 people
- Madelia
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Godahl
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Godahl is located in Watonwan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Godahl
- Dickinson County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Fox Lake, with the one closest to Fox Lake listed first.
- Superior
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Orleans
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Orleans is located in Dickinson County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orleans
- Population from the 2020 Census: 591 people
- Spirit Lake
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Terril
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Terril is located in Dickinson County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terril
- Population from the 2020 Census: 338 people
- Emmet County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Fox Lake, with the one closest to Fox Lake listed first.
- Dolliver
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Gruver
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Gruver is located in Emmet County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gruver
- Population from the 2020 Census: 82 people
- Armstrong
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Armstrong is located in Emmet County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armstrong
- Population from the 2020 Census: 841 people
- Estherville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Wallingford
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Wallingford is located in Emmet County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallingford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 168 people
- Ringsted
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Hoprig
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Hoprig is located in Emmet County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoprig
- Kossuth County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Fox Lake, with the one closest to Fox Lake listed first.
- Swea City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Seneca
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Seneca is located in Kossuth County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seneca
- Gerled
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Gerled is located in Kossuth County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gerled
- Ledyard
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Palo Alto County (IA)
- Graettinger
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Fox Lake, see our County-by-County Page for Fox Lake.
Cemeteries Near Fox Lake ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Fox Lake.
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 Fox Lake - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Fox Lake covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Fox Lake, with the one closest to Fox Lake listed first.
- Welcome Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- St. Paul's Evangelical Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Trinity Lutheran Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Emmanuel Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- St. Lukes Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Sherburne City Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Lone Cedar Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Elm Creek Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Zion Lutheran Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- North Star Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- First Lutheran Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Half Moon Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (145 more) ...
- Immanuel Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Cedar Hill Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Lake Fremont Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
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.<2>
While we didn't find Fox Lake in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Fox Lake.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Fox Lake, with the one closest to Fox Lake listed first.
- Welcome
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Sherburn
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Dunnell
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Dunnell is located in Martin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunnell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 145 people
- Fairmont
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Odin
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Odin is located in Watonwan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Odin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 104 people
- Dolliver
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- South Branch
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- South Branch is located in Watonwan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Branch
- Jackson
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Petersburg
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Petersburg is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersburg
- Maple Hill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Maple Hill is located in Emmet County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Hill
- Butterfield
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Butterfield is located in Watonwan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butterfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 582 people
- Nashville Center
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Nashville Center is located in Martin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nashville Center
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Estherville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Armstrong
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Armstrong is located in Emmet County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armstrong
- Population from the 2020 Census: 841 people
- Huntley
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Huntley is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntley
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Fox Lake. See our List of 1890's Communities around Fox Lake.
Newspapers Published in Fox Lake ...
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 128 newspapers that have been published in the area around Fox Lake.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Fox Lake, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Fox Lake.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Fox Lake:
- Websites specific to Minnesota
- Pages specific to Martin County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Blue Earth County
- Cottonwood County
- Faribault County
- Jackson County
- Watonwan County
- Dickinson County
- Emmet County
- Kossuth County
- Palo Alto County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Minnesota
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> | 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 Fox Lake, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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- Fox Lake) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |