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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 Freeborn (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 Freeborn. 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 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.

Freeborn is located in Freeborn 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 Freeborn County: Winnebago (IA), Worth (IA), Faribault, Mower, Steele & Waseca.

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

  • Freeborn County     (The home county of Freeborn)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Freeborn, with the one closest to Freeborn listed first.
    • Hartland
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Hartland is located in Freeborn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 307 people
    • Alden
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Manchester
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Manchester is located in Freeborn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manchester
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 55 people
    • Bath
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Conger
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Conger is located in Freeborn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conger
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 144 people
    • Clarks Grove
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Albert Lea
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Geneva
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Twin Lakes
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Hollandale
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Hayward
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Emmons
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Emmons is located in Freeborn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmons
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 380 people
  • Blue Earth County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Freeborn, with the one closest to Freeborn listed first.
    • Pemberton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Pemberton is located in Blue Earth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pemberton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 241 people
    • Mapleton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Beauford
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Saint Clair
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Smiths Mill
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Smiths Mill is located in Blue Earth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smiths Mill
    • Good Thunder
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Amboy
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Faribault County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Freeborn, with the one closest to Freeborn listed first.
    • Wells
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Wells is located in Faribault County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wells
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,157 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wells <1>
    • Walters
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Walters is located in Faribault County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walters
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
    • Minnesota Lake
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Easton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Easton is located in Faribault County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 183 people
    • Kiester
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Bricelyn
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Bricelyn is located in Faribault County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bricelyn
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 334 people
    • Dell
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Frost
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Frost is located in Faribault County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frost
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 181 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Frost <1>
    • Delavan
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Delavan is located in Faribault County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delavan
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 166 people
    • Blue Earth
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Winnebago
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Mower County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Freeborn, with the one closest to Freeborn listed first.
    • Lansing
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Mapleview
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Mapleview is located in Mower County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mapleview
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 177 people
    • Austin
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Steele County
  • Waseca County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Freeborn, with the one closest to Freeborn listed first.
    • New Richland
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Waldorf
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Waldorf is located in Waseca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldorf
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 224 people
    • Vista
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Wilton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Wilton is located in Waseca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilton
    • Alma City
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Waseca
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Janesville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Palmer
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Elysian
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Winnebago County (IA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Freeborn, with the one closest to Freeborn listed first.
    • Scarville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Vinje
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Lake Mills
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Rake
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Rake is located in Winnebago County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rake
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
    • Leland
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Thompson
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Thompson is located in Winnebago County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 466 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Thompson <1>
  • Worth County (IA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Freeborn, with the one closest to Freeborn listed first.
    • Silver Lake
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Bristol
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Joice
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Joice is located in Worth County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joice
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 209 people
    • Northwood
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Freeborn ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Freeborn.

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

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

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

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 Freeborn had a population of 89 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Freeborn had a population of 275 people.

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

  • Hartland
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Hartland is located in Freeborn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 307 people
  • Alden
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Manchester
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Manchester is located in Freeborn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manchester
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 55 people
  • Armstrong
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Armstrong is located in Freeborn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armstrong
  • Bath
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • New Richland
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Clarks Grove
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Albert Lea
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Mansfield
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Mansfield is located in Freeborn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mansfield
  • Minnesota Lake
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • Twin Lakes
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Geneva
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Otisco
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Otisco is located in Waseca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otisco
    • Easton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Easton is located in Faribault County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 183 people
    • Kiester
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Freeborn ...

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 148 newspapers that have been published in the area around Freeborn.

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

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we 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 Freeborn:

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 Freeborn, 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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Freeborn) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.