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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 Ghent (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 Ghent. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Ghent is located in Lyon 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 Lyon County: Lincoln, Murray, Pipestone, Redwood & Yellow Medicine.

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

  • Lyon County     (The home county of Ghent)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ghent, with the one closest to Ghent listed first.
    • Minneota
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Marshall
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Lynd
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lynd have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynd
      • Lynd is located in Lyon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 455 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lynd <1>
    • Taunton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Cottonwood
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cottonwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottonwood
      • Cottonwood is located in Lyon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,223 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cottonwood <1>
    • Russell
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Russell have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell
      • Russell is located in Lyon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 343 people
    • Amiret
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Balaton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Balaton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balaton
      • Balaton is located in Lyon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 616 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Balaton <1>
    • Florence
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Florence have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
      • Florence is located in Lyon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 35 people
    • Garvin
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garvin have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garvin
      • Garvin is located in Lyon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 129 people
    • Tracy
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
  • Lac qui Parle County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ghent, with the one closest to Ghent listed first.
    • Boyd
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Boyd have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyd
      • Boyd is located in Lac qui Parle County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 154 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Boyd <1>
    • Providence
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Providence. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
      • Providence is located in Lac qui Parle County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Providence
      • From Ghent to Providence
    • Dawson
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dawson have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawson
      • Dawson is located in Lac qui Parle County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,378 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dawson <1>
  • Lincoln County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ghent, with the one closest to Ghent listed first.
    • Arco
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arco have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arco
      • Arco is located in Lincoln County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 64 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Arco <1>
    • Ivanhoe
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ivanhoe have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivanhoe
      • Ivanhoe is located in Lincoln County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 524 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ivanhoe <1>
    • Tyler
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Lake Benton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Hendricks
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
  • Murray County
    • The Lakes
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for The Lakes have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Lakes
      • The Lakes is located in Murray County
  • Pipestone County
  • Redwood County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ghent, with the one closest to Ghent listed first.
    • Milroy
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Vesta
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vesta have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vesta
      • Vesta is located in Redwood County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 295 people
    • Lucan
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lucan have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucan
      • Lucan is located in Redwood County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 174 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lucan <1>
    • Seaforth
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seaforth have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seaforth
      • Seaforth is located in Redwood County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 82 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Seaforth <1>
    • Belview
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Belview have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belview
      • Belview is located in Redwood County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 352 people
    • Walnut Grove
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walnut Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Grove
      • Walnut Grove is located in Redwood County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 798 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Walnut Grove <1>
  • Yellow Medicine County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ghent, with the one closest to Ghent listed first.
    • Porter
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Porter have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter
      • Porter is located in Yellow Medicine County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 164 people
    • Saint Leo
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Leo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Leo
      • Saint Leo is located in Yellow Medicine County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 90 people
    • Hanley Falls
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Hazel Run
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hazel Run have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazel Run
      • Hazel Run is located in Yellow Medicine County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 56 people
    • Clarkfield
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clarkfield have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarkfield
      • Clarkfield is located in Yellow Medicine County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 775 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clarkfield <1>
    • Wood Lake
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wood Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wood Lake
      • Wood Lake is located in Yellow Medicine County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 395 people
    • Canby
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Echo
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Echo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo
      • Echo is located in Yellow Medicine County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 247 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Echo <1>
    • Granite Falls
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Ghent ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ghent.

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

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

  • Grandview Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Grandview Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Grandview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Eloi Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Eloi Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Eloi Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Edwards Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Edwards Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Edwards Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Old Hemnes Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Hemnes Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Hemnes Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Old Marshall Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Marshall Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Marshall Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Pauls Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Pauls Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Pauls Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hope Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hope Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hope Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hemnes Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hemnes Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hemnes Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Josephson Family Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Josephson Family Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Josephson Family Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Calvary Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Calvary Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Marshall Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • St. Clotilde Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Clotilde Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Clotilde Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (147 more) ...
    • Icelandic Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Icelandic Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Icelandic Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Zion Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Zion Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Zion Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Lynd Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lynd Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lynd Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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, Ghent had a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Ghent had a population of 361 people.

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

  • Minneota
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Marshall
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Green Valley
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Valley
    • Green Valley is located in Lyon County
  • Lynd
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lynd have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynd
    • Lynd is located in Lyon County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 455 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lynd <1>
  • Taunton
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Cottonwood
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cottonwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottonwood
    • Cottonwood is located in Lyon County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,223 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cottonwood <1>
  • Russell
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Russell have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell
    • Russell is located in Lyon County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 343 people
  • Amiret
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Saint Leo
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Leo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Leo
    • Saint Leo is located in Yellow Medicine County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 90 people
  • Porter
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Porter have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter
    • Porter is located in Yellow Medicine County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 164 people
  • Wilno
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wilno have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilno
    • Wilno is located in Lincoln County
  • Burchard
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Burchard have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burchard
    • Burchard is located in Lyon County
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Hanley Falls
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Hazel Run
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hazel Run have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazel Run
      • Hazel Run is located in Yellow Medicine County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 56 people
    • Balaton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Balaton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balaton
      • Balaton is located in Lyon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 616 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Balaton <1>

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

Newspapers Published in Ghent ...

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 85 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ghent.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ghent, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Ghent.

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 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 Ghent:

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

The official website for Lyon County: www.lyonco.org/

The official website for State of Minnesota: https://mn.gov/

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 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.
<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 Ghent, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Ghent) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ghent. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.5133, Longitude: -95.8927    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025