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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 Ham 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 Ham 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 Ham 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.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Ham Lake: Ham Lk.

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 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.

Ham Lake is located in Anoka 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 Anoka County: Chisago, Hennepin, Isanti, Ramsey, Sherburne & Washington.

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

  • Anoka County     (The home county of Ham Lake)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ham Lake, with the one closest to Ham Lake listed first.
    • Blaine
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Andover
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • City of Columbus
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • City of Columbus is located in Anoka County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for City of Columbus
      • Estimated population in 2015: 4,007 people
    • East Bethel
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Cedar
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Coon Rapids
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Linwood
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Linwood is located in Anoka County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linwood
    • Oak Grove
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Circle Pines
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Lexington
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Lino Lakes
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Coon Creek
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Coon Creek is located in Anoka County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coon Creek
  • Chisago County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ham Lake, with the one closest to Ham Lake listed first.
    • Wyoming
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Stacy
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Stacy is located in Chisago County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stacy
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,525 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Stacy <1>
    • Chisago City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Branch
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Branch is located in Chisago County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branch
    • Lindstrom
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Center City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • North Branch
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Shafer
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Harris
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Franconia
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Franconia is located in Chisago County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franconia
    • Almelund
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Taylors Falls
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Dakota County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ham Lake, with the one closest to Ham Lake listed first.
    • West Saint Paul
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Lilydale
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Lilydale is located in Dakota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lilydale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 838 people
    • Mendota Heights
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Mendota
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Sunfish Lake
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • South Saint Paul
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Eagan
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Eagan is located in Dakota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagan
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 65,975 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eagan <1>
    • Nicols
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Nicols is located in Dakota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicols
    • Inver Grove Heights
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Hennepin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ham Lake, with the one closest to Ham Lake listed first.
    • Champlin
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Brooklyn Park
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Brooklyn Center
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Osseo
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Osseo is located in Hennepin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osseo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,703 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Osseo <1>
    • Dayton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Maple Grove
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Saint Anthony
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Crystal
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Robbinsdale
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • New Hope
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Rogers
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Rogers is located in Hennepin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,623 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rogers <1>
    • Corcoran
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
  • Isanti County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ham Lake, with the one closest to Ham Lake listed first.
    • Weber
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Weber is located in Isanti County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weber
    • Isanti
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Crown
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Crown is located in Isanti County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crown
    • Minnesota Boys Town
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Minnesota Boys Town is located in Isanti County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minnesota Boys Town
    • Bradford
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Bradford is located in Isanti County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradford
    • Cambridge
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Grandy
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Stanchfield
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Dalbo
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Elm Park
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Elm Park is located in Isanti County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elm Park
  • Mille Lacs County
    • Princeton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Ramsey County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ham Lake, with the one closest to Ham Lake listed first.
    • Mounds View
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Arden Hills
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Shoreview
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • North Oaks
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • New Brighton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Cardigan Junction
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Cardigan Junction is located in Ramsey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cardigan Junction
    • White Bear Beach
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • White Bear Beach is located in Ramsey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Bear Beach
    • Gem Lake
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Gem Lake is located in Ramsey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gem Lake
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 536 people
    • Vadnais Heights
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • White Bear Lake
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Little Canada
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Roseville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
  • Sherburne County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ham Lake, with the one closest to Ham Lake listed first.
    • Elk River
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Zimmerman
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Zimmerman is located in Sherburne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zimmerman
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,135 people
      • Zimmerman has also been known as:
      • Lake Fremont
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Zimmerman <1>
    • Big Lake
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Orrock
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Orrock is located in Sherburne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orrock
    • Salida
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Salida is located in Sherburne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salida
  • Washington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ham Lake, with the one closest to Ham Lake listed first.
    • Forest Lake
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Hugo
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Hugo is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hugo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 15,452 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hugo <1>
    • Dellwood
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Dellwood is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dellwood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,120 people
    • Birchwood Village
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Birchwood Village is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birchwood Village
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 880 people
    • Mahtomedi
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Withrow
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Withrow is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Withrow
    • Grant
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Grant is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,107 people
    • Willernie
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Scandia
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Duluth Junction
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Duluth Junction is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duluth Junction
    • Pine Springs
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Pine Springs is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Springs
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 390 people
    • Marine-on-Saint-Croix
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
  • Wright County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ham Lake, with the one closest to Ham Lake listed first.
    • Otsego
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Albertville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Hanover
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Saint Michael
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Rockford
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Monticello
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Polk County (WI)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ham Lake, with the one closest to Ham Lake listed first.
    • Osceola
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Osceola is located in Polk County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osceola
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,580 people
    • Dresser
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Dresser is located in Polk County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dresser
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 864 people
    • Saint Croix Falls
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Saint Croix Falls is located in Polk County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Croix Falls
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,059 people
    • Horse Creek
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Horse Creek is located in Polk County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horse Creek
  • Saint Croix County (WI)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ham Lake, with the one closest to Ham Lake listed first.
    • Somerset
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Somerset is located in Saint Croix County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somerset
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,992 people
    • North Hudson
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • North Hudson is located in Saint Croix County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Hudson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,833 people
    • Hudson
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Hudson is located in Saint Croix County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 14,168 people
    • Burkhardt
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Burkhardt is located in Saint Croix County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burkhardt

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

Cemeteries Near Ham Lake ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ham 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 Ham Lake - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Soderville Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Oak Hill Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Our Saviour's Lutheran Church Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Constance Evangelical Free Church Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Morningside Memorial Gardens Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • East Bethel Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Cedar Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • St. Joseph Catholic Church Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Twitchel Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Victor Hill Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Joyce Chapel Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Church of the Epiphany Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (264 more) ...
    • Anoka State Hospital Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Rice Lake Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Oak Park Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)

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>

While we didn't find Ham Lake in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Ham Lake.

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

  • Coon Creek
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Coon Creek is located in Anoka County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coon Creek
  • Linwood
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Linwood is located in Anoka County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linwood
  • Oak Grove
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Anoka
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Centerville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Champlin
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Mounds View
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Bethel
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Fridley
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Forest Lake
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Wyoming
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Hugo
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Hugo is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hugo
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 15,452 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hugo <1>
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Saint Francis
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Dayton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Osseo
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Osseo is located in Hennepin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osseo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,703 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Osseo <1>

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

Newspapers Published in Ham 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 318 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ham Lake.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ham Lake, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Ham Lake.

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 Ham Lake:

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 Ham Lake, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Ham Lake) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.