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 Happy Wanderer (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 Happy Wanderer. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Happy Wanderer is located in Lake 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 Lake County: Cook, Saint Louis, Ashland (WI), Bayfield (WI) & Douglas (WI).

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

• Lake County     (The home county of Happy Wanderer)
  • The following are listed by their distance from Happy Wanderer, with the one closest to Happy Wanderer listed first.
  • Isabella
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isabella
    • Isabella is located in Lake County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Isabella <1>
  • Jordan
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jordan have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jordan
    • Jordan is located in Lake County
  • Murphy City
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Murphy City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murphy City
    • Murphy City is located in Lake County
  • Finland
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Finland
    • Finland is located in Lake County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Finland <1>
• Saint Louis County
  • The following are listed by their distance from Happy Wanderer, with the one closest to Happy Wanderer listed first.
  • Babbitt
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Babbitt have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Babbitt
    • Babbitt is located in Saint Louis County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,471 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Babbitt <1>
  • Ely
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ely have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ely
    • Ely is located in Saint Louis County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,325 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ely <1>
  • Winton
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Winton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winton
    • Winton is located in Saint Louis County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 164 people
  • Hoyt Lakes
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hoyt Lakes have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoyt Lakes
    • Hoyt Lakes is located in Saint Louis County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,927 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hoyt Lakes <1>
  • Allen
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allen
    • Allen is located in Saint Louis County
    • Allen has also been known as:
    • Allen Junction
  • Embarrass
    (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Embarrass
    • Embarrass is located in Saint Louis County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Embarrass <1>
  • Soudan
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Soudan have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soudan
    • Soudan is located in Saint Louis County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Soudan <1>
  • Breda
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Breda
    • Breda is located in Saint Louis County
  • Aurora
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Aurora have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurora
    • Aurora is located in Saint Louis County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,610 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Aurora <1>
  • Tower Junction
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tower Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tower Junction
    • Tower Junction is located in Saint Louis County
  • Tower
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tower
    • Tower is located in Saint Louis County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 477 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tower <1>
  • Brimson
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brimson have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brimson
    • Brimson is located in Saint Louis County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brimson <1>

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

Newspapers Published in Happy Wanderer ...

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 16 newspapers that have been published in the area around Happy Wanderer.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Happy Wanderer, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Happy Wanderer.

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 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 Happy Wanderer:

• Websites specific to Minnesota
  • Jump to Cyndi's List
  • Jump to Family Search
  • Jump to Genealogy Trails
  • Website for the Minnesota State Archives

• Pages specific to Lake County
  • Jump to Cyndi's List
  • Jump to Family Search
  • Jump to Genealogy Trails

• Genealogy information for nearby counties
  • Saint Louis County
    • Jump to Cyndi's List
    • Jump to Family Search
    • Jump to Genealogy Trails

• Cemetery Information and Directories for Minnesota
  • Cemetery Junction: Cemeteries of Minnesota
  • Cyndi's List
  • Cemeteries of Minnesota
  • Cemeteries of Lake County
  • FamilySearch.org: Cemeteries of Minnesota
  • Find-A-Grave: Home Page
  • Interment.net
  • Cemeteries of Minnesota

Cemeteries Near Happy Wanderer ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Happy Wanderer.

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

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

• Birch Lake Cemetery
  (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Birch Lake Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Birch Lake Cemetery
• Ely Cemetery
  (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ely Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ely Cemetery
• Isabella Memorial Cemetery
  (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Isabella Memorial Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Isabella Memorial Cemetery
• Argo Cemetery
  (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Argo Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Argo Cemetery
• Armanda Cemetery
  (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Armanda Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Armanda Cemetery
• Bassett Cemetery
  (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bassett Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bassett Cemetery
• Toimi Cemetery
  (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Toimi Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Toimi Cemetery
• Embarrass Cemetery
  (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Embarrass Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Embarrass Cemetery
• Czechoslovakian National Cemetery
  (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Czechoslovakian National Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Czechoslovakian National Cemetery
• Forest Hill Cemetery
  (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Forest Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Forest Hill Cemetery
• Brimson Cemetery
  (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Brimson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Brimson Cemetery
• Lake View Cemetery
  (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
  • The Lake View Cemetery has also been known as:
  • Lakeview Cemetery
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lake View Cemetery
  • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #82692 <4>

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>

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

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

• Ely
  (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ely have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ely
  • Ely is located in Saint Louis County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,325 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ely <1>
• Hinsdale
  (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hinsdale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hinsdale
  • Hinsdale is located in Saint Louis County
• Soudan
  (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Soudan have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soudan
  • Soudan is located in Saint Louis County
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Soudan <1>
• Tower Junction
  (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tower Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tower Junction
  • Tower Junction is located in Saint Louis County
• Tower
  (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tower
  • Tower is located in Saint Louis County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 477 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tower <1>

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

Off-the-Road Links ...

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

The official website for Lake County: www.lakecnty.com/

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