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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 Hayward (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 Hayward. 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.

Hayward 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 Hayward. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Hayward:

  • Freeborn County     (The home county of Hayward)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hayward, with the one closest to Hayward listed first.
    • Glenville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Albert Lea
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Oakland
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Oakland is located in Freeborn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
    • Hollandale
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Myrtle
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Clarks Grove
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Twin Lakes
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Geneva
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Manchester
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Manchester is located in Freeborn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manchester
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 55 people
    • London
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Bath
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Conger
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Conger is located in Freeborn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conger
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 144 people
    • Emmons
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Emmons is located in Freeborn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmons
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 380 people
  • Dodge County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hayward, with the one closest to Hayward listed first.
    • Hayfield
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Westfield Center ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Westfield Center is located in Dodge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westfield Center
    • Claremont
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Faribault County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hayward, with the one closest to Hayward listed first.
    • Walters
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Walters is located in Faribault County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walters
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
    • Kiester
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Wells
      (25 miles [40.2 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>
    • Bricelyn
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Bricelyn is located in Faribault County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bricelyn
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 334 people
  • Mower County
  • Steele County
  • Waseca County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hayward, with the one closest to Hayward listed first.
    • New Richland
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Vista
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Waldorf
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Waldorf is located in Waseca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldorf
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 224 people
    • Wilton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Wilton is located in Waseca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilton
  • Cerro Gordo County (IA)
  • Mitchell County (IA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hayward, with the one closest to Hayward listed first.
    • Carpenter
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Carpenter is located in Mitchell County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carpenter
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 108 people
    • Toeterville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Saint Ansgar
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Stacyville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Mitchell
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Meyer
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Winnebago County (IA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hayward, with the one closest to Hayward listed first.
    • Lake Mills
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Scarville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Vinje
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Leland
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Worth County (IA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hayward, with the one closest to Hayward listed first.
    • Silver Lake
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Northwood
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Bristol
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Bolan
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Kensett
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Kensett is located in Worth County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kensett
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 249 people
    • Joice
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Joice is located in Worth County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joice
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 209 people
    • Grafton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Manly
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Hanlontown
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Hanlontown is located in Worth County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanlontown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
    • Fertile
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)

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

Cemeteries Near Hayward ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Hayward.

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

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

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

  • Hayward Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Krikva Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Glenville Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Bohemian Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Hillside Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Oakland Lutheran Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • East Freeborn Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Hillcrest Memorial Gardens
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Kestner Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • St. Pauls Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Kennevan Family Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (224 more) ...

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Hayward had a population of 100 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Hayward had a population of 243 people.

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

  • Glenville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Albert Lea
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Myrtle
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Oakland
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Oakland is located in Freeborn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
  • Clarks Grove
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Moscow
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Moscow is located in Freeborn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moscow
  • Gordonsville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Gordonsville is located in Freeborn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordonsville
  • Twin Lakes
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Deer Creek
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Deer Creek is located in Worth County (IA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Creek
  • Geneva
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Manchester
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Manchester is located in Freeborn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manchester
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 55 people
  • Armstrong
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Armstrong is located in Freeborn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armstrong
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in Hayward ...

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 108 newspapers that have been published in the area around Hayward.

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

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Hayward:

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 Hayward, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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- Hayward) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.