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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 Henning (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 Henning. 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.

Henning is located in Otter Tail 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 Otter Tail County: Becker, Clay, Douglas, Grant, Todd, Wadena & Wilkin.

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

  • Otter Tail County     (The home county of Henning)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Henning, with the one closest to Henning listed first.
    • Leaf City
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Leaf City is located in Otter Tail County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leaf City
    • Vining
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Deer Creek
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Deer Creek is located in Otter Tail County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Creek
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 321 people
    • Nirvana
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Nirvana is located in Otter Tail County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nirvana
    • Ottertail
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Clitherall
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Parkers Prairie
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • New York Mills
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Battle Lake
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Bluffton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Bluffton is located in Otter Tail County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluffton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 216 people
    • Urbank
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Urbank is located in Otter Tail County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Urbank
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 52 people
    • Amor
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Amor is located in Otter Tail County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amor
    • Richville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Becker County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Henning, with the one closest to Henning listed first.
    • Evergreen
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Evergreen is located in Becker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen
    • Frazee
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Douglas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Henning, with the one closest to Henning listed first.
    • Millerville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Millerville is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 103 people
    • Miltona
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Rose City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Rose City is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose City
    • Melby
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Melby is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melby
    • Evansville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Brandon
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Carlos
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Belle River
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Belle River is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle River
    • Garfield
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Alexandria
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Grant County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Henning, with the one closest to Henning listed first.
    • Ashby
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Erdahl
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Erdahl is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erdahl
  • Todd County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Henning, with the one closest to Henning listed first.
    • Hewitt
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Hewitt is located in Todd County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hewitt
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 260 people
    • Bertha
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Eagle Bend
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Clarissa
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Clotho
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Clotho is located in Todd County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clotho
    • Staples
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Wadena County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Henning, with the one closest to Henning listed first.
    • Verndale
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Aldrich
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Aldrich is located in Wadena County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aldrich
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 46 people
    • Sebeka
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Henning ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Henning.

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

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

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

  • United Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • St. Paul Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Henning Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Trinity Lutheran Church Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Henning Ttwp. Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Norwegian Methodist Church Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Grace Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Inman Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Leaf Lake Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Leaf Lake Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Leaf Lake Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Girard Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (208 more) ...
    • Folden Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Oak Ridge Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • St. John's Lutheran Church Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)

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 Henning had a population of 254 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Henning had a population of 806 people.

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

  • Vining
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Deer Creek
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Deer Creek is located in Otter Tail County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Creek
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 321 people
  • Ottertail
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Clitherall
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Parkers Prairie
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Wrightstown
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Wrightstown is located in Otter Tail County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wrightstown
  • Battle Lake
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • New York Mills
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Bluffton
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Bluffton is located in Otter Tail County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluffton
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 216 people
  • Amor
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Amor is located in Otter Tail County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amor
  • Hewitt
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Hewitt is located in Todd County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hewitt
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 260 people
  • Wadena
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Wadena is located in Otter Tail County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wadena
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,121 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wadena <1>
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Millerville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Millerville is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 103 people
    • Leaf Valley
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Leaf Valley is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leaf Valley
    • Bertha
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Henning ...

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 36 newspapers that have been published in the area around Henning.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Henning. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Henning and those printed in the larger area surrounding Henning.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3> of Henning.

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 Henning:

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