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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 Holmes City (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 Holmes City. 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 Holmes City ...

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.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

While the name of this community is Holmes City, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Holmes City may originally have been Holme's City.

Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Holmes City might be written as Holme City.

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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors 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.

Holmes City is located in Douglas 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 Douglas County: Grant, Otter Tail, Pope, Stearns, Stevens & Todd.

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

  • Douglas County     (The home county of Holmes City)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Holmes City, with the one closest to Holmes City listed first.
    • Garfield
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garfield have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garfield
      • Garfield is located in Douglas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 349 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Garfield <3>
    • Alexandria
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Kensington
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Forada
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Forada have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forada
      • Forada is located in Douglas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 192 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Forada <3>
    • Brandon
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brandon have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandon
      • Brandon is located in Douglas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 489 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brandon <3>
    • Nelson
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nelson have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nelson
      • Nelson is located in Douglas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 192 people
    • Evansville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Carlos
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carlos have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlos
      • Carlos is located in Douglas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 490 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Carlos <3>
    • Millerville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Millerville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerville
      • Millerville is located in Douglas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 103 people
    • Osakis
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Miltona
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Miltona have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miltona
      • Miltona is located in Douglas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 425 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Miltona <3>
    • Melby
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melby
      • Melby is located in Douglas County
  • Grant County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Holmes City, with the one closest to Holmes City listed first.
    • Hoffman
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Erdahl
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erdahl
      • Erdahl is located in Grant County
    • Barrett
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Barrett have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrett
      • Barrett is located in Grant County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 414 people
    • Ashby
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ashby have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashby
      • Ashby is located in Grant County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 444 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ashby <3>
    • Elbow Lake
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Herman
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Herman have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herman
      • Herman is located in Grant County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 445 people
    • Wendell
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Otter Tail County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Holmes City, with the one closest to Holmes City listed first.
    • Urbank
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Urbank have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Urbank
      • Urbank is located in Otter Tail County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 52 people
    • Parkers Prairie
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Vining
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Dalton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Clitherall
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clitherall have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clitherall
      • Clitherall is located in Otter Tail County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 106 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clitherall <3>
    • Nirvana
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nirvana
      • Nirvana is located in Otter Tail County
  • Pope County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Holmes City, with the one closest to Holmes City listed first.
    • Farwell
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Farwell have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farwell
      • Farwell is located in Pope County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 52 people
    • Lowry
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lowry have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowry
      • Lowry is located in Pope County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 301 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lowry <3>
    • Long Beach
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Long Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Beach
      • Long Beach is located in Pope County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 417 people
    • Glenwood
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Starbuck
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Villard
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • New Prairie ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Prairie
      • New Prairie is located in Pope County
    • Cyrus
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cyrus have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cyrus
      • Cyrus is located in Pope County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 274 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cyrus <3>
    • Westport
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Westport have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westport
      • Westport is located in Pope County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 61 people
    • Sedan
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sedan have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedan
      • Sedan is located in Pope County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 50 people
    • Grove Lake
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grove Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove Lake
      • Grove Lake is located in Pope County
  • Stearns County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Holmes City, with the one closest to Holmes City listed first.
    • Sauk Centre
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Brooten
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brooten have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooten
      • Brooten is located in Stearns County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 750 people
  • Stevens County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Holmes City, with the one closest to Holmes City listed first.
    • Donnelly
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Donnelly have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donnelly
      • Donnelly is located in Stevens County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 233 people
    • Morris
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Hancock
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Alberta
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alberta
      • Alberta is located in Stevens County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 102 people
  • Swift County
    • Swift Falls
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Swift Falls have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swift Falls
      • Swift Falls is located in Swift County
  • Todd County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Holmes City, with the one closest to Holmes City listed first.
    • West Union
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Union have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Union
      • West Union is located in Todd County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 123 people
    • Clotho
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clotho
      • Clotho is located in Todd County

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

Newspapers Published in Holmes City ...

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 77 newspapers that have been published in the area around Holmes City.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Holmes City, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Holmes City.

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 Holmes City:

Cemeteries Near Holmes City ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Holmes City.

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

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

  • Rose Hill Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rose Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rose Hill Cemetery
  • Christian Union Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Christian Union Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Christian Union Cemetery
  • Van Loon Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Van Loon Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Van Loon Cemetery
  • White Garden Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the White Garden Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the White Garden Cemetery
  • St. Paul's Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Paul's Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Paul's Cemetery
  • Oscar Lake Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oscar Lake Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oscar Lake Cemetery
  • Trysil Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Trysil Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Trysil Cemetery
  • Moe Heights Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Moe Heights Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Moe Heights Cemetery
  • Finnish Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Finnish Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Finnish Cemetery
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Evergreen Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Evergreen Cemetery
  • Farwell Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Farwell Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Farwell Cemetery
  • Bohemian Independent Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (185 more) ...
    • Lake Mary Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lake Mary Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lake Mary Cemetery
    • East Moe Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the East Moe Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the East Moe Cemetery
    • West Moe Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the West Moe Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the West Moe Cemetery

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, Holmes City had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Farwell
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Farwell have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farwell
    • Farwell is located in Pope County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 52 people
  • Garfield
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garfield have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garfield
    • Garfield is located in Douglas County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 349 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Garfield <3>
  • Kensington
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Lowry
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lowry have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowry
    • Lowry is located in Pope County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 301 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lowry <3>
  • Alexandria
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Brandon
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brandon have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandon
    • Brandon is located in Douglas County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 489 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brandon <3>
  • Hoffman
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Nelson
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nelson have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nelson
    • Nelson is located in Douglas County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 192 people
  • Evansville
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Glenwood
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Starbuck
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
  • Villard
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Leaf Valley
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Leaf Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leaf Valley
      • Leaf Valley is located in Douglas County
    • Millerville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Millerville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerville
      • Millerville is located in Douglas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 103 people
    • Cyrus
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cyrus have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cyrus
      • Cyrus is located in Pope County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 274 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cyrus <3>

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

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

The official website for Douglas County: www.co.douglas.mn.us/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties).
<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>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>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 from Point A (ie- Holmes City) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Holmes City. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.8337, Longitude: -95.5412    
<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 Holmes City, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024