RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Minnesota >> McLeod County >> Koniska >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Koniska (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 Koniska. 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.

Koniska is located in McLeod 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 McLeod County: Carver, Meeker, Renville, Sibley & Wright.

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

  • McLeod County     (The home county of Koniska)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Koniska, with the one closest to Koniska listed first.
    • Biscay
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Biscay is located in McLeod County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Biscay
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 109 people
    • Silver Lake
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Glencoe
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Sumter
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Sumter is located in McLeod County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumter
    • Hutchinson
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Lester Prairie
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Plato
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Brownton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Winsted
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Stewart
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Stewart is located in McLeod County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stewart
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 533 people
    • Fernando
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Fernando is located in McLeod County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fernando
  • Carver County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Koniska, with the one closest to Koniska listed first.
    • Hollywood
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Hollywood is located in Carver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollywood
    • New Germany
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Hamburg
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Hamburg is located in Carver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 526 people
    • Norwood
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Norwood Young America
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Norwood Young America is located in Carver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwood Young America
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,794 people
    • Young America
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Hazelton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Hazelton is located in Carver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazelton
    • Mayer
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Hydes Lake
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Hydes Lake is located in Carver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hydes Lake
    • Watertown
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Assumption
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Assumption is located in Carver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Assumption
    • Waconia
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
  • Hennepin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Koniska, with the one closest to Koniska listed first.
    • Saint Bonifacius
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Minnetrista
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Mound
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Mound is located in Hennepin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mound
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,404 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mound <1>
    • Independence
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Independence is located in Hennepin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Independence
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,786 people
    • Spring Park
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Maple Plain
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Le Sueur County
    • Le Sueur
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Meeker County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Koniska, with the one closest to Koniska listed first.
    • Cedar Mills
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Cedar Mills is located in Meeker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Mills
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 51 people
    • Dassel
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Darwin
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Kingston
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Kingston is located in Meeker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingston
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 162 people
    • Litchfield
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Cosmos
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Forest City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Forest City is located in Meeker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest City
    • Rosendale
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Rosendale is located in Meeker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosendale
  • Nicollet County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Koniska, with the one closest to Koniska listed first.
    • Lafayette
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • New Sweden
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • New Sweden is located in Nicollet County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Sweden
  • Renville County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Koniska, with the one closest to Koniska listed first.
    • Buffalo Lake
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Hector
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
  • Scott County
    • Belle Plaine
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Sibley County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Koniska, with the one closest to Koniska listed first.
    • New Auburn
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Green Isle
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Arlington
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Gaylord
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Winthrop
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Henderson
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Gibbon
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Wright County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Koniska, with the one closest to Koniska listed first.
    • Cokato
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Smith Lake
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Smith Lake is located in Wright County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smith Lake
    • Howard Lake
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Waverly
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Albright
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Albright is located in Wright County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albright
    • Montrose
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Albion Center
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Albion Center is located in Wright County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albion Center
    • Rassat
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Rassat is located in Wright County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rassat
    • Delano
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Maple Lake
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Buffalo
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Rockford
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Koniska ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Koniska.

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

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

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

  • Koniska Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Bear Creek Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • St. Joseph Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Getchell Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Bohemian Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Biscay Evangelical Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Evangelical Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • St. John's Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Adelbert's Catholic Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Hillcrest Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Emmanuel Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Glencoe Catholic Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (247 more) ...
    • Bergan Twp. Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Township Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Lutheran Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 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.<4>

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

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

  • Biscay
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Biscay is located in McLeod County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Biscay
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 109 people
  • Silver Lake
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Glencoe
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Sumter
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Sumter is located in McLeod County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumter
  • Hutchinson
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Plato
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Lester Prairie
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Brownton
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • New Auburn
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Winsted
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • New Germany
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Hollywood
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Hollywood is located in Carver County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollywood
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Hamburg
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Hamburg is located in Carver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 526 people
    • Stewart
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Stewart is located in McLeod County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stewart
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 533 people
    • Green Isle
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Koniska ...

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 126 newspapers that have been published in the area around Koniska.

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

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 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 Koniska:

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>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- Koniska) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<4>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 Koniska, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.