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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 Lake Henry (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 Lake Henry. 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 Lake Henry ...

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.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Lake Henry: Lk. Henry

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 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.

Lake Henry is located in Stearns 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 Stearns County: Benton, Douglas, Kandiyohi, Meeker, Morrison, Pope, Sherburne, Todd & Wright.

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

  • Stearns County     (The home county of Lake Henry)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lake Henry, with the one closest to Lake Henry listed first.
    • Spring Hill
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Spring Hill is located in Stearns County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 95 people
    • Saint Martin
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Paynesville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Roscoe
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Belgrade
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Belgrade is located in Stearns County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belgrade
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 787 people
    • Greenwald
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Elrosa
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Meire Grove
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Meire Grove is located in Stearns County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meire Grove
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 200 people
    • New Munich
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Richmond
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Freeport
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Melrose
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Kandiyohi County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lake Henry, with the one closest to Lake Henry listed first.
    • Regal
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Regal is located in Kandiyohi County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Regal
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 35 people
    • Hawick
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Hawick is located in Kandiyohi County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawick
    • New London
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Spicer
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Spicer is located in Kandiyohi County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spicer
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,224 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Spicer <1>
    • Atwater
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Sunburg
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Sunburg is located in Kandiyohi County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 99 people
    • Kandiyohi
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Kandiyohi is located in Kandiyohi County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kandiyohi
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 477 people
    • Wilmar
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Wilmar is located in Kandiyohi County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmar
    • Willmar
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Pennock
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Pennock is located in Kandiyohi County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennock
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 509 people
  • Meeker County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lake Henry, with the one closest to Lake Henry listed first.
    • Eden Valley
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Manannah
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Manannah is located in Meeker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manannah
    • Watkins
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Grove City
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Forest City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Forest City is located in Meeker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest City
    • Litchfield
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Rosendale
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Rosendale is located in Meeker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosendale
    • Kingston
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Kingston is located in Meeker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingston
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 162 people
  • Morrison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lake Henry, with the one closest to Lake Henry listed first.
    • Upsala
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Elmdale
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Elmdale is located in Morrison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmdale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 116 people
  • Pope County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lake Henry, with the one closest to Lake Henry listed first.
    • Grove Lake
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Grove Lake is located in Pope County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove Lake
    • Sedan
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Sedan is located in Pope County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedan
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 50 people
    • Westport
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Westport is located in Pope County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westport
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 61 people
    • Villard
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Swift County
    • Swift Falls
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Swift Falls is located in Swift County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swift Falls
  • Todd County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lake Henry, with the one closest to Lake Henry listed first.
    • Grey Eagle
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • West Union
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • West Union is located in Todd County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Union
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 123 people
    • Burtrum
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
  • Wright County
    • South Haven
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)

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

Cemeteries Near Lake Henry ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Lake Henry.

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 Lake Henry - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • St. Margarets Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • St. Paul's Lutheran Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Grove Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • St. Anthony Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Michael Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Salem Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Paynesville Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • St. Martin Catholic Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Gausdal Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Louis Catholic Church Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Zion Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Roseville Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (192 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 in 1895, Lake Henry had a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Lake Henry had a population of 113 people.

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

  • Spring Hill
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Spring Hill is located in Stearns County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 95 people
  • Georgeville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Georgeville is located in Stearns County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgeville
  • Paynesville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Saint Martin
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Roscoe
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Belgrade
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Belgrade is located in Stearns County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belgrade
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 787 people
  • Farming
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Farming is located in Stearns County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farming
  • Meire Grove
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Meire Grove is located in Stearns County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meire Grove
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 200 people
  • New Munich
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • New London
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Richmond
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Melrose
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Freeport
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Crow River
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Crow River is located in Meeker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crow River
    • Eden Valley
      (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 Lake Henry. See our List of 1890's Communities around Lake Henry.

Newspapers Published in Lake Henry ...

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 85 newspapers that have been published in the area around Lake Henry.

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

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 websites either 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 Lake Henry:

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 Lake Henry, 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 from Point A (ie- Lake Henry) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.