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 Wilson (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 Wilson. 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 Wilson ...
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 Wilson: Lk. Wilson
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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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 Wilson is located in Murray 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 Murray County: Cottonwood, Lyon, Nobles, Pipestone, Redwood & Rock.
Below are the counties that are near Lake Wilson. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Lake Wilson:
- Murray County (The home county of Lake Wilson)
- The following are listed by their distance from Lake Wilson, with the one closest to Lake Wilson listed first.
- Hadley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Hadley is located in Murray County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hadley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 59 people
- Chandler
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Chandler is located in Murray County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chandler
- Population from the 2020 Census: 246 people
- Lowville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Lowville is located in Murray County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowville
- Slayton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Iona
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Avoca
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Avoca is located in Murray County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avoca
- Population from the 2020 Census: 134 people
- Currie
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- The Lakes
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- The Lakes is located in Murray County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Lakes
- Fulda
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Dovray
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Dovray is located in Murray County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dovray
- Population from the 2020 Census: 51 people
- Cottonwood County
- Westbrook
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Lincoln County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lake Wilson, with the one closest to Lake Wilson listed first.
- Tyler
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Lake Benton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Arco
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Lyon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lake Wilson, with the one closest to Lake Wilson listed first.
- Balaton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Florence
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Florence is located in Lyon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
- Population from the 2020 Census: 35 people
- Garvin
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Garvin is located in Lyon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garvin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 129 people
- Russell
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Russell is located in Lyon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 343 people
- Tracy
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Amiret
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Amiret is located in Lyon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amiret
- Lynd
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Nobles County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lake Wilson, with the one closest to Lake Wilson listed first.
- Leota
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Leota is located in Nobles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leota
- Lismore
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Lismore is located in Nobles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lismore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 218 people
- Wilmont
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Reading
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Reading is located in Nobles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reading
- Adrian
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Kinbrae
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Kinbrae is located in Nobles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinbrae
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10 people
- Dundee
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Dundee is located in Nobles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dundee
- Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
- Rushmore
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Rushmore is located in Nobles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rushmore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 334 people
- Pipestone County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lake Wilson, with the one closest to Lake Wilson listed first.
- Woodstock
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Edgerton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Hatfield
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Hatfield is located in Pipestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 52 people
- Holland
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Holland is located in Pipestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 172 people
- Ruthton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Trosky
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Pipestone
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Ihlen
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Jasper Sunrise Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Jasper
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Jasper is located in Pipestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jasper
- Population from the 2020 Census: 603 people
- Airlie
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Airlie is located in Pipestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Airlie
- Redwood County
- Walnut Grove
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Rock County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lake Wilson, with the one closest to Lake Wilson listed first.
- Kenneth
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Kenneth is located in Rock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenneth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 66 people
- Hardwick
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Magnolia
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Magnolia is located in Rock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 208 people
- Luverne
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Kanaranzi
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Brookings County (SD)
- Elkton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Minnehaha County (SD)
- Sherman
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Sherman is located in Minnehaha County (SD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 82 people
- Moody County (SD)
- Ward
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Lake Wilson, see our County-by-County Page for Lake Wilson.
Cemeteries Near Lake Wilson ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Lake Wilson.
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 Wilson - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Lake Wilson covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Lake Wilson, with the one closest to Lake Wilson listed first.
- Hillside Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- St. John's Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Trinity Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Chandler Memorial Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Highland Home Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Woodstock Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Ellsborough Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Slayton Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- St. Martins Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Zion Lutheran Church Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- St. Columba Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- St. Annes Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Continue List (107 more) ...
- Badger Lake Presbyterian Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Restland Memory Gardens
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Zion Lutheran Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
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.<3>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Lake Wilson had a population of 200 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Lake Wilson had a population of 224 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Lake Wilson, with the one closest to Lake Wilson listed first.
- Chandler
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Chandler is located in Murray County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chandler
- Population from the 2020 Census: 246 people
- Hadley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Hadley is located in Murray County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hadley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 59 people
- Lowville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Lowville is located in Murray County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowville
- Woodstock
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Slayton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Current Lake
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Current Lake is located in Murray County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Current Lake
- Iona
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Hatfield
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Hatfield is located in Pipestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 52 people
- Edgerton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Holland
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Holland is located in Pipestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 172 people
- Ruthton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Avoca
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Avoca is located in Murray County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avoca
- Population from the 2020 Census: 134 people
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Currie
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Trosky
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Balaton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Lake Wilson. See our List of 1890's Communities around Lake Wilson.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Lake Wilson ...
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 95 newspapers that have been published in the area around Lake Wilson.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Lake Wilson. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Lake Wilson and those printed in the larger area surrounding Lake Wilson.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<4> of Lake Wilson.
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 Wilson:
- Websites specific to Minnesota
- Pages specific to Murray County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cottonwood County
- Lincoln County
- Lyon County
- Nobles County
- Pipestone County
- Redwood County
- Rock County
- Brookings County
- Minnehaha County
- Moody County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Minnesota
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> | 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 Wilson, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Lake Wilson) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |