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 Lakefield (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 Lakefield. 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 hospitals and doctors 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.
Lakefield is located in Jackson 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 Jackson County: Dickinson (IA), Emmet (IA), Osceola (IA), Cottonwood, Martin, Nobles & Watonwan.
Below are the counties that are near Lakefield. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Lakefield:
- Jackson County (The home county of Lakefield)
- The following are listed by their distance from Lakefield, with the one closest to Lakefield listed first.
- Okabena
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Okabena is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Okabena
- Population from the 2020 Census: 195 people
- Jackson
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Wilder
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Wilder is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilder
- Population from the 2020 Census: 56 people
- Heron Lake
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Heron Lake is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heron Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 643 people
- Sioux Valley
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Sioux Valley is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sioux Valley
- Alpha
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Alpha is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpha
- Population from the 2020 Census: 119 people
- Petersburg
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Petersburg is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersburg
- Cottonwood County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lakefield, with the one closest to Lakefield listed first.
- Windom
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Bingham Lake
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Mountain Lake
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Jeffers
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Jeffers is located in Cottonwood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeffers
- Population from the 2020 Census: 346 people
- Storden
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Storden is located in Cottonwood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Storden
- Population from the 2020 Census: 204 people
- Westbrook
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Martin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lakefield, with the one closest to Lakefield listed first.
- Dunnell
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Dunnell is located in Martin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunnell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 145 people
- Sherburn
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Trimont
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Ormsby
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Ormsby is located in Martin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ormsby
- Population from the 2020 Census: 121 people
- Ceylon
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Welcome
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Murray County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lakefield, with the one closest to Lakefield listed first.
- Fulda
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Avoca
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Avoca is located in Murray County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avoca
- Population from the 2020 Census: 134 people
- Nobles County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lakefield, with the one closest to Lakefield listed first.
- Brewster
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Brewster is located in Nobles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brewster
- Population from the 2020 Census: 466 people
- Round Lake
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Dundee
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Dundee is located in Nobles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dundee
- Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
- Kinbrae
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Kinbrae is located in Nobles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinbrae
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10 people
- Worthington
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Org
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Org is located in Nobles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Org
- Reading
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Reading is located in Nobles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reading
- Bigelow
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Bigelow is located in Nobles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bigelow
- Population from the 2020 Census: 226 people
- Watonwan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lakefield, with the one closest to Lakefield listed first.
- Odin
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Odin is located in Watonwan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Odin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 104 people
- Butterfield
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Butterfield is located in Watonwan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butterfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 582 people
- Darfur
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Darfur is located in Watonwan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darfur
- Population from the 2020 Census: 102 people
- Clay County (IA)
- Fostoria
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Fostoria is located in Clay County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fostoria
- Population from the 2020 Census: 219 people
- Dickinson County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Lakefield, with the one closest to Lakefield listed first.
- Orleans
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Orleans is located in Dickinson County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orleans
- Population from the 2020 Census: 591 people
- Spirit Lake
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Lake Park
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Okoboji
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Wahpeton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Wahpeton is located in Dickinson County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wahpeton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 353 people
- Superior
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Arnolds Park
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- West Okoboji
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- West Okoboji is located in Dickinson County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Okoboji
- Population from the 2020 Census: 303 people
- Milford
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Old Town
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Old Town is located in Dickinson County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Town
- Terril
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Terril is located in Dickinson County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terril
- Population from the 2020 Census: 338 people
- Emmet County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Lakefield, with the one closest to Lakefield listed first.
- Estherville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Gruver
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Gruver is located in Emmet County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gruver
- Population from the 2020 Census: 82 people
- Osceola County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Lakefield, with the one closest to Lakefield listed first.
- Harris
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Harris is located in Osceola County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris
- Population from the 2020 Census: 158 people
- Ocheyedan
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Ocheyedan is located in Osceola County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocheyedan
- Population from the 2020 Census: 463 people
- May City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- May City is located in Osceola County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for May City
- Allendorf
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Allendorf is located in Osceola County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allendorf
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Lakefield, see our County-by-County Page for Lakefield.
Cemeteries Near Lakefield ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Lakefield.
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 Lakefield - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Lakefield covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Lakefield, with the one closest to Lakefield listed first.
- Immanuel Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Heron Lake Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- St. Peter Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Brill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- St. Pauls Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- West Belmont Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- East Belmont Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- St. John's Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Holy Trinity Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Delafield Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Sunset Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Sunset Cemetery is located outside and to the south of Jackson.
- Sunset Memorial Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Memorial Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Sunset Memorial Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the south of Jackson.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #83662 <2>
- Continue List (115 more) ...
- Christiana Norwegian Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Wilder Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Good Shepherd Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Good Shepherd Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Good Shepherd Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the south of Jackson.
- The Good Shepherd Cemetery has also been known as:
- St. Wenceslaus Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #82394 <2>
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 Lakefield had a population of 275 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Lakefield had a population of 1,602 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Lakefield, with the one closest to Lakefield listed first.
- Okabena
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Okabena is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Okabena
- Population from the 2020 Census: 195 people
- Jackson
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Wilder
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Wilder is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilder
- Population from the 2020 Census: 56 people
- Sioux Valley
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Sioux Valley is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sioux Valley
- Heron Lake
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Heron Lake is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heron Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 643 people
- Windom
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Brewster
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Brewster is located in Nobles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brewster
- Population from the 2020 Census: 466 people
- Petersburg
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Petersburg is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersburg
- Round Lake
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Lake Park
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Spirit Lake
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Bingham Lake
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Dundee
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Dundee is located in Nobles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dundee
- Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
- Kinbrae
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Kinbrae is located in Nobles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinbrae
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10 people
- Harris
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Harris is located in Osceola County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris
- Population from the 2020 Census: 158 people
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Lakefield. See our List of 1890's Communities around Lakefield.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Lakefield ...
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 102 newspapers that have been published in the area around Lakefield.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Lakefield. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Lakefield and those printed in the larger area surrounding Lakefield.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4> of Lakefield.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Lakefield:
- Websites specific to Minnesota
- Pages specific to Jackson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cottonwood County
- Martin County
- Murray County
- Nobles County
- Watonwan County
- Clay County
- Dickinson County
- Emmet County
- Osceola 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 Lakefield, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Lakefield) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |