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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 Leota (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 Leota. 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 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.

Leota is located in Nobles 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 Nobles County: Lyon (IA), Osceola (IA), Cottonwood, Jackson, Murray & Rock.

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

  • Nobles County     (The home county of Leota)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Leota, with the one closest to Leota listed first.
    • Lismore
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Lismore is located in Nobles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lismore
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 218 people
    • Wilmont
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Adrian
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Reading
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Reading is located in Nobles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reading
    • Rushmore
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Rushmore is located in Nobles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rushmore
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 334 people
    • Ellsworth
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Ransom
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Ransom is located in Nobles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ransom
    • Org
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Org is located in Nobles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Org
    • Worthington
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Kinbrae
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Kinbrae is located in Nobles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinbrae
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10 people
    • Dundee
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Dundee is located in Nobles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dundee
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
    • Bigelow
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Bigelow is located in Nobles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bigelow
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 226 people
    • Brewster
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Brewster is located in Nobles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brewster
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 466 people
  • Lyon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Leota, with the one closest to Leota listed first.
    • Florence
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Florence is located in Lyon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 35 people
    • Balaton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Garvin
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Garvin is located in Lyon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garvin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 129 people
  • Murray County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Leota, with the one closest to Leota listed first.
    • Chandler
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Chandler is located in Murray County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chandler
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 246 people
    • Lake Wilson
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Lake Wilson is located in Murray County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Wilson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 224 people
    • Iona
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Hadley
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Hadley is located in Murray County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hadley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 59 people
    • Slayton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Lowville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Lowville is located in Murray County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowville
    • Avoca
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Avoca is located in Murray County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avoca
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 134 people
    • Fulda
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Currie
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Dovray
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Dovray is located in Murray County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dovray
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 51 people
    • The Lakes
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • The Lakes is located in Murray County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Lakes
  • Pipestone County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Leota, with the one closest to Leota listed first.
    • Edgerton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Woodstock
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Hatfield
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Hatfield is located in Pipestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 52 people
    • Trosky
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Pipestone
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Ihlen
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Jasper Sunrise Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Holland
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Holland is located in Pipestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 172 people
    • Jasper
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Jasper is located in Pipestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jasper
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 603 people
    • Ruthton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Airlie
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Airlie is located in Pipestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Airlie
  • Rock County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Leota, with the one closest to Leota listed first.
    • Kenneth
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Kenneth is located in Rock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenneth
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 66 people
    • Hardwick
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Magnolia
      (13 miles [20.9 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
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Kanaranzi
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Ash Creek
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Ash Creek is located in Rock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ash Creek
    • Beaver Creek
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Beaver Creek is located in Rock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Creek
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 283 people
    • Steen
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Steen is located in Rock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steen
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 164 people
    • Manley
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Manley is located in Rock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manley
    • Hills
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Bruce
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Bruce is located in Rock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruce
  • Lyon County (IA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Leota, with the one closest to Leota listed first.
    • Little Rock
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Rock Rapids
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Minnehaha County (SD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Leota, with the one closest to Leota listed first.
    • Sherman
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Sherman is located in Minnehaha County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherman
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 82 people
    • Garretson
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Garretson is located in Minnehaha County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garretson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,147 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Garretson <1>
    • Valley Springs
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Leota ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Leota.

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

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

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

  • Leota Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Norwegian Lutheran Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Chandler Memorial Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • St. Anthonys Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Lismore Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Trinity Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Hillside Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Kenneth Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Blue Mound Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Woodstock Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (117 more) ...
    • Wilmont Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Hillside Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Trosky Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)

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>

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

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

  • Edgerton
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Chandler
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Chandler is located in Murray County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chandler
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 246 people
  • Hardwick
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Lake Wilson
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Lake Wilson is located in Murray County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Wilson
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 224 people
  • Woodstock
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Iona
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Hatfield
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Hatfield is located in Pipestone County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatfield
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 52 people
  • Trosky
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Magnolia
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Magnolia is located in Rock County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 208 people
  • Hadley
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Hadley is located in Murray County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hadley
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 59 people
  • Adrian
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
  • Luverne
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Slayton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Lowville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Lowville is located in Murray County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowville
    • Kanaranzi
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in Leota ...

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 121 newspapers that have been published in the area around Leota.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Leota, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Leota.

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 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 Leota:

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 Leota, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Leota) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.