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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 London (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 London. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.

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 south 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.

London is located in Freeborn 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 Freeborn County: Winnebago (IA), Worth (IA), Faribault, Mower, Steele & Waseca.

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

  • Freeborn County     (The home county of London)
    • The following are listed by their distance from London, with the one closest to London listed first.
    • Myrtle
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Oakland
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Oakland is located in Freeborn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
    • Glenville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Hayward
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Albert Lea
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Hollandale
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Twin Lakes
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Clarks Grove
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Emmons
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Emmons is located in Freeborn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmons
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 380 people
    • Geneva
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Manchester
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Manchester is located in Freeborn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manchester
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 55 people
    • Conger
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Conger is located in Freeborn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conger
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 144 people
    • Bath
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Dodge County
    • The following are listed by their distance from London, with the one closest to London listed first.
    • Hayfield
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Westfield Center ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Westfield Center is located in Dodge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westfield Center
  • Mower County
    • The following are listed by their distance from London, with the one closest to London listed first.
    • Lyle
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Varco
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Austin
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Mapleview
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Mapleview is located in Mower County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mapleview
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 177 people
    • Rose Creek
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Johnsburg
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Lansing
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Adams
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Brownsdale
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Elkton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Renova ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Taopi
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Taopi is located in Mower County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taopi
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 65 people
    • Dexter
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Steele County
  • Cerro Gordo County (IA)
  • Floyd County (IA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from London, with the one closest to London listed first.
    • Nora Springs
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Rudd
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
  • Howard County (IA)
  • Mitchell County (IA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from London, with the one closest to London listed first.
    • Carpenter
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Carpenter is located in Mitchell County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carpenter
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 108 people
    • Toeterville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Saint Ansgar
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Stacyville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Mitchell
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Meyer
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Little Cedar
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Little Cedar is located in Mitchell County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Cedar
    • Osage
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Rock Creek
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • McIntire
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Orchard
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Orchard is located in Mitchell County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orchard
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 71 people
    • New Haven
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Winnebago County (IA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from London, with the one closest to London listed first.
    • Lake Mills
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Scarville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Vinje
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Worth County (IA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from London, with the one closest to London listed first.
    • Northwood
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Bolan
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Grafton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Kensett
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Kensett is located in Worth County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kensett
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 249 people
    • Silver Lake
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Manly
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Bristol
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Joice
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Joice is located in Worth County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joice
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 209 people
    • Hanlontown
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Hanlontown is located in Worth County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanlontown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
    • Fertile
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near London ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of London.

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

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

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

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, London had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Deer Creek
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Deer Creek is located in Worth County (IA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Creek
  • Meltonville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Meltonville is located in Worth County (IA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meltonville
  • Myrtle
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Otranto
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Otranto is located in Mitchell County (IA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otranto
  • Mona
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Mona is located in Mitchell County (IA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mona
  • Lyle
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Carpenter
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Carpenter is located in Mitchell County (IA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carpenter
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 108 people
  • Varco
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Northwood
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Gordonsville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Gordonsville is located in Freeborn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordonsville
  • Austin
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Oakland
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Oakland is located in Freeborn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in London ...

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 108 newspapers that have been published in the area around London.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of London, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for London.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 London:

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- London) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<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 London, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.