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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 Madison Lake (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 Madison Lake. 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 Madison Lake ...

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.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.

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

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Madison Lake. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Madison Lake.

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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals 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.

Madison Lake is located in Blue Earth 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 Blue Earth County: Brown, Faribault, Le Sueur, Martin, Nicollet, Waseca & Watonwan.

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

  • Blue Earth County     (The home county of Madison Lake)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Madison Lake, with the one closest to Madison Lake listed first.
    • Eagle Lake
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Smiths Mill
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Smiths Mill is located in Blue Earth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smiths Mill
    • Saint Clair
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Mankato
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Mankato is located in Blue Earth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mankato
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 43,435 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mankato <1>
    • Skyline
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Skyline is located in Blue Earth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skyline
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 299 people
    • Pemberton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Pemberton is located in Blue Earth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pemberton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 241 people
    • Rapidan
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Rapidan is located in Blue Earth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rapidan
    • Beauford
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Beauford is located in Blue Earth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beauford
    • Good Thunder
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Judson
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Judson is located in Blue Earth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Judson
    • Mapleton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Garden City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Garden City is located in Blue Earth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
    • Lake Crystal
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
  • Brown County
    • Searles
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Searles is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Searles
  • Faribault County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Madison Lake, with the one closest to Madison Lake listed first.
    • Minnesota Lake
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Easton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Easton is located in Faribault County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 183 people
  • Le Sueur County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Madison Lake, with the one closest to Madison Lake listed first.
    • Marysburg
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Marysburg is located in Le Sueur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marysburg
    • Greenland
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Greenland is located in Le Sueur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenland
    • Cleveland
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Kasota
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Cordova
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Cordova is located in Le Sueur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cordova
    • Waterville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Le Center
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Ottawa
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Ottawa is located in Le Sueur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ottawa
    • Kilkenny
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Lexington
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Lexington is located in Le Sueur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lexington
    • Le Sueur
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Montgomery
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Saint Thomas
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Saint Thomas is located in Le Sueur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Thomas
  • Nicollet County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Madison Lake, with the one closest to Madison Lake listed first.
    • Saint Peter
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • North Mankato
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Oshawa
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Oshawa is located in Nicollet County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oshawa
    • Nicollet
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • New Sweden
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • New Sweden is located in Nicollet County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Sweden
    • Courtland
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
  • Rice County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Madison Lake, with the one closest to Madison Lake listed first.
    • Morristown
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Warsaw
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Warsaw is located in Rice County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warsaw
    • Wheatland
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Wheatland is located in Rice County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheatland
    • Faribault
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Lonsdale
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Millersburg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Millersburg is located in Rice County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millersburg
    • Trondjem
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Trondjem is located in Rice County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trondjem
  • Scott County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Madison Lake, with the one closest to Madison Lake listed first.
    • Union Hill
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Union Hill is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Hill
    • New Prague
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Belle Plaine
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
  • Sibley County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Madison Lake, with the one closest to Madison Lake listed first.
    • Henderson
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Arlington
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Steele County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Madison Lake, with the one closest to Madison Lake listed first.
    • Medford
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Medford is located in Steele County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,255 people
    • Owatonna
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Waseca County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Madison Lake, with the one closest to Madison Lake listed first.
    • Elysian
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Janesville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Palmer
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Palmer is located in Waseca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmer
    • Alma City
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Alma City is located in Waseca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alma City
    • Waseca
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Waldorf
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Waldorf is located in Waseca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldorf
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 224 people
    • Wilton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Wilton is located in Waseca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilton
    • Vista
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Vista is located in Waseca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vista
    • New Richland
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Madison Lake ...

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

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

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

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

  • Calvary Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Marysburg Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Eagle Lake Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Round Lake Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Sugar Grove Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Greenland Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Wendelschafer Family Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Burgess Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Smith's Mill Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Tivoli Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Cedar Hill Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • St. Peter's Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (263 more) ...
    • Haugenstein Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Phebe Jones Lakeside Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Cleveland Lutheran Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 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 Madison Lake had a population of 350 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Madison Lake had a population of 1,202 people.

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

  • Marysburg
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Marysburg is located in Le Sueur County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marysburg
  • Eagle Lake
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Greenland
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Greenland is located in Le Sueur County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenland
  • Elysian
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Janesville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Mankato
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Mankato is located in Blue Earth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mankato
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 43,435 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mankato <1>
  • Saint Clair
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Cleveland
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Kasota
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Saint Peter
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Cordova
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Cordova is located in Le Sueur County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cordova
  • Waterville
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Saint Henry
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Saint Henry is located in Le Sueur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Henry
    • Alma City
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Alma City is located in Waseca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alma City
    • Palmer
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Palmer is located in Waseca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmer

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Madison Lake ...

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 192 newspapers that have been published in the area around Madison Lake.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Madison Lake. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Madison Lake and those printed in the larger area surrounding Madison Lake.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4> of Madison Lake.

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 Madison Lake:

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