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 Manchester (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 Manchester. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.
Manchester 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 Manchester. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Manchester:
- Freeborn County (The home county of Manchester)
- The following are listed by their distance from Manchester, with the one closest to Manchester listed first.
- Hartland
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Hartland is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 307 people
- Clarks Grove
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Freeborn
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Albert Lea
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bath
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Bath is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bath
- Alden
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Conger
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Conger is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conger
- Population from the 2020 Census: 144 people
- Geneva
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Twin Lakes
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Twin Lakes is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Lakes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 149 people
- Hayward
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Hollandale
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Glenville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Blue Earth County
- The following are listed by their distance from Manchester, with the one closest to Manchester listed first.
- Pemberton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Pemberton is located in Blue Earth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pemberton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 241 people
- Mapleton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Dodge County
- Westfield Center ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Westfield Center is located in Dodge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westfield Center
- Faribault County
- The following are listed by their distance from Manchester, with the one closest to Manchester listed first.
- Walters
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Walters is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walters
- Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
- Wells
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Kiester
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Minnesota Lake
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Bricelyn
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Bricelyn is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bricelyn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 334 people
- Easton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Easton is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 183 people
- Dell
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Dell is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dell
- Frost
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Delavan
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Delavan is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delavan
- Population from the 2020 Census: 166 people
- Mower County
- The following are listed by their distance from Manchester, with the one closest to Manchester listed first.
- Mapleview
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Mapleview is located in Mower County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mapleview
- Population from the 2020 Census: 177 people
- Austin
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Lansing
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Lansing is located in Mower County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lansing
- Varco
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Varco is located in Mower County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Varco
- Brownsdale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Waltham
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Lyle
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Steele County
- The following are listed by their distance from Manchester, with the one closest to Manchester listed first.
- Ellendale
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- River Point
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- River Point is located in Steele County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Point
- Hope
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Hope is located in Steele County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope
- Union
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Union is located in Steele County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
- Steele Center
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Steele Center is located in Steele County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steele Center
- Blooming Prairie
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Pratt
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Pratt is located in Steele County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pratt
- Havana
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Havana is located in Steele County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Havana
- Owatonna
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Waseca County
- The following are listed by their distance from Manchester, with the one closest to Manchester listed first.
- New Richland
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Vista
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Vista is located in Waseca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vista
- Waldorf
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Waldorf is located in Waseca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldorf
- Population from the 2020 Census: 224 people
- Wilton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Wilton is located in Waseca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilton
- Waseca
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Alma City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Alma City is located in Waseca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alma City
- Palmer
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Palmer is located in Waseca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmer
- Janesville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Mitchell County (IA)
- Carpenter
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Carpenter is located in Mitchell County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carpenter
- Population from the 2020 Census: 108 people
- Winnebago County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Manchester, with the one closest to Manchester listed first.
- Scarville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Vinje
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Vinje is located in Winnebago County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vinje
- Lake Mills
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Leland
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Leland is located in Winnebago County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 268 people
- Rake
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Rake is located in Winnebago County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
- Thompson
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Worth County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Manchester, with the one closest to Manchester listed first.
- Silver Lake
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Silver Lake is located in Worth County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Lake
- Bristol
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Bristol is located in Worth County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bristol
- Northwood
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Joice
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Joice is located in Worth County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joice
- Population from the 2020 Census: 209 people
- Kensett
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Kensett is located in Worth County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kensett
- Population from the 2020 Census: 249 people
- Bolan
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bolan is located in Worth County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolan
- Hanlontown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Hanlontown is located in Worth County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanlontown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Manchester, see our County-by-County Page for Manchester.
Cemeteries Near Manchester ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Manchester.
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 Manchester - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Manchester covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Manchester, with the one closest to Manchester listed first.
- West Freeborn Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Central Lutheran Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- South Hartland Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Itasca Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Freeborn County Poor Farm Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Hartland Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- St. Theodores Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Carlston Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Concordia Lutheran Church Cemetery of Pickerel Lake
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Graceland Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Lakewood Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Freeborn Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeborn Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Freeborn Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the north of Freeborn.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #82353 <2>
- Continue List (244 more) ...
- Alden Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Shady Oak Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- East Freeborn Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
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 in 1895, Manchester had a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Manchester had a population of 55 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Manchester, with the one closest to Manchester listed first.
- Armstrong
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Armstrong is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armstrong
- Hartland
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Hartland is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 307 people
- Albert Lea
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Clarks Grove
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Freeborn
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Alden
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Bath
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Bath is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bath
- New Richland
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Twin Lakes
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Twin Lakes is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Lakes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 149 people
- Hayward
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Geneva
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Mansfield
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Mansfield is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mansfield
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Glenville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Emmons
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Emmons is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmons
- Population from the 2020 Census: 380 people
- Norman ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Norman is located in Winnebago County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norman
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Manchester. See our List of 1890's Communities around Manchester.
Newspapers Published in Manchester ...
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 119 newspapers that have been published in the area around Manchester.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Manchester, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Manchester.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with 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 Manchester:
- Websites specific to Minnesota
- Pages specific to Freeborn County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Blue Earth County
- Dodge County
- Faribault County
- Mower County
- Steele County
- Waseca County
- Mitchell County
- Winnebago County
- Worth 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 Manchester, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Manchester) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |