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 Mansfield (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 Mansfield. 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 doctors and hospitals 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.
Mansfield 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 Mansfield. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Mansfield:
- Freeborn County (The home county of Mansfield)
- The following are listed by their distance from Mansfield, with the one closest to Mansfield listed first.
- Conger
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Conger is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conger
- Population from the 2020 Census: 144 people
- Alden
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Emmons
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Emmons is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmons
- Population from the 2020 Census: 380 people
- Twin Lakes
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Twin Lakes is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Lakes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 149 people
- Freeborn
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Albert Lea
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Manchester
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Manchester is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manchester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 55 people
- Glenville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Hartland
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Hartland is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 307 people
- Hayward
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Clarks Grove
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Bath
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Bath is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bath
- Myrtle
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Myrtle is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myrtle
- Population from the 2020 Census: 46 people
- Blue Earth County
- Mapleton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Faribault County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mansfield, with the one closest to Mansfield listed first.
- Walters
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Walters is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walters
- Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
- Kiester
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Bricelyn
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Bricelyn is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bricelyn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 334 people
- Wells
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Dell
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Dell is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dell
- Frost
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Easton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Easton is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 183 people
- Minnesota Lake
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Delavan
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Delavan is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delavan
- Population from the 2020 Census: 166 people
- Blue Earth
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Blue Earth is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Earth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,098 people
- Former name for Blue Earth:
- Blue Earth City
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Blue Earth <1>
- Elmore
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Elmore is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 613 people
- Winnebago
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Steele County
- Ellendale
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Waseca County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mansfield, with the one closest to Mansfield listed first.
- New Richland
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Waldorf
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Waldorf is located in Waseca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldorf
- Population from the 2020 Census: 224 people
- Vista
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Vista is located in Waseca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vista
- Wilton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Wilton is located in Waseca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilton
- Cerro Gordo County (IA)
- Creamery
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Creamery is located in Cerro Gordo County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creamery
- Hancock County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Mansfield, with the one closest to Mansfield listed first.
- Crystal Lake
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Crystal Lake is located in Hancock County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 228 people
- Woden
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Kossuth County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Mansfield, with the one closest to Mansfield listed first.
- Lakota
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Lakota is located in Kossuth County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakota
- Population from the 2020 Census: 275 people
- German Valley
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- German Valley is located in Kossuth County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for German Valley
- Ledyard
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Winnebago County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Mansfield, with the one closest to Mansfield listed first.
- Scarville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Vinje
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Vinje is located in Winnebago County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vinje
- Lake Mills
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Leland
(16 miles [25.7 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
(16 miles [25.7 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
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Buffalo Center
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Forest City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Worth County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Mansfield, with the one closest to Mansfield listed first.
- Bristol
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Bristol is located in Worth County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bristol
- Silver Lake
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Silver Lake is located in Worth County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Lake
- Joice
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Joice is located in Worth County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joice
- Population from the 2020 Census: 209 people
- Northwood
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Fertile
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Hanlontown
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Hanlontown is located in Worth County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanlontown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
- Kensett
(25 miles [40.2 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
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Bolan is located in Worth County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolan
- Manly
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Mansfield, see our County-by-County Page for Mansfield.
Cemeteries Near Mansfield ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Mansfield.
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 Mansfield - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Mansfield covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Mansfield, with the one closest to Mansfield listed first.
- Mansfield Lutheran Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- United Brethren Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Schnieder Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Zion Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- United Lutheran Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for United Lutheran Cemetery
- The United Lutheran Cemetery has also been known as:
- St. John's Cemetery
- St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery
- St. John's Lutheran Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2443887 <2>
- Fairview Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- American Lutheran Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Synod Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Conger Community Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Immanuel Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Lime Creek Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lime Creek Cemetery
- The Lime Creek Cemetery has also been known as:
- Lime Creek Lutheran Church Cemetery
- Bear Lake Concordia Lutheran Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Continue List (217 more) ...
- Bethel Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Lime Creek Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lime Creek Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery
- The Lime Creek Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery has also been known as:
- Lime Creek Cemetery
- Lime Creek Lutheran Cemetery
- Lime Creek Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #690479 <2>
- Oak Lawn Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
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, Mansfield had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Mansfield, with the one closest to Mansfield listed first.
- Kiester
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Alden
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Norman ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Norman is located in Winnebago County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norman
- Emmons
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Emmons is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmons
- Population from the 2020 Census: 380 people
- Twin Lakes
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Twin Lakes is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Lakes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 149 people
- Armstrong
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Armstrong is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armstrong
- Amund
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Amund is located in Winnebago County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amund
- Lake Mills
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Bristol
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Bristol is located in Worth County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bristol
- Silver Lake
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Silver Lake is located in Worth County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Lake
- Albert Lea
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Manchester
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Manchester is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manchester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 55 people
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Freeborn
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Somber
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Somber is located in Worth County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somber
- Dell
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Dell is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dell
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Mansfield. See our List of 1890's Communities around Mansfield.
Newspapers Published in Mansfield ...
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 106 newspapers that have been published in the area around Mansfield.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Mansfield, 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 Mansfield.
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 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 Mansfield:
- Websites specific to Minnesota
- Pages specific to Freeborn County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Blue Earth County
- Faribault County
- Steele County
- Waseca County
- Cerro Gordo County
- Hancock County
- Kossuth 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 Mansfield, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Mansfield) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |