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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 Martin 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 Martin 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 Martin 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.

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

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 southwest 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 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.

Martin Lake is located in Anoka 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 Anoka County: Chisago, Hennepin, Isanti, Ramsey, Sherburne & Washington.

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

  • Anoka County     (The home county of Martin Lake)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Martin Lake, with the one closest to Martin Lake listed first.
    • Linwood
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Linwood is located in Anoka County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linwood
    • East Bethel
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Coopers Corner
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Coopers Corner is located in Anoka County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coopers Corner
    • City of Columbus
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • City of Columbus is located in Anoka County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for City of Columbus
      • Estimated population in 2015: 4,007 people
    • Bethel
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Cedar
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Ham Lake
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Oak Grove
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Saint Francis
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Lino Lakes
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Andover
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Blaine
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Centerville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
  • Chisago County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Martin Lake, with the one closest to Martin Lake listed first.
    • Stacy
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Stacy is located in Chisago County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stacy
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,525 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Stacy <1>
    • Wyoming
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Chisago City
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Branch
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Branch is located in Chisago County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branch
    • Lindstrom
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • North Branch
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Center City
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Harris
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Shafer
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Almelund
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Franconia
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Franconia is located in Chisago County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franconia
    • Taylors Falls
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Rush City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
  • Hennepin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Martin Lake, with the one closest to Martin Lake listed first.
    • Champlin
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Brooklyn Park
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Dayton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Osseo
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Osseo is located in Hennepin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osseo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,703 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Osseo <1>
    • Brooklyn Center
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Saint Anthony
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Maple Grove
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Rogers
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Rogers is located in Hennepin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,623 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rogers <1>
    • Crystal
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Robbinsdale
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • New Hope
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Corcoran
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Golden Valley
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Isanti County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Martin Lake, with the one closest to Martin Lake listed first.
    • Weber
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Weber is located in Isanti County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weber
    • Isanti
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Minnesota Boys Town
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Minnesota Boys Town is located in Isanti County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minnesota Boys Town
    • Cambridge
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Bradford
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Bradford is located in Isanti County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradford
    • Grandy
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Crown
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Crown is located in Isanti County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crown
    • Stanchfield
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Elm Park
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Elm Park is located in Isanti County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elm Park
    • Braham
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Dalbo
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
  • Kanabec County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Martin Lake, with the one closest to Martin Lake listed first.
    • Coin
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Coin is located in Kanabec County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coin
    • Grasston
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
  • Mille Lacs County
    • Princeton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Pine County
    • Rock Creek
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
  • Ramsey County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Martin Lake, with the one closest to Martin Lake listed first.
    • Mounds View
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • North Oaks
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Shoreview
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • White Bear Beach
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • White Bear Beach is located in Ramsey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Bear Beach
    • White Bear Lake
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Arden Hills
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Cardigan Junction
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Cardigan Junction is located in Ramsey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cardigan Junction
    • Gem Lake
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Gem Lake is located in Ramsey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gem Lake
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 536 people
    • New Brighton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Vadnais Heights
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Little Canada
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Maplewood
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • North Saint Paul
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
  • Sherburne County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Martin Lake, with the one closest to Martin Lake listed first.
    • Elk River
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Zimmerman
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Zimmerman is located in Sherburne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zimmerman
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,135 people
      • Zimmerman has also been known as:
      • Lake Fremont
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Zimmerman <1>
  • Washington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Martin Lake, with the one closest to Martin Lake listed first.
    • Forest Lake
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Hugo
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Hugo is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hugo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 15,452 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hugo <1>
    • Scandia
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Otisville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Otisville is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otisville
    • Marine-on-Saint-Croix
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Dellwood
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Dellwood is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dellwood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,120 people
    • Withrow
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Withrow is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Withrow
    • Birchwood Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Birchwood Village is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birchwood Village
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 880 people
    • Mahtomedi
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Grant
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Grant is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,107 people
    • Willernie
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Duluth Junction
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Duluth Junction is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duluth Junction
    • Pine Springs
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Pine Springs is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Springs
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 390 people
  • Wright County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Martin Lake, with the one closest to Martin Lake listed first.
    • Otsego
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Albertville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Burnett County (WI)
    • Randall
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Randall is located in Burnett County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randall
  • Polk County (WI)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Martin Lake, with the one closest to Martin Lake listed first.
    • Osceola
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Osceola is located in Polk County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osceola
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,580 people
    • Dresser
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Dresser is located in Polk County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dresser
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 864 people
    • Saint Croix Falls
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Saint Croix Falls is located in Polk County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Croix Falls
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,059 people
    • Centuria
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Centuria is located in Polk County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centuria
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 905 people
    • Horse Creek
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Horse Creek is located in Polk County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horse Creek
    • Atlas
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Atlas is located in Polk County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atlas
    • Milltown
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Milltown is located in Polk County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milltown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 875 people
  • Saint Croix County (WI)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Martin Lake, with the one closest to Martin Lake listed first.
    • Somerset
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Somerset is located in Saint Croix County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somerset
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,992 people
    • Star Prairie
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Star Prairie is located in Saint Croix County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star Prairie
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 549 people

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

Cemeteries Near Martin Lake ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Martin 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 Martin Lake - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Linwood Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Victor Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Aetna Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Fish Lake Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Fridsborg Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • St. Pauls Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • St. Joseph's Catholic Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Wyoming Methodist Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Stacy Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Salem Lutheran Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Oxford Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Oak Leaf Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (233 more) ...
    • East Bethel Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Old Bethel Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Oak Park 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.<2>

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

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

  • Linwood
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Linwood is located in Anoka County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linwood
  • Wyoming
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Stacy
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Stacy is located in Chisago County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stacy
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,525 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Stacy <1>
  • Blomford
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Blomford is located in Isanti County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blomford
  • Bethel
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Chisago City
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Isanti
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Oak Grove
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Forest Lake
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Lindstrom
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • North Branch
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Spring Lake
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Spring Lake is located in Isanti County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Lake
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Center City
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Kost
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Kost is located in Chisago County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kost
    • Stark
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Stark is located in Chisago County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stark

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

Newspapers Published in Martin 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 151 newspapers that have been published in the area around Martin Lake.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Martin Lake, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Martin Lake.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

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