RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Minnesota >> Douglas County >> Melby >> Genealogy HelperIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
Minnesota

The Commemorative Quarter for Minnesota





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 Melby (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 Melby. 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 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.

Melby is located in Douglas County.

To see how the shape of Minnesota's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Douglas County: Grant, Otter Tail, Pope, Stearns, Stevens & Todd.

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

  • Douglas County     (The home county of Melby)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Melby, with the one closest to Melby listed first.
    • Evansville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Millerville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Millerville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerville
      • Millerville is located in Douglas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 103 people
    • Brandon
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Garfield
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Holmes City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Kensington
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Miltona
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Miltona. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miltona
      • Miltona is located in Douglas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 425 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Miltona <1>
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Miltona
      • From Melby to Miltona
    • Alexandria
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Carlos
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carlos have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlos
      • Carlos is located in Douglas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 490 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Carlos <1>
    • Belle River
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Belle River. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle River
      • Belle River is located in Douglas County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Belle River
      • From Melby to Belle River
    • Nelson
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nelson have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nelson
      • Nelson is located in Douglas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 192 people
    • Forada
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Forada have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forada
      • Forada is located in Douglas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 192 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Forada <1>
    • Rose City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rose City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose City
      • Rose City is located in Douglas County
  • Grant County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Melby, with the one closest to Melby listed first.
    • Ashby
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ashby have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashby
      • Ashby is located in Grant County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 444 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ashby <1>
    • Erdahl
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Barrett
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Barrett have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrett
      • Barrett is located in Grant County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 414 people
    • Elbow Lake
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Hoffman
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Wendell
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Norcross
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Norcross have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norcross
      • Norcross is located in Grant County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 71 people
    • Herman
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Otter Tail County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Melby, with the one closest to Melby listed first.
    • Urbank
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Urbank have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Urbank
      • Urbank is located in Otter Tail County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 52 people
    • Dalton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Battle Lake
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Clitherall
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clitherall have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clitherall
      • Clitherall is located in Otter Tail County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 106 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clitherall <1>
    • Nirvana
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Vining
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Underwood
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Underwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Underwood
      • Underwood is located in Otter Tail County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 364 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Underwood <1>
    • Parkers Prairie
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Henning
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Henning have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henning
      • Henning is located in Otter Tail County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 806 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Henning <1>
    • Fergus Falls
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Western
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Western. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Western
      • Western is located in Otter Tail County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Western
      • From Melby to Western
    • Amor
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Amor. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amor
      • Amor is located in Otter Tail County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Amor
      • From Melby to Amor
    • Maine
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Maine. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maine
      • Maine is located in Otter Tail County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Maine
      • From Melby to Maine
  • Pope County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Melby, with the one closest to Melby listed first.
    • Farwell
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Farwell have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farwell
      • Farwell is located in Pope County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 52 people
    • Lowry
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lowry have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowry
      • Lowry is located in Pope County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 301 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lowry <1>
  • Stevens County
    • Donnelly
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Donnelly have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donnelly
      • Donnelly is located in Stevens County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 233 people
  • Traverse County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Melby, with the one closest to Melby listed first.
    • Charlesville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Charlesville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlesville
      • Charlesville is located in Traverse County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Charlesville
      • From Melby to Charlesville
    • Tintah
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
  • Wilkin County
    • Nashua
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nashua have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nashua
      • Nashua is located in Wilkin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 66 people

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

Cemeteries Near Melby ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Melby.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

  • Christina Lake Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Christina Lake Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Christina Lake Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Native American Burial Grounds
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Native American Burial Grounds
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Native American Burial Grounds have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mound Grove Memorial Park
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mound Grove Memorial Park
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mound Grove Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pelican Lake Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pelican Lake Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pelican Lake Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Erdahi Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Erdahi Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Erdahi Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lakeside Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lakeside Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lakeside Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Trinity Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Trinity Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Trinity Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Free Church Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Free Church Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Free Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Grue Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Grue Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Grue Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Burns Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Burns Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Burns Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bethel Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bethel Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bethel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Oak Hill Farm Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak Hill Farm Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oak Hill Farm Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (196 more) ...
    • Evander Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Evander Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Evander Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Kvam Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Kvam Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Kvam Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Brandon Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Brandon Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Brandon Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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, Melby had a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Evansville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Ashby
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ashby have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashby
    • Ashby is located in Grant County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 444 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ashby <1>
  • Erdahl
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Millerville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Millerville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerville
    • Millerville is located in Douglas County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 103 people
  • Thorsborg
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thorsborg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorsborg
    • Thorsborg is located in Grant County
  • Brandon
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Dalton
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Elbow Lake
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Barrett
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Barrett have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrett
    • Barrett is located in Grant County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 414 people
  • Leaf Valley
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Leaf Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leaf Valley
    • Leaf Valley is located in Douglas County
  • Garfield
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Clitherall
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clitherall have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clitherall
    • Clitherall is located in Otter Tail County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 106 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clitherall <1>
  • Continue List   (18 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in Melby ...

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 34 newspapers that have been published in the area around Melby.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Melby, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Melby.

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 Melby:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Melby. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Douglas County: www.co.douglas.mn.us/

The official website for State of Minnesota: https://mn.gov/

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 location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<3>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<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 Melby, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>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- Melby) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Melby. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.0640, Longitude: -95.7367    









 

Copyright 2025
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025