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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 New York Mills (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 New York Mills. 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 New York Mills ...

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 have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for New York Mills: New York Mls. (or less commonly used: New York Mlls.)

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 doctors 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.

New York Mills is located in Otter Tail 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 Otter Tail County: Becker, Clay, Douglas, Grant, Todd, Wadena & Wilkin.

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

  • Otter Tail County     (The home county of New York Mills)
    • The following are listed by their distance from New York Mills, with the one closest to New York Mills listed first.
    • Davies
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Davies. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davies
      • Davies is located in Otter Tail County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Davies
      • From New York Mills to Davies
    • Bluffton
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bluffton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluffton
      • Bluffton is located in Otter Tail County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 216 people
    • Leaf City
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Leaf City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leaf City
      • Leaf City is located in Otter Tail County
    • Deer Creek
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Perham
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Perham have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perham
      • Perham is located in Otter Tail County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,638 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Perham <3>
    • Ottertail
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ottertail have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ottertail
      • Ottertail is located in Otter Tail County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 660 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ottertail <3>
    • Richville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Richville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richville
      • Richville is located in Otter Tail County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Richville <3>
    • Wadena
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Henning
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • 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 <3>
    • Dent
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dent have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dent
      • Dent is located in Otter Tail County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 185 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dent <3>
    • Amor
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • 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.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amor
      • Amor is located in Otter Tail County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Amor
      • From New York Mills to Amor
    • Nirvana
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
  • Becker County
    • The following are listed by their distance from New York Mills, with the one closest to New York Mills listed first.
    • Evergreen
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Wolf Lake
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wolf Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Lake
      • Wolf Lake is located in Becker County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 55 people
    • Frazee
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Frazee have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frazee
      • Frazee is located in Becker County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,381 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Frazee <3>
    • Rochert
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rochert have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochert
      • Rochert is located in Becker County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rochert <3>
    • Osage
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Bucks Mill
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Detroit Lakes
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Detroit Lakes have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Detroit Lakes
      • Detroit Lakes is located in Becker County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,255 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Detroit Lakes <3>
  • Todd County
    • The following are listed by their distance from New York Mills, with the one closest to New York Mills listed first.
    • Hewitt
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hewitt have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hewitt
      • Hewitt is located in Todd County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 260 people
    • Bertha
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bertha have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bertha
      • Bertha is located in Todd County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 481 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bertha <3>
    • Staples
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Staples have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Staples
      • Staples is located in Todd County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,068 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Staples <3>
    • Eagle Bend
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eagle Bend have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Bend
      • Eagle Bend is located in Todd County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 518 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eagle Bend <3>
  • Wadena County
    • The following are listed by their distance from New York Mills, with the one closest to New York Mills listed first.
    • Sebeka
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sebeka have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sebeka
      • Sebeka is located in Wadena County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 668 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sebeka <3>
    • Verndale
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Menahga
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Menahga have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Menahga
      • Menahga is located in Wadena County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,307 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Menahga <3>
    • Aldrich
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Aldrich. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aldrich
      • Aldrich is located in Wadena County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 46 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Aldrich
      • From New York Mills to Aldrich
    • Nimrod
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)

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

Cemeteries Near New York Mills ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of New York Mills.

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 New York Mills covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Greenwood Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Greenwood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Old Greenwood Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Greenwood Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Greenwood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Woodland Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Woodland Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Woodland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Nazareth Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Nazareth Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Nazareth Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Topelius Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Topelius Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Topelius Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Prairie Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Prairie Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Prairie Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Peter's Norwegian Lutheran Church Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Peter's Norwegian Lutheran Church Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Peter's Norwegian Lutheran Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Historic Pine Lake Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Historic Pine Lake Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Historic Pine Lake Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Nazareth Lutheran Church Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Nazareth Lutheran Church Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Nazareth Lutheran Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Salem EUB Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Salem EUB Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Salem EUB Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Salem Evangelical Church Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Salem Evangelical Church Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Salem Evangelical Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. John's Catholic Church Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. John's Catholic Church Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. John's Catholic Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (180 more) ...
    • St. Lawrence Church Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Lawrence Church Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Lawrence Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Bethlehem Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bethlehem Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bethlehem Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Oak Hill Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak Hill Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oak Hill 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 New York Mills had a population of 260 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, New York Mills had a population of 1,220 people.

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

  • Davies
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Davies. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davies
    • Davies is located in Otter Tail County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Davies
    • From New York Mills to Davies
  • Bluffton
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bluffton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluffton
    • Bluffton is located in Otter Tail County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 216 people
  • Deer Creek
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Ottertail
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ottertail have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ottertail
    • Ottertail is located in Otter Tail County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 660 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ottertail <3>
  • Perham
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Perham have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perham
    • Perham is located in Otter Tail County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,638 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Perham <3>
  • Wadena
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Henning
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • 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 <3>
  • Sebeka
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sebeka have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sebeka
    • Sebeka is located in Wadena County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 668 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sebeka <3>
  • Luce
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Luce have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luce
    • Luce is located in Otter Tail County
  • Amor
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • 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.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amor
    • Amor is located in Otter Tail County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Amor
    • From New York Mills to Amor
  • Vining
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
  • Wrightstown
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wrightstown have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wrightstown
    • Wrightstown is located in Otter Tail County
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Hewitt
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hewitt have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hewitt
      • Hewitt is located in Todd County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 260 people
    • Verndale
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Clitherall
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • 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 <3>

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of New York Mills ...

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 51 newspapers that have been published in the area around New York Mills.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of New York Mills. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of New York Mills and those printed in the larger area surrounding New York Mills.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<5> of New York Mills.

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 professional and volunteer 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 New York Mills:

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

The official website for Otter Tail County: www.co.otter-tail.mn.us/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<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>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 New York Mills, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>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- New York Mills) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in New York Mills. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.5187, Longitude: -95.3760    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025