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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 Nielsville (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 Nielsville. 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 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.

Nielsville is located in Polk 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 Polk County: Clearwater, Mahnomen, Marshall, Norman, Pennington, Red Lake, Grand Forks (ND) & Traill (ND).

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

  • Polk County     (The home county of Nielsville)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Nielsville, with the one closest to Nielsville listed first.
    • Climax
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Climax have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Climax
      • Climax is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 261 people
    • Beltrami
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beltrami have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beltrami
      • Beltrami is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 99 people
    • Fisher
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fisher have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fisher
      • Fisher is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 410 people
    • Crookston
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Melvin
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melvin
      • Melvin is located in Polk County
    • Fertile
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Mallory
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mallory have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mallory
      • Mallory is located in Polk County
    • Gentilly
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gentilly
      • Gentilly is located in Polk County
    • Dugdale
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dugdale
      • Dugdale is located in Polk County
    • East Grand Forks
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Norman County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Nielsville, with the one closest to Nielsville listed first.
    • Shelly
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shelly have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shelly
      • Shelly is located in Norman County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 178 people
    • Halstad
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Halstad have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halstad
      • Halstad is located in Norman County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 548 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Halstad <2>
    • Hendrum
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hendrum
      • Hendrum is located in Norman County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 282 people
    • Ada
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ada have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ada
      • Ada is located in Norman County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,556 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ada <2>
    • Perley
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perley
      • Perley is located in Norman County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 83 people
    • Flaming
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Flaming have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flaming
      • Flaming is located in Norman County
    • Gary
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gary have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gary
      • Gary is located in Norman County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 201 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gary <2>
    • Borup
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Borup have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borup
      • Borup is located in Norman County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 103 people
  • Cass County (ND)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Nielsville, with the one closest to Nielsville listed first.
    • Gardner
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gardner have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gardner
      • Gardner is located in Cass County (ND)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 73 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gardner <2>
    • Hunter
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hunter have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunter
      • Hunter is located in Cass County (ND)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 251 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hunter <2>
  • Grand Forks County (ND)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Nielsville, with the one closest to Nielsville listed first.
    • Reynolds
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reynolds have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reynolds
      • Reynolds is located in Grand Forks County (ND)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 299 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Reynolds <2>
    • Thompson
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thompson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompson
      • Thompson is located in Grand Forks County (ND)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,027 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Thompson <2>
    • Holmes
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holmes have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holmes
      • Holmes is located in Grand Forks County (ND)
    • Grand Forks
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Traill County (ND)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Nielsville, with the one closest to Nielsville listed first.
    • Caledonia
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Cummings
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Hillsboro
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hillsboro have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsboro
      • Hillsboro is located in Traill County (ND)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,624 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hillsboro <2>
    • Buxton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buxton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buxton
      • Buxton is located in Traill County (ND)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 316 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Buxton <2>
    • Alton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alton
      • Alton is located in Traill County (ND)
    • Kelso
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelso
      • Kelso is located in Traill County (ND)
    • Blanchard
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Grandin
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grandin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandin
      • Grandin is located in Traill County (ND)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 171 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Grandin <2>
    • Mayville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Portland
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Roseville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseville
      • Roseville is located in Traill County (ND)
    • Clifford
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clifford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifford
      • Clifford is located in Traill County (ND)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 43 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clifford <2>

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

Newspapers Published in Nielsville ...

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 46 newspapers that have been published in the area around Nielsville.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Nielsville, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Nielsville.

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 websites either 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 Nielsville:

Cemeteries Near Nielsville ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Nielsville.

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 Nielsville covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Salem Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Salem Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Salem Cemetery
  • St. Petri Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Petri Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Petri Cemetery
  • Sundet Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Bergit Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bergit Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bergit Cemetery
  • Skatvold Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Skatvold Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Skatvold Cemetery
  • Shelly Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Shelly Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Shelly Cemetery
  • Zion Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Zion Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Zion Cemetery
  • Marsh River Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Marsh River Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Marsh River Cemetery
  • Bethany Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bethany Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bethany Cemetery
  • North Ringsaker Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the North Ringsaker Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the North Ringsaker Cemetery
  • Augustana Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Augustana Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Augustana Cemetery
  • Scandia Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Scandia Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Scandia Cemetery
  • Continue List   (110 more) ...
    • Zion Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Zion Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Zion Cemetery
    • Hillstead Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hillstead Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hillstead Cemetery
    • North Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the North Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the North Cemetery

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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Nielsville had a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Nielsville had a population of 82 people.

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

  • Caledonia
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Halstad
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Halstad have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halstad
    • Halstad is located in Norman County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 548 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Halstad <2>
  • Cummings
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Lockhart
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lockhart have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lockhart
    • Lockhart is located in Norman County
  • Beltrami
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beltrami have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beltrami
    • Beltrami is located in Polk County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 99 people
  • Hillsboro
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hillsboro have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsboro
    • Hillsboro is located in Traill County (ND)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,624 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hillsboro <2>
  • Buxton
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buxton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buxton
    • Buxton is located in Traill County (ND)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 316 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Buxton <2>
  • Alton
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alton
    • Alton is located in Traill County (ND)
  • Reynolds
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reynolds have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reynolds
    • Reynolds is located in Grand Forks County (ND)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 299 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Reynolds <2>
  • Kelso
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelso
    • Kelso is located in Traill County (ND)
  • Hendrum
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hendrum
    • Hendrum is located in Norman County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 282 people
  • Fisher
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fisher have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fisher
    • Fisher is located in Polk County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 410 people
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Crookston
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Melvin
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melvin
      • Melvin is located in Polk County
    • Burwell
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Burwell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burwell
      • Burwell is located in Polk County

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

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

The official website for Polk County: www.co.polk.mn.us/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Nielsville) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Nielsville. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 47.5295, Longitude: -96.8167       In this case, the coordinates for Nielsville have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>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.
<5>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 Nielsville, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024