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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 Norseland (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 Norseland. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.

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 north 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.

Norseland is located in Nicollet 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 Nicollet County: Blue Earth, Brown, Le Sueur, Renville & Sibley.

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

  • Nicollet County     (The home county of Norseland)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Norseland, with the one closest to Norseland listed first.
    • New Sweden
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • New Sweden is located in Nicollet County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Sweden
    • Oshawa
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Oshawa is located in Nicollet County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oshawa
    • Saint Peter
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Nicollet
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Lafayette
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Courtland
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • North Mankato
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
  • Blue Earth County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Norseland, with the one closest to Norseland listed first.
    • Judson
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Judson is located in Blue Earth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Judson
    • Mankato
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Mankato is located in Blue Earth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mankato
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 43,435 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mankato <1>
    • Skyline
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Skyline is located in Blue Earth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skyline
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 299 people
    • Eagle Lake
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Madison Lake
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Lake Crystal
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Rapidan
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Rapidan is located in Blue Earth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rapidan
    • Garden City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Garden City is located in Blue Earth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
    • Smiths Mill
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Smiths Mill is located in Blue Earth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smiths Mill
    • Saint Clair
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Good Thunder
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Beauford
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Beauford is located in Blue Earth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beauford
  • Brown County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Norseland, with the one closest to Norseland listed first.
    • New Ulm
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Searles
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Searles is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Searles
    • Essig
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Hanska
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Iberia
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Iberia is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iberia
  • Carver County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Norseland, with the one closest to Norseland listed first.
    • Assumption
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Assumption is located in Carver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Assumption
    • Hamburg
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Hamburg is located in Carver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 526 people
    • Norwood
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Norwood Young America
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Norwood Young America is located in Carver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwood Young America
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,794 people
    • Gotha
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Gotha is located in Carver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gotha
    • Young America
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Cologne
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Hydes Lake
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Hydes Lake is located in Carver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hydes Lake
  • Le Sueur County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Norseland, with the one closest to Norseland listed first.
    • Ottawa
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Ottawa is located in Le Sueur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ottawa
    • Le Sueur
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Kasota
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Cleveland
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Saint Thomas
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Saint Thomas is located in Le Sueur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Thomas
    • Marysburg
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Marysburg is located in Le Sueur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marysburg
    • Le Center
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Lexington
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Lexington is located in Le Sueur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lexington
    • Cordova
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Cordova is located in Le Sueur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cordova
    • Greenland
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Greenland is located in Le Sueur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenland
    • Heidelberg
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Heidelberg is located in Le Sueur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heidelberg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 122 people
    • Montgomery
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Kilkenny
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
  • McLeod County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Norseland, with the one closest to Norseland listed first.
    • Sumter
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Sumter is located in McLeod County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumter
    • Fernando
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Fernando is located in McLeod County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fernando
    • Glencoe
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Brownton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Plato
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Stewart
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Stewart is located in McLeod County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stewart
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 533 people
    • Biscay
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Biscay is located in McLeod County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Biscay
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 109 people
  • Renville County
    • Fairfax
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Scott County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Norseland, with the one closest to Norseland listed first.
    • Belle Plaine
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Union Hill
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Union Hill is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Hill
    • New Prague
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Jordan
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Sibley County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Norseland, with the one closest to Norseland listed first.
    • Gaylord
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Arlington
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Henderson
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Winthrop
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • New Auburn
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Green Isle
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Gibbon
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Waseca County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Norseland, with the one closest to Norseland listed first.
    • Elysian
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Janesville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Watonwan County
    • Madelia
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Norseland ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Norseland.

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 Norseland - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Scandian Grove Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Norseland Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Methodist Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Scandian Grove Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Sauer Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Cullen Trading Post Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Anderson Family Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Trinity Lutheran Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Middle Lake Catholic Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Traver Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Gleason Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (248 more) ...
    • Green Lawn Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Goodman Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Norseland had a population of 38 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • New Sweden
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • New Sweden is located in Nicollet County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Sweden
  • Rush River
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Rush River is located in Sibley County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rush River
  • Oshawa
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Oshawa is located in Nicollet County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oshawa
  • Ottawa
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Ottawa is located in Le Sueur County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ottawa
  • Saint Peter
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • New Rome
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • New Rome is located in Sibley County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Rome
  • Bernadotte
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Bernadotte is located in Nicollet County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bernadotte
  • Nicollet
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Le Sueur
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Kasota
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Gaylord
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Henderson
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Arlington
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Courtland
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Judson
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Judson is located in Blue Earth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Judson

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

Newspapers Published in Norseland ...

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 132 newspapers that have been published in the area around Norseland.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Norseland, 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 Norseland.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Norseland:

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 Norseland, 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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Norseland) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.