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 Odessa (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 Odessa. 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.
Odessa is located in Big Stone 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 Big Stone County: Lac qui Parle, Stevens, Swift, Traverse, Grant (SD) & Roberts (SD).
Below are the counties that are near Odessa. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Odessa:
- Big Stone County (The home county of Odessa)
- The following are listed by their distance from Odessa, with the one closest to Odessa listed first.
- Ortonville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Correll
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Correll is located in Big Stone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Correll
- Population from the 2020 Census: 31 people
- Clinton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Graceville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Johnson
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Johnson is located in Big Stone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 27 people
- Barry
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Barry is located in Big Stone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barry
- Population from the 2020 Census: 15 people
- Beardsley
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Chippewa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Odessa, with the one closest to Odessa listed first.
- Milan
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Big Bend City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Big Bend City is located in Chippewa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Bend City
- Lac qui Parle County
- The following are listed by their distance from Odessa, with the one closest to Odessa listed first.
- Bellingham
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Bellingham is located in Lac qui Parle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellingham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 147 people
- Louisburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Louisburg is located in Lac qui Parle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Louisburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 43 people
- Nassau
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Marietta
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Marietta is located in Lac qui Parle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marietta
- Population from the 2020 Census: 138 people
- Madison
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Madison is located in Lac qui Parle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madison
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,376 people
- Dawson
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Stevens County
- The following are listed by their distance from Odessa, with the one closest to Odessa listed first.
- Chokio
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Alberta
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Alberta is located in Stevens County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alberta
- Population from the 2020 Census: 102 people
- Hancock
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Morris
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Swift County
- The following are listed by their distance from Odessa, with the one closest to Odessa listed first.
- Appleton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Holloway
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Holloway is located in Swift County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holloway
- Population from the 2020 Census: 85 people
- Danvers
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Danvers is located in Swift County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danvers
- Population from the 2020 Census: 89 people
- Traverse County
- Collis
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Collis is located in Traverse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collis
- Deuel County (SD)
- Tunerville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Tunerville is located in Deuel County (SD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunerville
- Estimated population in 2014: 218 people
- Grant County (SD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Odessa, with the one closest to Odessa listed first.
- Big Stone City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Milbank
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Albee
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Albee is located in Grant County (SD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albee
- Population from the 2020 Census: 17 people
- Revillo
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- LaBolt
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Twin Brooks
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Stockholm
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Strandburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Marvin
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Roberts County (SD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Odessa, with the one closest to Odessa listed first.
- Shady Beach
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Shady Beach is located in Roberts County (SD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Beach
- Hartford Beach
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Hartford Beach is located in Roberts County (SD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartford Beach
- Estimated population in 2014: 126 people
- South Dakota Park
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- South Dakota Park is located in Roberts County (SD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Dakota Park
- Estimated population in 2014: 15 people
- Corona
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Wilmot
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Odessa, see our County-by-County Page for Odessa.
Cemeteries Near Odessa ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Odessa.
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 Odessa - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Odessa covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Odessa, with the one closest to Odessa listed first.
- Odessa Trinity Lutheran Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Yellow Bank Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Rest Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Immanuel Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Odessa Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Salem Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Akron Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Akron Cemetery
- The Akron Cemetery has also been known as:
- Ebed Nezar Cemetery
- Eids Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Mound Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Eidskog Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Greenwood Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Continue List (105 more) ...
- St. Charles Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- St. Joseph's Catholic Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Bellingham Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
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 Odessa had a population of 100 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Odessa had a population of 131 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Odessa, with the one closest to Odessa listed first.
- Ortonville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Big Stone City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Bellingham
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Bellingham is located in Lac qui Parle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellingham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 147 people
- Correll
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Correll is located in Big Stone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Correll
- Population from the 2020 Census: 31 people
- Louisburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Louisburg is located in Lac qui Parle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Louisburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 43 people
- Nassau
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Clinton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Appleton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Marietta
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Marietta is located in Lac qui Parle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marietta
- Population from the 2020 Census: 138 people
- Albee
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Albee is located in Grant County (SD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albee
- Population from the 2020 Census: 17 people
- Madison
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Madison is located in Lac qui Parle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madison
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,376 people
- Fairfield
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Fairfield is located in Swift County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Revillo
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Cerro Gordo
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Cerro Gordo is located in Lac qui Parle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cerro Gordo
- Holloway
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Holloway is located in Swift County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holloway
- Population from the 2020 Census: 85 people
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Odessa. See our List of 1890's Communities around Odessa.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Odessa ...
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 81 newspapers that have been published in the area around Odessa.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Odessa. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Odessa and those printed in the larger area surrounding Odessa.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<2> of Odessa.
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 Odessa:
- Websites specific to Minnesota
- Pages specific to Big Stone County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Chippewa County
- Lac qui Parle County
- Stevens County
- Swift County
- Traverse County
- Deuel County
- Grant County
- Roberts County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Minnesota
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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Odessa) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <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 Odessa, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |