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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 Okabena (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 Okabena. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Okabena is located in Jackson 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 Jackson County: Dickinson (IA), Emmet (IA), Osceola (IA), Cottonwood, Martin, Nobles & Watonwan.

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

  • Jackson County     (The home county of Okabena)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Okabena, with the one closest to Okabena listed first.
    • Heron Lake
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Heron Lake is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heron Lake
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 643 people
    • Wilder
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Lakefield
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Sioux Valley
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Jackson
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Alpha
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Alpha is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpha
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 119 people
    • Petersburg
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
  • Cottonwood County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Okabena, with the one closest to Okabena listed first.
    • Windom
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Windom is located in Cottonwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windom
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,403 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Windom <1>
    • Bingham Lake
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Storden
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Westbrook
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Jeffers
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Jeffers is located in Cottonwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeffers
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 346 people
    • Mountain Lake
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
  • Martin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Okabena, with the one closest to Okabena listed first.
    • Trimont
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Dunnell
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Dunnell is located in Martin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunnell
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 145 people
    • Sherburn
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Murray County
  • Nobles County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Okabena, with the one closest to Okabena listed first.
    • Brewster
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Dundee
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Dundee is located in Nobles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dundee
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
    • Kinbrae
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Round Lake
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Worthington
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Reading
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Reading is located in Nobles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reading
    • Org
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Bigelow
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Bigelow is located in Nobles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bigelow
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 226 people
    • Rushmore
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Rushmore is located in Nobles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rushmore
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 334 people
    • Wilmont
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Ransom
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Watonwan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Okabena, with the one closest to Okabena listed first.
    • Odin
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Butterfield
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Butterfield is located in Watonwan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butterfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 582 people
  • Dickinson County (IA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Okabena, with the one closest to Okabena listed first.
    • Lake Park
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Orleans
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Orleans is located in Dickinson County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orleans
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 591 people
    • Spirit Lake
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Okoboji
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Wahpeton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Wahpeton is located in Dickinson County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wahpeton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 353 people
    • Arnolds Park
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • West Okoboji
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • West Okoboji is located in Dickinson County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Okoboji
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 303 people
    • Superior
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Superior is located in Dickinson County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Superior
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 124 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Superior <1>
    • Milford
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Old Town
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Old Town is located in Dickinson County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Town
  • Osceola County (IA)

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

Cemeteries Near Okabena ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Okabena.

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

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

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

  • St. John's Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Lakeside Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Sacred Heart Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Heron Lake Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Brill Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • St. Peter Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Immanuel Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Wilder Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Sacred Heart Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Pauls Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Springfield Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Trinity Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (114 more) ...
    • Hersey Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Grace Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Delafield Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)

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 in 1895, Okabena had railroad service and no post office. In 2020, Okabena had a population of 195 people.

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

  • Heron Lake
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Heron Lake is located in Jackson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heron Lake
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 643 people
  • Brewster
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Lakefield
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Wilder
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Dundee
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Dundee is located in Nobles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dundee
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
  • Kinbrae
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Sioux Valley
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Windom
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Windom is located in Cottonwood County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windom
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,403 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Windom <1>
  • Lime Creek
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Lime Creek is located in Murray County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lime Creek
  • Worthington
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Round Lake
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Fulda
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Okabena ...

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 99 newspapers that have been published in the area around Okabena.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Okabena. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Okabena and those printed in the larger area surrounding Okabena.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3> of Okabena.

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 Okabena:

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 Okabena, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Okabena) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.