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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 Oklee (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 Oklee. 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 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.

Oklee is located in Red Lake 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 Red Lake County: Pennington & Polk.

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

  • Red Lake County     (The home county of Oklee)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oklee, with the one closest to Oklee listed first.
    • Brooks
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brooks have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooks
      • Brooks is located in Red Lake County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 136 people
    • Plummer
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plummer have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plummer
      • Plummer is located in Red Lake County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 289 people
    • Red Lake Falls
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Red Lake Falls have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Lake Falls
      • Red Lake Falls is located in Red Lake County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,409 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Red Lake Falls <2>
    • Dorothy
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dorothy have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorothy
      • Dorothy is located in Red Lake County
  • Clearwater County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oklee, with the one closest to Oklee listed first.
    • Gonvick
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gonvick have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gonvick
      • Gonvick is located in Clearwater County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 285 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gonvick <2>
    • Clearbrook
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clearbrook have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clearbrook
      • Clearbrook is located in Clearwater County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 535 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clearbrook <2>
    • Bagley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bagley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bagley
      • Bagley is located in Clearwater County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,439 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bagley <2>
    • Leonard
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Leonard have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leonard
      • Leonard is located in Clearwater County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 44 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Leonard <2>
  • Mahnomen County
    • Bejou
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bejou have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bejou
      • Bejou is located in Mahnomen County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 90 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bejou <2>
  • Marshall County
    • Espelie
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Espelie
      • Espelie is located in Marshall County
  • Norman County
    • Rindal
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rindal have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rindal
      • Rindal is located in Norman County
  • Pennington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oklee, with the one closest to Oklee listed first.
    • Erie
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erie
      • Erie is located in Pennington County
    • Saint Hilaire
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Hilaire have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Hilaire
      • Saint Hilaire is located in Pennington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 258 people
    • Goodridge
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Goodridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodridge
      • Goodridge is located in Pennington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 126 people
    • Thief River Falls
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thief River Falls have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thief River Falls
      • Thief River Falls is located in Pennington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,688 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Thief River Falls <2>
  • Polk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oklee, with the one closest to Oklee listed first.
    • Trail
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Trail have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trail
      • Trail is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 46 people
    • Gully
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gully have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gully
      • Gully is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 66 people
    • McIntosh
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McIntosh have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McIntosh
      • McIntosh is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 596 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for McIntosh <2>
    • Erskine
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Erskine have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erskine
      • Erskine is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 467 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Erskine <2>
    • Mentor
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mentor have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mentor
      • Mentor is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 147 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mentor <2>
    • Fosston
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fosston have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fosston
      • Fosston is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,442 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fosston <2>
    • Winger
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Winger have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winger
      • Winger is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 208 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Winger <2>
    • Dugdale
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dugdale
      • Dugdale is located in Polk County
    • Lengby
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lengby have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lengby
      • Lengby is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 86 people
    • Gentilly
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gentilly
      • Gentilly is located in Polk County
    • Fertile
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Melvin
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melvin
      • Melvin is located in Polk County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Oklee ...

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 25 newspapers that have been published in the area around Oklee.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

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

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 Oklee:

Cemeteries Near Oklee ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Oklee.

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

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

  • Zion Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • 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
  • St. Francis Xavier Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Francis Xavier Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Francis Xavier Cemetery
  • St. Francis Xavier Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Francis Xavier Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Francis Xavier Cemetery
  • Salem Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • 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
  • Valley Lutheran Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Valley Lutheran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Valley Lutheran Cemetery
  • West Valle Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the West Valle Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the West Valle Cemetery
  • Mt. Olive Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Olive Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Olive Cemetery
  • St. Joseph Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Joseph Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Joseph Cemetery
  • Presbyterian Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Presbyterian Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Presbyterian Cemetery
  • Oakland Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oakland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oakland Cemetery
  • Vernes Lutheran Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Vernes Lutheran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Vernes Lutheran Cemetery
  • Finnish Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Finnish Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Finnish Cemetery
  • Continue List   (143 more) ...
    • Sand Valley Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sand Valley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sand Valley Cemetery
    • New Sweden Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the New Sweden Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the New Sweden Cemetery
    • Trinity Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Trinity Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Trinity 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.<4>

While we didn't find Oklee in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Oklee.

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

  • Olga
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Olga have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olga
    • Olga is located in Polk County
  • Erskine
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Erskine have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erskine
    • Erskine is located in Polk County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 467 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Erskine <2>
  • McIntosh
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McIntosh have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McIntosh
    • McIntosh is located in Polk County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 596 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for McIntosh <2>
  • Mentor
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mentor have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mentor
    • Mentor is located in Polk County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 147 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mentor <2>
  • Fosston
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fosston have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fosston
    • Fosston is located in Polk County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,442 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fosston <2>
  • Dugdale
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dugdale
    • Dugdale is located in Polk County
  • Winger
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Winger have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winger
    • Winger is located in Polk County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 208 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Winger <2>
  • Maple Bay
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maple Bay have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Bay
    • Maple Bay is located in Polk County
  • Rindal
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rindal have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rindal
    • Rindal is located in Norman County
  • Benoit
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Benoit have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benoit
    • Benoit is located in Polk County
  • Gentilly
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gentilly
    • Gentilly is located in Polk County
  • Melvin
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melvin
    • Melvin is located in Polk County
  • Fertile
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)

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

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

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 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Oklee) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Oklee. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 47.8393, Longitude: -95.8499       In this case, the coordinates for Oklee have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Oklee, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024