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 Oslo (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 Oslo. 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.
Oslo is located in Marshall 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 Marshall County: Beltrami, Kittson, Pennington, Polk, Roseau, Grand Forks (ND), Pembina (ND) & Walsh (ND).
Below are the counties that are near Oslo. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Oslo:
- Marshall County (The home county of Oslo)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oslo, with the one closest to Oslo listed first.
- Alvarado
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Alvarado is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alvarado
- Population from the 2020 Census: 362 people
- Big Woods
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Big Woods is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Woods
- Warren
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Argyle
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Stephen
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Englund
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Englund is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Englund
- Kittson County
- Donaldson
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Donaldson is located in Kittson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donaldson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 39 people
- Polk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oslo, with the one closest to Oslo listed first.
- East Grand Forks
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Mallory
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Mallory is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mallory
- Euclid
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Euclid is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Euclid
- Grand Forks County (ND)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oslo, with the one closest to Oslo listed first.
- Manvel
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Manvel is located in Grand Forks County (ND)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manvel
- Population from the 2020 Census: 372 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Manvel <1>
- Kelly
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Kelly is located in Grand Forks County (ND)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelly
- Johnstown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Johnstown is located in Grand Forks County (ND)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnstown
- Mekinock
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Gilby
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Gilby is located in Grand Forks County (ND)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilby
- Population from the 2020 Census: 230 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gilby <1>
- Grand Forks
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Emerado
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Inkster
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Arvilla
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Orr
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Orr is located in Grand Forks County (ND)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orr
- Thompson
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- McCanna
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- McCanna is located in Grand Forks County (ND)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCanna
- Larimore
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Pembina County (ND)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oslo, with the one closest to Oslo listed first.
- Drayton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Pittsburgh
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Pittsburgh is located in Pembina County (ND)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittsburgh
- Walsh County (ND)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oslo, with the one closest to Oslo listed first.
- Warsaw
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Warsaw is located in Walsh County (ND)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warsaw
- Ardoch
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Minto
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Forest River
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Herriott
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Herriott is located in Walsh County (ND)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herriott
- Grafton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Cashel ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Cashel is located in Walsh County (ND)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cashel
- Herrick
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Auburn
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Auburn is located in Walsh County (ND)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auburn
- Conway
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Conway is located in Walsh County (ND)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conway
- Population from the 2020 Census: 21 people
- Mandt
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Mandt is located in Walsh County (ND)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mandt
- Pisek
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Fordville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Oslo, see our County-by-County Page for Oslo.
Cemeteries Near Oslo ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Oslo.
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 Oslo - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Oslo covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Oslo, with the one closest to Oslo listed first.
- St. Joseph Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Riverside Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Mesopotamia Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Big Woods Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Swedish Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Swedish Evangelical Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Kongsvinger Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Oak Lawn Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Vega Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- St. Timothy Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Vega Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Nyskoga Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (78 more) ...
- Malm Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Bethany Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
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>
While we didn't find Oslo in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Oslo.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Oslo, with the one closest to Oslo listed first.
- Manvel
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Manvel is located in Grand Forks County (ND)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manvel
- Population from the 2020 Census: 372 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Manvel <1>
- Big Woods
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Big Woods is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Woods
- Ardoch
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Minto
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Tabor
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Tabor is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tabor
- Johnstown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Johnstown is located in Grand Forks County (ND)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnstown
- Kelly
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Kelly is located in Grand Forks County (ND)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelly
- Forest River
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Mekinock
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Warren
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Voss
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Voss is located in Walsh County (ND)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Voss
- Gilby
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Gilby is located in Grand Forks County (ND)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilby
- Population from the 2020 Census: 230 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gilby <1>
- Continue List (18 more) ...
- Argyle
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- East Grand Forks
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Grand Forks
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Oslo. See our List of 1890's Communities around Oslo.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Oslo ...
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 66 newspapers that have been published in the area around Oslo.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Oslo. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Oslo and those printed in the larger area surrounding Oslo.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3> of Oslo.
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 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 Oslo:
- Websites specific to Minnesota
- Pages specific to Marshall County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Kittson County
- Polk County
- Grand Forks County
- Pembina County
- Walsh 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> | 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 Oslo, 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 from Point A (ie- Oslo) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |