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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 Paynesville (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 Paynesville. 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.

Paynesville is located in Stearns 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 Stearns County: Benton, Douglas, Kandiyohi, Meeker, Morrison, Pope, Sherburne, Todd & Wright.

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

  • Stearns County     (The home county of Paynesville)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Paynesville, with the one closest to Paynesville listed first.
    • Roscoe
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Lake Henry
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Lake Henry is located in Stearns County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Henry
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 113 people
    • Saint Martin
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Richmond
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Spring Hill
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Spring Hill is located in Stearns County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 95 people
    • Belgrade
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Belgrade is located in Stearns County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belgrade
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 787 people
    • Cold Spring
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Elrosa
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Greenwald
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • New Munich
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Meire Grove
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Meire Grove is located in Stearns County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meire Grove
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 200 people
    • Albany
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
  • Benton County
    • Evergreen Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Evergreen Village is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen Village
  • Kandiyohi County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Paynesville, with the one closest to Paynesville listed first.
    • Hawick
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Hawick is located in Kandiyohi County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawick
    • Regal
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Regal is located in Kandiyohi County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Regal
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 35 people
    • New London
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Spicer
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Spicer is located in Kandiyohi County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spicer
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,224 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Spicer <1>
    • Atwater
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Kandiyohi
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Kandiyohi is located in Kandiyohi County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kandiyohi
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 477 people
    • Wilmar
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Wilmar is located in Kandiyohi County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmar
    • Willmar
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Sunburg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Sunburg is located in Kandiyohi County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 99 people
    • Pennock
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Pennock is located in Kandiyohi County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennock
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 509 people
    • Svea
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Svea is located in Kandiyohi County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Svea
    • Lake Lillian
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Meeker County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Paynesville, with the one closest to Paynesville listed first.
    • Eden Valley
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Manannah
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Manannah is located in Meeker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manannah
    • Watkins
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Grove City
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Forest City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Forest City is located in Meeker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest City
    • Litchfield
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Rosendale
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Rosendale is located in Meeker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosendale
    • Kingston
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Kingston is located in Meeker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingston
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 162 people
    • Darwin
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Dassel
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Cosmos
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Morrison County
    • Upsala
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Pope County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Paynesville, with the one closest to Paynesville listed first.
    • Grove Lake
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Grove Lake is located in Pope County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove Lake
    • Sedan
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Sedan is located in Pope County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedan
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 50 people
  • Todd County
    • Grey Eagle
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Wright County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Paynesville, with the one closest to Paynesville listed first.
    • South Haven
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Annandale
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)

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

Cemeteries Near Paynesville ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Paynesville.

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

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

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

  • St. Louis Catholic Church Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Paynesville Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Zion Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Grove Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Ebenezer Church Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Salem Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Roseville Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Zion Lutheran Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Free Christians Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Agnes Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Nordland Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Margarets Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (200 more) ...
    • St. Anthony Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Burr Oak Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • St. Paul's Lutheran Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)

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 Paynesville had a population of 352 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Paynesville had a population of 2,531 people.

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

  • Roscoe
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Lake Henry
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Lake Henry is located in Stearns County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Henry
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 113 people
  • Crow River
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Crow River is located in Meeker County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crow River
  • Manannah
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Manannah is located in Meeker County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manannah
  • Eden Valley
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Saint Martin
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Georgeville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Georgeville is located in Stearns County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgeville
  • New London
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Spring Hill
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Spring Hill is located in Stearns County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 95 people
  • Richmond
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Farming
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Farming is located in Stearns County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farming
  • Saint Nicholas
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Saint Nicholas is located in Stearns County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Nicholas
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Spicer
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Spicer is located in Kandiyohi County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spicer
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,224 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Spicer <1>
    • Belgrade
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Belgrade is located in Stearns County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belgrade
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 787 people
    • Grove City
      (15 miles [24.1 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 Paynesville. See our List of 1890's Communities around Paynesville.

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Paynesville ...

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 42 newspapers that have been published in the area around Paynesville.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

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

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 websites either 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 Paynesville:

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 Paynesville, 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 from Point A (ie- Paynesville) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.