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 Pilot Grove (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 Pilot Grove. 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.
Name Variations for Pilot Grove ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Pilot Grove: Pilot Grv.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Pilot Grove. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Pilot Grove.
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.
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 southwest 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 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 west 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.
Pilot Grove is located in Faribault 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 Faribault County: Kossuth (IA), Winnebago (IA), Blue Earth, Freeborn, Martin & Waseca.
Below are the counties that are near Pilot Grove. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Pilot Grove:
- Faribault County (The home county of Pilot Grove)
- The following are listed by their distance from Pilot Grove, with the one closest to Pilot Grove listed first.
- Elmore
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Elmore is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 613 people
- Blue Earth
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Blue Earth is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Earth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,098 people
- Former name for Blue Earth:
- Blue Earth City
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Blue Earth <1>
- Huntley
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Huntley is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntley
- Frost
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Winnebago
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Dell
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Dell is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dell
- Delavan
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Delavan is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delavan
- Population from the 2020 Census: 166 people
- Bricelyn
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Bricelyn is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bricelyn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 334 people
- Easton
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Easton is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 183 people
- Kiester
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Walters
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Walters is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walters
- Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
- Minnesota Lake
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Blue Earth County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pilot Grove, with the one closest to Pilot Grove listed first.
- Amboy
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Willow Creek
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Willow Creek is located in Blue Earth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Creek
- Vernon Center
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Vernon Center is located in Blue Earth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vernon Center
- Population from the 2020 Census: 313 people
- Mapleton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Martin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pilot Grove, with the one closest to Pilot Grove listed first.
- Granada
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Fairmont
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Northrop
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Ceylon
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Welcome
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Truman
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Truman is located in Martin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Truman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,028 people
- Sherburn
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Dunnell
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Dunnell is located in Martin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunnell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 145 people
- Trimont
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Watonwan County
- Lewisville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Lewisville is located in Watonwan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewisville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 244 people
- Emmet County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Pilot Grove, with the one closest to Pilot Grove listed first.
- Armstrong
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Armstrong is located in Emmet County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armstrong
- Population from the 2020 Census: 841 people
- Dolliver
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Ringsted
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Gruver
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Gruver is located in Emmet County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gruver
- Population from the 2020 Census: 82 people
- Hoprig
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Hoprig is located in Emmet County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoprig
- Hancock County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Pilot Grove, with the one closest to Pilot Grove listed first.
- Woden
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Crystal Lake
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Crystal Lake is located in Hancock County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 228 people
- Kossuth County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Pilot Grove, with the one closest to Pilot Grove listed first.
- Ledyard
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Gerled
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Gerled is located in Kossuth County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gerled
- Swea City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Lakota
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Lakota is located in Kossuth County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakota
- Population from the 2020 Census: 275 people
- Bancroft
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Bancroft is located in Kossuth County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bancroft
- Population from the 2020 Census: 684 people
- Seneca
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Seneca is located in Kossuth County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seneca
- German Valley
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- German Valley is located in Kossuth County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for German Valley
- Lone Rock
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Burt
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Burt is located in Kossuth County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burt
- Population from the 2020 Census: 493 people
- Titonka
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Titonka is located in Kossuth County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Titonka
- Population from the 2020 Census: 433 people
- Fenton
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Fenton is located in Kossuth County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fenton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 225 people
- Winnebago County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Pilot Grove, with the one closest to Pilot Grove listed first.
- Rake
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Rake is located in Winnebago County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
- Buffalo Center
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Thompson
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Vinje
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Vinje is located in Winnebago County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vinje
- Scarville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Pilot Grove, see our County-by-County Page for Pilot Grove.
Cemeteries Near Pilot Grove ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Pilot Grove.
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 Pilot Grove - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Pilot Grove covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Pilot Grove, with the one closest to Pilot Grove listed first.
- Pilot Grove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Calkins Farm Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Riverview Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Dobson Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Highland Home Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Pleasant Prairie Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Oakwood Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Holy Family Catholic Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Sacred Heart Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Lutheran Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Harrison Twp. Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Riverside Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (168 more) ...
- Rose Lake Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Van Buren Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
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.<3>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Pilot Grove had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Pilot Grove, with the one closest to Pilot Grove listed first.
- Elmore
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Elmore is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 613 people
- Ledyard
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Blue Earth
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Blue Earth is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Earth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,098 people
- Former name for Blue Earth:
- Blue Earth City
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Blue Earth <1>
- Swea ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Swea is located in Kossuth County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swea
- Huntley
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Huntley is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntley
- Fairmont
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Armstrong
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Armstrong is located in Emmet County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armstrong
- Population from the 2020 Census: 841 people
- Rake
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Rake is located in Winnebago County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
- Bancroft
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Bancroft is located in Kossuth County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bancroft
- Population from the 2020 Census: 684 people
- Dell
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Dell is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dell
- Winnebago
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Seneca
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Seneca is located in Kossuth County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seneca
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Buffalo Center
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Dolliver
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Delavan
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Delavan is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delavan
- Population from the 2020 Census: 166 people
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Pilot Grove. See our List of 1890's Communities around Pilot Grove.
Newspapers Published in Pilot Grove ...
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 97 newspapers that have been published in the area around Pilot Grove.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Pilot Grove, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Pilot Grove.
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 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 Pilot Grove:
- Websites specific to Minnesota
- Pages specific to Faribault County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Blue Earth County
- Martin County
- Watonwan County
- Emmet County
- Hancock County
- Kossuth County
- Winnebago 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> | 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. |
| <3> | 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 Pilot Grove, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Pilot Grove) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |