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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 Proctor (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 Proctor. 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 hospitals and doctors 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.

Proctor is located in Saint Louis 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 Saint Louis County: Aitkin, Carlton, Itasca, Koochiching, Lake & Douglas (WI).

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

  • Saint Louis County     (The home county of Proctor)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Proctor, with the one closest to Proctor listed first.
    • Adolph
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Adolph have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adolph
      • Adolph is located in Saint Louis County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Adolph <2>
    • Hermantown
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hermantown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hermantown
      • Hermantown is located in Saint Louis County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,504 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hermantown <2>
    • Gary
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gary have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gary
      • Gary is located in Saint Louis County
    • New Duluth
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Duluth
      • New Duluth is located in Saint Louis County
    • Duluth
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duluth
      • Duluth is located in Saint Louis County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 85,773 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Duluth <2>
    • Arnold
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arnold have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnold
      • Arnold is located in Saint Louis County
    • Twig
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Twig have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twig
      • Twig is located in Saint Louis County
    • Saginaw
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saginaw have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saginaw
      • Saginaw is located in Saint Louis County
    • Brookston
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brookston have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookston
      • Brookston is located in Saint Louis County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 140 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brookston <2>
    • Alborn
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alborn
      • Alborn is located in Saint Louis County
    • Canyon
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Canyon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canyon
      • Canyon is located in Saint Louis County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Canyon <2>
  • Carlton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Proctor, with the one closest to Proctor listed first.
    • Esko
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Thomson
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thomson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomson
      • Thomson is located in Carlton County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 158 people
    • Scanlon
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scanlon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scanlon
      • Scanlon is located in Carlton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 945 people
    • Carlton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Cloquet
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Wrenshall
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wrenshall have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wrenshall
      • Wrenshall is located in Carlton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 423 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wrenshall <2>
    • Otter Creek
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otter Creek
      • Otter Creek is located in Carlton County
    • Sawyer
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sawyer have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sawyer
      • Sawyer is located in Carlton County
    • Holyoke
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holyoke have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holyoke
      • Holyoke is located in Carlton County
    • Mahtowa
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mahtowa
      • Mahtowa is located in Carlton County
    • Barnum
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Cromwell
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cromwell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cromwell
      • Cromwell is located in Carlton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 228 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cromwell <2>
  • Lake County
    • Knife River
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Knife River have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knife River
      • Knife River is located in Lake County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Knife River <2>
  • Douglas County (WI)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Proctor, with the one closest to Proctor listed first.
    • Superior
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Superior
      • Superior is located in Douglas County (WI)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 26,213 people
    • Oliver
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oliver have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oliver
      • Oliver is located in Douglas County (WI)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 416 people
    • Superior Village
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Superior Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Superior Village
      • Superior Village is located in Douglas County (WI)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 713 people
    • Saunders
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saunders
      • Saunders is located in Douglas County (WI)
    • South Range
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Range
      • South Range is located in Douglas County (WI)
    • Hawthorne
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawthorne
      • Hawthorne is located in Douglas County (WI)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,157 people
    • Poplar
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar
      • Poplar is located in Douglas County (WI)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 613 people
    • Cloverland
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cloverland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverland
      • Cloverland is located in Douglas County (WI)
    • Bennett
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bennett have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bennett
      • Bennett is located in Douglas County (WI)
    • Lake Nebagamon
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Nebagamon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Nebagamon
      • Lake Nebagamon is located in Douglas County (WI)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,064 people

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Proctor ...

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 49 newspapers that have been published in the area around Proctor.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

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

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 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 Proctor:

Cemeteries Near Proctor ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Proctor.

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

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

  • Hermantown Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hermantown Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hermantown Cemetery
  • Oneota Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Augustana Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Augustana Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Augustana Cemetery
  • Bethany Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bethany Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bethany Cemetery
  • Union Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Union Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Union Cemetery
  • Finnish Apostolic Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Finnish Apostolic Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Finnish Apostolic Cemetery
  • Sunrise Memorial Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sunrise Memorial Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sunrise Memorial Cemetery
  • Jewish Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Jewish Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Jewish Cemetery
  • Canosia Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Canosia Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Canosia Cemetery
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Graceland Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Hebrew Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Hebrew Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 4 miles [6.4 km]<3> to the north of Superior (WI).
    • The Hebrew Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Superior Hebrew Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hebrew Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #88116 <4>
  • Continue List   (60 more) ...
    • Riverside Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Gethsemane Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Solway Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Solway Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Solway 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.<5>

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

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

  • Smithville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Smithville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smithville
    • Smithville is located in Saint Louis County
  • West Duluth
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Duluth have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Duluth
    • West Duluth is located in Saint Louis County
  • Oneota
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oneota have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oneota
    • Oneota is located in Saint Louis County
  • New Duluth
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Duluth
    • New Duluth is located in Saint Louis County
  • Superior
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Superior
    • Superior is located in Douglas County (WI)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 26,213 people
  • Duluth
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duluth
    • Duluth is located in Saint Louis County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 85,773 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Duluth <2>
  • Pokegama
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pokegama have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pokegama
    • Pokegama is located in Douglas County (WI)
  • South Superior
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Superior have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Superior
    • South Superior is located in Douglas County (WI)
  • Thomson
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thomson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomson
    • Thomson is located in Carlton County
    • Estimated population in 2014: 158 people
  • Carlton
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Cloquet
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Boylston
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Boylston have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boylston
    • Boylston is located in Douglas County (WI)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Itasca
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Itasca have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Itasca
      • Itasca is located in Douglas County (WI)
    • Lester Park
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lester Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lester Park
      • Lester Park is located in Saint Louis County
    • Dedham
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dedham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dedham
      • Dedham is located in Douglas County (WI)

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

The official website for Proctor: www.ci.proctor.mn.us/

The official website for Saint Louis County: www.co.st-louis.mn.us/

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- Proctor) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Proctor. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.7422, Longitude: -92.2275       In this case, the coordinates for Proctor have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>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.
<5>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 Proctor, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024