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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 Rowena (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 Rowena. 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 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.

Rowena is located in Redwood 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 Redwood County: Brown, Cottonwood, Lyon, Murray, Renville & Yellow Medicine.

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

  • Redwood County     (The home county of Rowena)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rowena, with the one closest to Rowena listed first.
    • Clements
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Clements is located in Redwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clements
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 140 people
    • Wanda
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Wabasso
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Seaforth
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Morgan
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Morgan is located in Redwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 832 people
    • Redwood Falls
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • North Redwood
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • North Redwood is located in Redwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Redwood
    • Sanborn
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Lamberton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Lucan
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Delhi
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Delhi is located in Redwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delhi
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 63 people
    • Vesta
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Vesta is located in Redwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vesta
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 295 people
    • Revere
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Brown County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rowena, with the one closest to Rowena listed first.
    • Springfield
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Evan
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Evan is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evan
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 84 people
    • Cobden
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Cobden is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobden
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 35 people
    • Leavenworth
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Leavenworth is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leavenworth
    • Sleepy Eye
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Comfrey
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Iberia
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Iberia is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iberia
    • Essig
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
  • Cottonwood County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rowena, with the one closest to Rowena listed first.
    • Jeffers
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Jeffers is located in Cottonwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeffers
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 346 people
    • Storden
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Storden is located in Cottonwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Storden
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 204 people
    • Westbrook
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Lyon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rowena, with the one closest to Rowena listed first.
    • Tracy
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Amiret
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Amiret is located in Lyon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amiret
    • Cottonwood
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Murray County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rowena, with the one closest to Rowena listed first.
    • Dovray
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Dovray is located in Murray County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dovray
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 51 people
    • The Lakes
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • The Lakes is located in Murray County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Lakes
  • Renville County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rowena, with the one closest to Rowena listed first.
    • Morton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Franklin
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Fairfax
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Danube
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Olivia
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Renville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Bird Island
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Sacred Heart
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Watonwan County
    • Darfur
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Darfur is located in Watonwan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darfur
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 102 people
  • Yellow Medicine County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rowena, with the one closest to Rowena listed first.
    • Echo
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Echo is located in Yellow Medicine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 247 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Echo <1>
    • Wood Lake
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Wood Lake is located in Yellow Medicine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wood Lake
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 395 people

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

Cemeteries Near Rowena ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rowena.

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

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

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

  • New Avon Salem Methodist Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Trinity Lutheran Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Matthew Wilson Plot
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Robert Montgomery Plot
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • New Avon Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Bethlehem Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • St. Joseph Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Bethany Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Jewish Burial Plot
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • St. Anns Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Wanda Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Mathias Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (174 more) ...
    • Missouri Evans Plot
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Tonak Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Sundown Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 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 Rowena in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Rowena.

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

  • Gilfillan
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Gilfillan is located in Redwood County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilfillan
  • Morgan
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Morgan is located in Redwood County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 832 people
  • Lamberton
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Sanborn
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • North Redwood
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • North Redwood is located in Redwood County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Redwood
  • Springfield
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Morton
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Delhi
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Delhi is located in Redwood County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delhi
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 63 people
  • Beaver Falls
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Beaver Falls is located in Renville County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Falls
  • Revere
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Evan
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Evan is located in Brown County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evan
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 84 people
  • Vesta
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Vesta is located in Redwood County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vesta
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 295 people
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Cobden
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Cobden is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobden
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 35 people
    • Franklin
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Belview
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Belview is located in Redwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belview
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 352 people

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

Newspapers Published in Rowena ...

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 81 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rowena.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Rowena, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Rowena.

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 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 Rowena:

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