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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 Saint Clair (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 Saint Clair. 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 Saint Clair ...

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.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Saint Clair: St. Clair

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Saint Clair. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Saint Clair.

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 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.

Saint Clair is located in Blue Earth 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 Blue Earth County: Brown, Faribault, Le Sueur, Martin, Nicollet, Waseca & Watonwan.

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

  • Blue Earth County     (The home county of Saint Clair)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saint Clair, with the one closest to Saint Clair listed first.
    • Eagle Lake
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Smiths Mill
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Smiths Mill is located in Blue Earth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smiths Mill
    • Pemberton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Pemberton is located in Blue Earth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pemberton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 241 people
    • Beauford
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Beauford is located in Blue Earth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beauford
    • Madison Lake
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Mankato
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Mankato is located in Blue Earth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mankato
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 43,435 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mankato <1>
    • Skyline
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Skyline is located in Blue Earth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skyline
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 299 people
    • Rapidan
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Rapidan is located in Blue Earth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rapidan
    • Good Thunder
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Mapleton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Garden City
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Garden City is located in Blue Earth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
    • Lake Crystal
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
  • Brown County
    • Searles
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Searles is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Searles
  • Faribault County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saint Clair, with the one closest to Saint Clair listed first.
    • Minnesota Lake
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Easton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Easton is located in Faribault County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 183 people
    • Delavan
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Delavan is located in Faribault County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delavan
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 166 people
    • Wells
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Wells is located in Faribault County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wells
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,157 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wells <1>
    • Winnebago
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Huntley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Huntley is located in Faribault County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntley
  • Freeborn County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saint Clair, with the one closest to Saint Clair listed first.
    • Freeborn
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Hartland
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Hartland is located in Freeborn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 307 people
    • Bath
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Bath is located in Freeborn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bath
  • Le Sueur County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saint Clair, with the one closest to Saint Clair listed first.
    • Greenland
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Greenland is located in Le Sueur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenland
    • Marysburg
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Marysburg is located in Le Sueur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marysburg
    • Kasota
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Cleveland
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Waterville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Cordova
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Cordova is located in Le Sueur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cordova
    • Le Center
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Ottawa
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Ottawa is located in Le Sueur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ottawa
    • Kilkenny
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Le Sueur
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Lexington
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Lexington is located in Le Sueur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lexington
    • Montgomery
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Nicollet County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saint Clair, with the one closest to Saint Clair listed first.
    • North Mankato
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Saint Peter
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Oshawa
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Oshawa is located in Nicollet County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oshawa
    • Nicollet
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Courtland
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • New Sweden
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • New Sweden is located in Nicollet County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Sweden
  • Rice County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saint Clair, with the one closest to Saint Clair listed first.
    • Morristown
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Warsaw
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Warsaw is located in Rice County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warsaw
  • Sibley County
    • Henderson
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Steele County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saint Clair, with the one closest to Saint Clair listed first.
    • Hope
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Hope is located in Steele County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope
    • Medford
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Medford is located in Steele County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,255 people
  • Waseca County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saint Clair, with the one closest to Saint Clair listed first.
    • Janesville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Alma City
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Alma City is located in Waseca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alma City
    • Elysian
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Waldorf
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Waldorf is located in Waseca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldorf
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 224 people
    • Palmer
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Palmer is located in Waseca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmer
    • Wilton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Wilton is located in Waseca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilton
    • Waseca
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Vista
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Vista is located in Waseca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vista
    • New Richland
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Watonwan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saint Clair, with the one closest to Saint Clair listed first.
    • Madelia
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Lewisville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Lewisville is located in Watonwan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewisville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 244 people

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

Cemeteries Near Saint Clair ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Saint Clair.

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 Saint Clair - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Immaculate Conception Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • McPherson Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Tivoli Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Medo - McPherson Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Bunker Hill Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Decoria Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Burgess Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Smith's Mill Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Eagle Lake Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Medo Center Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Oak Hill Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (260 more) ...
    • Alma City Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Glenwood Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Beauford Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)

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, Saint Clair had a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Saint Clair had a population of 821 people.

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

  • Eagle Lake
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Beauford
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Beauford is located in Blue Earth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beauford
  • Alma City
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Alma City is located in Waseca County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alma City
  • Janesville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Madison Lake
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Mankato
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Mankato is located in Blue Earth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mankato
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 43,435 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mankato <1>
  • Greenland
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Greenland is located in Le Sueur County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenland
  • Rapidan
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Rapidan is located in Blue Earth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rapidan
  • Good Thunder
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Mapleton
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Marysburg
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Marysburg is located in Le Sueur County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marysburg
  • Elysian
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Kasota
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Garden City
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Garden City is located in Blue Earth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
    • Sterling Center
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Sterling Center is located in Blue Earth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sterling Center

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

Newspapers Published in Saint Clair ...

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 171 newspapers that have been published in the area around Saint Clair.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Saint Clair, 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 Saint Clair.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Saint Clair:

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 Saint Clair, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Saint Clair) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.