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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 Sawyer (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 Sawyer. 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 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.

Sawyer is located in Carlton 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 Carlton County: Aitkin, Pine, Saint Louis & Douglas (WI).

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

  • Carlton County     (The home county of Sawyer)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sawyer, with the one closest to Sawyer listed first.
    • Otter Creek
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Otter Creek is located in Carlton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otter Creek
    • Mahtowa
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Mahtowa is located in Carlton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mahtowa
    • Carlton
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Cloquet
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Scanlon
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Scanlon is located in Carlton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scanlon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 945 people
    • Thomson
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Thomson is located in Carlton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomson
      • Estimated population in 2014: 158 people
    • Barnum
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Cromwell
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Wrenshall
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Esko
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Moose Lake
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Kettle River
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Wright
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
  • Aitkin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sawyer, with the one closest to Sawyer listed first.
    • Tamarack
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Tamarack is located in Aitkin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tamarack
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 94 people
    • Minnewawa
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Minnewawa is located in Aitkin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minnewawa
  • Pine County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sawyer, with the one closest to Sawyer listed first.
    • Sturgeon Lake
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Kerrick
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Denham
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Denham is located in Pine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denham
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 34 people
    • Willow River
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Bruno
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Bruno is located in Pine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruno
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 97 people
    • Rutledge
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Rutledge is located in Pine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutledge
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 221 people
  • Saint Louis County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sawyer, with the one closest to Sawyer listed first.
    • Brookston
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Saginaw
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Saginaw is located in Saint Louis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saginaw
    • Adolph
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Gary
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Gary is located in Saint Louis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gary
    • New Duluth
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • New Duluth is located in Saint Louis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Duluth
    • Proctor
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Proctor is located in Saint Louis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Proctor
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,006 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Proctor <1>
    • Twig
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Twig is located in Saint Louis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twig
    • Hermantown
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Alborn
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Alborn is located in Saint Louis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alborn
    • Oneota
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Oneota is located in Saint Louis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oneota
    • Floodwood
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Duluth
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Duluth is located in Saint Louis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duluth
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 85,773 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Duluth <1>
    • Canyon
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
  • Douglas County (WI)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sawyer, with the one closest to Sawyer listed first.
    • Oliver
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Oliver is located in Douglas County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oliver
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 416 people
    • Dedham
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Dedham is located in Douglas County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dedham
    • Saunders
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Saunders is located in Douglas County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saunders
    • Superior Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Superior Village is located in Douglas County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Superior Village
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 713 people
    • Superior
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Superior is located in Douglas County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Superior
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 26,213 people

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

Cemeteries Near Sawyer ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sawyer.

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

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

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

  • Sawyer Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Big Lake Indian Catholic Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Methodist Indian Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Bethel Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Salem Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Birch Lake Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Sandy Lake Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • New Calvary Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Maple Grove Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Hillcrest Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Holy Family Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (95 more) ...
    • Brevator Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Hillside Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • St. Francis 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, Sawyer had railroad service and no post office.

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

  • Otter Creek
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Otter Creek is located in Carlton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otter Creek
  • Mahtowa
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Mahtowa is located in Carlton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mahtowa
  • Corona
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Corona is located in Carlton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corona
  • Carlton
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Cloquet
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Barnum
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Thomson
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Thomson is located in Carlton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomson
    • Estimated population in 2014: 158 people
  • Cromwell
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Moose Lake
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
  • Fond du Lac
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Fond du Lac is located in Saint Louis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fond du Lac
  • Wright
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
  • Holyoke
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Holyoke is located in Carlton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holyoke
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • New Duluth
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • New Duluth is located in Saint Louis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Duluth
    • Smithville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Smithville is located in Saint Louis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smithville
    • West Duluth
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • West Duluth is located in Saint Louis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Duluth

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

Newspapers Published in Sawyer ...

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 92 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sawyer.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sawyer, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sawyer.

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 Sawyer:

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 Sawyer, 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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Sawyer) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.