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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 Shovel Lake (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 Shovel Lake. 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 Shovel Lake ...

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 have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Shovel Lake: Shovel Lk.

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 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.

Shovel Lake is located in Aitkin 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 Aitkin County: Carlton, Cass, Crow Wing, Itasca, Kanabec, Mille Lacs, Pine & Saint Louis.

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

  • Aitkin County     (The home county of Shovel Lake)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shovel Lake, with the one closest to Shovel Lake listed first.
    • Swatara
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Swatara have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swatara
      • Swatara is located in Aitkin County
    • Hill City
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hill City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hill City
      • Hill City is located in Aitkin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 580 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hill City <2>
    • Haypoint
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haypoint
      • Haypoint is located in Aitkin County
    • Palisade
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Palisade have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palisade
      • Palisade is located in Aitkin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 169 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Palisade <2>
    • Jacobson
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Libby
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Libby
      • Libby is located in Aitkin County
    • Hassman
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hassman
      • Hassman is located in Aitkin County
    • Minnewawa
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minnewawa
      • Minnewawa is located in Aitkin County
    • Aitkin
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Kimberly
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimberly
      • Kimberly is located in Aitkin County
  • Cass County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shovel Lake, with the one closest to Shovel Lake listed first.
    • Remer
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Outing
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Outing have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Outing
      • Outing is located in Cass County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Outing <2>
    • Wabedo
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wabedo
      • Wabedo is located in Cass County
    • Longville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Longville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longville
      • Longville is located in Cass County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 148 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Longville <2>
    • Boy River
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Boy River have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boy River
      • Boy River is located in Cass County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 51 people
    • Federal Dam
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Federal Dam have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Federal Dam
      • Federal Dam is located in Cass County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 110 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Federal Dam <2>
    • Whipholt
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whipholt
      • Whipholt is located in Cass County
  • Crow Wing County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shovel Lake, with the one closest to Shovel Lake listed first.
    • Emily
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Emily have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emily
      • Emily is located in Crow Wing County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 841 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Emily <2>
    • Fifty Lakes
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fifty Lakes have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fifty Lakes
      • Fifty Lakes is located in Crow Wing County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 406 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fifty Lakes <2>
    • Manhattan Beach
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Manhattan Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manhattan Beach
      • Manhattan Beach is located in Crow Wing County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 65 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Manhattan Beach <2>
    • Crosslake
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Itasca County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shovel Lake, with the one closest to Shovel Lake listed first.
    • Cohasset
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cohasset have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cohasset
      • Cohasset is located in Itasca County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,739 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cohasset <2>
    • Grand Rapids
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • La Prairie
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for La Prairie have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Prairie
      • La Prairie is located in Itasca County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 661 people
    • Zemple
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Zemple have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zemple
      • Zemple is located in Itasca County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 90 people
    • Deer River
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Deer River have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer River
      • Deer River is located in Itasca County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 930 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Deer River <2>
    • Warba
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Warba have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warba
      • Warba is located in Itasca County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 186 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Warba <2>
    • Swan River
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Swan River have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swan River
      • Swan River is located in Itasca County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Swan River <2>
    • Bovey
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bovey have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bovey
      • Bovey is located in Itasca County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 784 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bovey <2>
    • Coleraine
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coleraine have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleraine
      • Coleraine is located in Itasca County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,972 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Coleraine <2>
    • Wawina
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wawina have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wawina
      • Wawina is located in Itasca County

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

Newspapers Published in Shovel Lake ...

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 31 newspapers that have been published in the area around Shovel Lake.

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

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 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 Shovel Lake:

Cemeteries Near Shovel Lake ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Shovel Lake.

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

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

  • Lake View Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Hill Lake Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hill Lake Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hill Lake Cemetery
  • Macville Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Macville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Macville Cemetery
  • Fairview Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Fairview Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the northwest of Remer.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fairview Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1961404 <4>
  • Hebron Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hebron Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hebron Cemetery
  • Heavirland Family Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Heavirland Family Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Heavirland Family Cemetery
  • Waukenabo Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Waukenabo Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Waukenabo Cemetery
  • Paulley Children Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Paulley Children Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Paulley Children Cemetery
  • Salem Lutheran Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Salem Lutheran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Salem Lutheran Cemetery
  • Pine Ridge Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pine Ridge Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pine Ridge Cemetery
  • Verdon Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Verdon Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Verdon Cemetery
  • Harris Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Harris Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Harris Cemetery
  • Continue List   (51 more) ...
    • Pine Grove Cemetery
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pine Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pine Grove Cemetery
    • Blandin Cemetery
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Blandin Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Blandin Cemetery
    • Wildwood Cemetery
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wildwood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wildwood 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 Shovel Lake in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Shovel Lake.

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

  • Cohasset
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cohasset have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cohasset
    • Cohasset is located in Itasca County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,739 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cohasset <2>
  • Grand Rapids
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
  • La Prairie
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for La Prairie have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Prairie
    • La Prairie is located in Itasca County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 661 people
  • Libby
    (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Libby
    • Libby is located in Aitkin County
  • Blackberry
    (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blackberry have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackberry
    • Blackberry is located in Itasca County
  • Deer River
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Deer River have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer River
    • Deer River is located in Itasca County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 930 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Deer River <2>
  • Swan River
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Swan River have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swan River
    • Swan River is located in Itasca County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Swan River <2>
  • Aitkin
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)

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

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Shovel Lake. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Aitkin County: www.co.aitkin.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' (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- Shovel Lake) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Shovel Lake. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.9575, Longitude: -93.7536       In this case, the coordinates for Shovel Lake 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 Shovel Lake, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024