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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 Sobieski (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 Sobieski. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Sobieski is located in Morrison 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 Morrison County: Benton, Cass, Crow Wing, Mille Lacs, Stearns & Todd.

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

  • Morrison County     (The home county of Sobieski)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sobieski, with the one closest to Sobieski listed first.
    • Flensburg
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Flensburg is located in Morrison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flensburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 223 people
    • Little Falls
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Elmdale
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Elmdale is located in Morrison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmdale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 116 people
    • Bowlus
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Swanville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Upsala
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Belle Prairie
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Belle Prairie is located in Morrison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Prairie
    • North Prairie
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • North Prairie is located in Morrison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Prairie
    • Randall
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Royalton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Cushing
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Buckman
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Buckman is located in Morrison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckman
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 273 people
  • Benton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sobieski, with the one closest to Sobieski listed first.
    • Rice
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Rice is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rice
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,401 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rice <1>
    • Watab
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Watab is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watab
    • Evergreen Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Evergreen Village is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen Village
    • Sauk Rapids
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Gilman
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Cass County
    • Pillager
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
  • Crow Wing County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sobieski, with the one closest to Sobieski listed first.
    • Fort Ripley
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Baxter
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Baxter is located in Crow Wing County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baxter
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,483 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Baxter <1>
  • Stearns County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sobieski, with the one closest to Sobieski listed first.
    • Holdingford
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Opole
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Opole is located in Stearns County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Opole
    • Saint Anthony
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Saint Anthony is located in Stearns County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Anthony
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 91 people
    • Saint Rosa
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Saint Rosa is located in Stearns County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Rosa
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 71 people
    • Saint Wendel
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Saint Wendel is located in Stearns County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Wendel
    • Saint Stephen
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Saint Stephen is located in Stearns County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Stephen
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 867 people
    • Albany
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Freeport
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Avon
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Avon is located in Stearns County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,652 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Avon <1>
    • Collegeville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Melrose
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • New Munich
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
  • Todd County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sobieski, with the one closest to Sobieski listed first.
    • Pillsbury
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Pillsbury is located in Todd County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pillsbury
    • Burtrum
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Grey Eagle
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Long Prairie
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Browerville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Browerville is located in Todd County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browerville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 744 people
    • Clarissa
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Philbrook
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Philbrook is located in Todd County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Philbrook
    • Clotho
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Clotho is located in Todd County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clotho
    • West Union
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • West Union is located in Todd County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Union
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 123 people

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

Cemeteries Near Sobieski ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sobieski.

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

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

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

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>

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

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

  • Elmdale
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Elmdale is located in Morrison County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmdale
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 116 people
  • Gregory
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Gregory is located in Morrison County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gregory
  • Little Falls
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Swanville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Upsala
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Pillsbury
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Pillsbury is located in Todd County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pillsbury
  • Burtrum
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • North Prairie
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • North Prairie is located in Morrison County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Prairie
  • Belle Prairie
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Belle Prairie is located in Morrison County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Prairie
  • Royalton
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Randall
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Holdingford
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Opole
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Opole is located in Stearns County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Opole
    • Grey Eagle
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Cushing
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)

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

Newspapers Published in Sobieski ...

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 36 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sobieski.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sobieski, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sobieski.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Sobieski:

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