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 Spafford (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 Spafford. 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 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.
Spafford is located in Jackson 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 Jackson County: Dickinson (IA), Emmet (IA), Osceola (IA), Cottonwood, Martin, Nobles & Watonwan.
Below are the counties that are near Spafford. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Spafford:
- Jackson County (The home county of Spafford)
- The following are listed by their distance from Spafford, with the one closest to Spafford listed first.
- Sioux Valley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Sioux Valley is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sioux Valley
- Okabena
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Okabena is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Okabena
- Population from the 2020 Census: 195 people
- Lakefield
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Heron Lake
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Heron Lake is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heron Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 643 people
- Wilder
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Wilder is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilder
- Population from the 2020 Census: 56 people
- Jackson
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Petersburg
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Petersburg is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersburg
- Alpha
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Alpha is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpha
- Population from the 2020 Census: 119 people
- Cottonwood County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spafford, with the one closest to Spafford listed first.
- Windom
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Bingham Lake
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Storden
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Storden is located in Cottonwood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Storden
- Population from the 2020 Census: 204 people
- Westbrook
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Martin County
- Dunnell
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Dunnell is located in Martin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunnell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 145 people
- Murray County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spafford, with the one closest to Spafford listed first.
- Fulda
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Avoca
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Avoca is located in Murray County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avoca
- Population from the 2020 Census: 134 people
- Iona
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Nobles County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spafford, with the one closest to Spafford listed first.
- Brewster
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Brewster is located in Nobles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brewster
- Population from the 2020 Census: 466 people
- Round Lake
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Worthington
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Org
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Org is located in Nobles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Org
- Kinbrae
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Kinbrae is located in Nobles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinbrae
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10 people
- Dundee
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Dundee is located in Nobles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dundee
- Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
- Bigelow
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Bigelow is located in Nobles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bigelow
- Population from the 2020 Census: 226 people
- Reading
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Reading is located in Nobles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reading
- Ransom
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Ransom is located in Nobles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ransom
- Rushmore
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Rushmore is located in Nobles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rushmore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 334 people
- Wilmont
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Adrian
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Clay County (IA)
- Fostoria
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Fostoria is located in Clay County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fostoria
- Population from the 2020 Census: 219 people
- Dickinson County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Spafford, with the one closest to Spafford listed first.
- Lake Park
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Orleans
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Orleans is located in Dickinson County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orleans
- Population from the 2020 Census: 591 people
- Spirit Lake
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Okoboji
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Wahpeton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Wahpeton is located in Dickinson County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wahpeton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 353 people
- Arnolds Park
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- West Okoboji
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- West Okoboji is located in Dickinson County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Okoboji
- Population from the 2020 Census: 303 people
- Milford
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Old Town
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Old Town is located in Dickinson County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Town
- Superior
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Terril
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Terril is located in Dickinson County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terril
- Population from the 2020 Census: 338 people
- Emmet County (IA)
- Estherville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Lyon County (IA)
- Little Rock
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- O'Brien County (IA)
- Hartley
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Hartley is located in O'Brien County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,556 people
- Osceola County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Spafford, with the one closest to Spafford listed first.
- Harris
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Harris is located in Osceola County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris
- Population from the 2020 Census: 158 people
- Ocheyedan
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Ocheyedan is located in Osceola County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocheyedan
- Population from the 2020 Census: 463 people
- Allendorf
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Allendorf is located in Osceola County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allendorf
- May City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- May City is located in Osceola County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for May City
- Sibley
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Cloverdale
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Cloverdale is located in Osceola County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverdale
- Melvin
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Melvin is located in Osceola County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melvin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 197 people
- Ashton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Spafford, see our County-by-County Page for Spafford.
Cemeteries Near Spafford ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Spafford.
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 Spafford - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Spafford covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Spafford, with the one closest to Spafford listed first.
- Grace Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- St. Pauls Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Norwegian Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Sioux Valley Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Round Lake Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- St. John's Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Sacred Heart Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Hersey Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Trinity Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Indian Lake Baptist Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Holy Trinity Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Immanuel Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (104 more) ...
- St. Marys Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Worthington Twp. Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Fairview Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
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 Spafford in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Spafford.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Spafford, with the one closest to Spafford listed first.
- Sioux Valley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Sioux Valley is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sioux Valley
- Round Lake
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Brewster
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Brewster is located in Nobles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brewster
- Population from the 2020 Census: 466 people
- Okabena
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Okabena is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Okabena
- Population from the 2020 Census: 195 people
- Lakefield
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Lake Park
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Worthington
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Harris
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Harris is located in Osceola County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris
- Population from the 2020 Census: 158 people
- Heron Lake
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Heron Lake is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heron Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 643 people
- Org
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Org is located in Nobles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Org
- Kinbrae
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Kinbrae is located in Nobles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinbrae
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10 people
- Ocheyedan
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Ocheyedan is located in Osceola County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocheyedan
- Population from the 2020 Census: 463 people
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Dundee
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Dundee is located in Nobles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dundee
- Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
- Bigelow
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Bigelow is located in Nobles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bigelow
- Population from the 2020 Census: 226 people
- Wilder
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Wilder is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilder
- Population from the 2020 Census: 56 people
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Spafford. See our List of 1890's Communities around Spafford.
Newspapers Published in Spafford ...
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 113 newspapers that have been published in the area around Spafford.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Spafford, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Spafford.
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 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 Spafford:
- Websites specific to Minnesota
- Pages specific to Jackson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cottonwood County
- Martin County
- Murray County
- Nobles County
- Clay County
- Dickinson County
- Emmet County
- Lyon County
- O'Brien County
- Osceola County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Minnesota
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 Spafford, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Spafford) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |