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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 Topelius (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 Topelius. 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.

Topelius is located in Otter Tail 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 Otter Tail County: Becker, Clay, Douglas, Grant, Todd, Wadena & Wilkin.

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

  • Otter Tail County     (The home county of Topelius)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Topelius, with the one closest to Topelius listed first.
    • Bluffton
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Bluffton is located in Otter Tail County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluffton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 216 people
    • New York Mills
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Deer Creek
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Deer Creek is located in Otter Tail County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Creek
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 321 people
    • Wadena
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Wadena is located in Otter Tail County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wadena
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,121 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wadena <1>
    • Davies
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Davies is located in Otter Tail County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davies
    • Leaf City
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Leaf City is located in Otter Tail County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leaf City
    • Henning
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Ottertail
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Perham
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Perham is located in Otter Tail County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perham
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,638 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Perham <1>
    • Richville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Nirvana
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Nirvana is located in Otter Tail County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nirvana
    • Vining
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
  • Becker County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Topelius, with the one closest to Topelius listed first.
    • Evergreen
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Evergreen is located in Becker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen
    • Wolf Lake
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Wolf Lake is located in Becker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Lake
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 55 people
    • Frazee
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Osage
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Cass County
    • Ellis
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Ellis is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellis
  • Douglas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Topelius, with the one closest to Topelius listed first.
    • Rose City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Rose City is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose City
    • Miltona
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Todd County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Topelius, with the one closest to Topelius listed first.
    • Hewitt
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Hewitt is located in Todd County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hewitt
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 260 people
    • Bertha
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Staples
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Eagle Bend
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Clarissa
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Philbrook
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Philbrook is located in Todd County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Philbrook
  • Wadena County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Topelius, with the one closest to Topelius listed first.
    • Sebeka
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Verndale
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Aldrich
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Aldrich is located in Wadena County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aldrich
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 46 people
    • Menahga
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Nimrod
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Topelius ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Topelius.

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

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

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

  • Topelius Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • St. John's Catholic Church Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Nazareth Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Gustafva Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • St. Peter's Norwegian Lutheran Church Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Oak Hill Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Salem Evangelical Church Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Fairview Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Compton Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Pioneer Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Old Greenwood Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (177 more) ...
    • Woodland Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • St. Anns Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Wadena Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)

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 Topelius in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Topelius.

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

  • Bluffton
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Bluffton is located in Otter Tail County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluffton
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 216 people
  • New York Mills
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Deer Creek
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Deer Creek is located in Otter Tail County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Creek
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 321 people
  • Wadena
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Wadena is located in Otter Tail County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wadena
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,121 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wadena <1>
  • Davies
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Davies is located in Otter Tail County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davies
  • Ottertail
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Henning
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Sebeka
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Wrightstown
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Wrightstown is located in Otter Tail County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wrightstown
  • Hewitt
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Hewitt is located in Todd County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hewitt
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 260 people
  • Verndale
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Perham
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Perham is located in Otter Tail County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perham
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,638 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Perham <1>
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Bertha
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Aldrich
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Aldrich is located in Wadena County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aldrich
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 46 people
    • Vining
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Topelius ...

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 45 newspapers that have been published in the area around Topelius.

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

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 helpful 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 Topelius:

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