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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 Tracy (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 Tracy. 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 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 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.

Tracy is located in Lyon 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 Lyon County: Lincoln, Murray, Pipestone, Redwood & Yellow Medicine.

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

  • Lyon County     (The home county of Tracy)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Tracy, with the one closest to Tracy listed first.
    • Amiret
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Garvin
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Garvin is located in Lyon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garvin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 129 people
    • Balaton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Marshall
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Lynd
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Russell
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Russell is located in Lyon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 343 people
    • Florence
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Florence is located in Lyon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 35 people
    • Ghent
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Cottonwood
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Minneota
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Cottonwood County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Tracy, with the one closest to Tracy listed first.
    • Westbrook
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Storden
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Jeffers
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Jeffers is located in Cottonwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeffers
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 346 people
  • Lincoln County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Tracy, with the one closest to Tracy listed first.
    • Tyler
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Arco
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Murray County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Tracy, with the one closest to Tracy listed first.
    • The Lakes
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • The Lakes is located in Murray County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Lakes
    • Currie
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Dovray
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Lowville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Lowville is located in Murray County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowville
    • Slayton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Avoca
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Avoca is located in Murray County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avoca
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 134 people
    • Hadley
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Iona
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Lake Wilson
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Lake Wilson is located in Murray County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Wilson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 224 people
    • Fulda
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Chandler
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Chandler is located in Murray County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chandler
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 246 people
  • Nobles County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Tracy, with the one closest to Tracy listed first.
    • Dundee
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Dundee is located in Nobles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dundee
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
    • Kinbrae
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Pipestone County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Tracy, with the one closest to Tracy listed first.
    • Ruthton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Woodstock
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Holland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Holland is located in Pipestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 172 people
  • Redwood County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Tracy, with the one closest to Tracy listed first.
    • Walnut Grove
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Revere
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Milroy
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Lucan
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Lamberton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Wanda
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Seaforth
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Vesta
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Vesta is located in Redwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vesta
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 295 people
    • Wabasso
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Sanborn
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Clements
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Clements is located in Redwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clements
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 140 people
    • Belview
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Belview is located in Redwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belview
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 352 people
  • Yellow Medicine County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Tracy, with the one closest to Tracy listed first.
    • Echo
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Echo is located in Yellow Medicine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 247 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Echo <1>
    • Wood Lake
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Wood Lake is located in Yellow Medicine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wood Lake
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 395 people

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

Cemeteries Near Tracy ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Tracy.

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

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

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

  • Rialson Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Tracy Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Swedish Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Hoiland Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Luther Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Bethel Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Walnut Grove Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Amiret Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Willow Lake Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Trinity Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (129 more) ...
    • Gales Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • North Hero Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Lake Sarah Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Tracy had a population of 1,400 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Tracy had a population of 2,055 people.

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

  • Amiret
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Garvin
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Garvin is located in Lyon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garvin
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 129 people
  • Walnut Grove
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Currie
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Revere
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Balaton
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Lowville
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Lowville is located in Murray County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowville
  • Westbrook
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Marshall
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Current Lake
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Current Lake is located in Murray County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Current Lake
  • Lamberton
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
  • Lynd
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Russell
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Russell is located in Lyon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 343 people
    • Slayton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Burchard
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Burchard is located in Lyon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burchard

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Tracy ...

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 86 newspapers that have been published in the area around Tracy.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Tracy. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Tracy and those printed in the larger area surrounding Tracy.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3> of Tracy.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Tracy:

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