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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 Twin Lakes (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 Twin Lakes. 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 Twin Lakes ...

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.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Twin Lakes: Twin Lks.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Twin Lakes. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Twin Lakes.

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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals 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.

Twin Lakes is located in Freeborn 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 Freeborn County: Winnebago (IA), Worth (IA), Faribault, Mower, Steele & Waseca.

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

  • Freeborn County     (The home county of Twin Lakes)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Twin Lakes, with the one closest to Twin Lakes listed first.
    • Emmons
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Emmons is located in Freeborn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmons
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 380 people
    • Albert Lea
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Conger
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Conger is located in Freeborn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conger
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 144 people
    • Glenville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Hayward
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Alden
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Manchester
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Manchester is located in Freeborn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manchester
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 55 people
    • Myrtle
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Clarks Grove
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Freeborn
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Hartland
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Hartland is located in Freeborn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 307 people
    • Hollandale
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Faribault County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Twin Lakes, with the one closest to Twin Lakes listed first.
    • Walters
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Walters is located in Faribault County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walters
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
    • Kiester
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Wells
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Wells is located in Faribault County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wells
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,157 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wells <1>
    • Bricelyn
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Bricelyn is located in Faribault County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bricelyn
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 334 people
    • Dell
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Frost
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Frost is located in Faribault County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frost
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 181 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Frost <1>
    • Easton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Easton is located in Faribault County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 183 people
    • Minnesota Lake
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Mower County
  • Steele County
  • Waseca County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Twin Lakes, with the one closest to Twin Lakes listed first.
    • New Richland
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Vista
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Waldorf
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Waldorf is located in Waseca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldorf
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 224 people
  • Cerro Gordo County (IA)
  • Hancock County (IA)
    • Crystal Lake
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Crystal Lake is located in Hancock County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Lake
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 228 people
  • Mitchell County (IA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Twin Lakes, with the one closest to Twin Lakes listed first.
    • Carpenter
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Carpenter is located in Mitchell County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carpenter
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 108 people
    • Toeterville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Saint Ansgar
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Winnebago County (IA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Twin Lakes, with the one closest to Twin Lakes listed first.
    • Lake Mills
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Scarville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Vinje
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Leland
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Thompson
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Thompson is located in Winnebago County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 466 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Thompson <1>
    • Forest City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Rake
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Rake is located in Winnebago County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rake
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
    • Buffalo Center
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Worth County (IA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Twin Lakes, with the one closest to Twin Lakes listed first.
    • Silver Lake
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Bristol
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Joice
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Joice is located in Worth County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joice
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 209 people
    • Northwood
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Kensett
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Kensett is located in Worth County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kensett
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 249 people
    • Hanlontown
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Hanlontown is located in Worth County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanlontown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
    • Fertile
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Bolan
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Manly
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Grafton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Twin Lakes ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Twin Lakes.

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 Twin Lakes - one of the links might be able to help.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Twin Lakes, with the one closest to Twin Lakes 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.<2>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Twin Lakes had a population of 100 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Twin Lakes had a population of 149 people.

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

  • Emmons
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Emmons is located in Freeborn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmons
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 380 people
  • Norman ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Norman is located in Winnebago County (IA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norman
  • Silver Lake
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Albert Lea
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Armstrong
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Armstrong is located in Freeborn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armstrong
  • Glenville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Somber
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Somber is located in Worth County (IA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somber
  • Gordonsville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Gordonsville is located in Freeborn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordonsville
  • Mansfield
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Mansfield is located in Freeborn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mansfield
  • Bristol
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Hayward
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Alden
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in Twin Lakes ...

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 116 newspapers that have been published in the area around Twin Lakes.

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

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 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 Twin Lakes:

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 Twin Lakes, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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- Twin Lakes) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.