RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Minnesota >> Norman County >> Twin Valley >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Valley (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 Valley. 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 Valley ...

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 Valley: Twin Vly. (or less commonly used: Twin Vally. or Twin Vlly.)

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

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 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.

Twin Valley is located in Norman 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 Norman County: Becker, Clay, Mahnomen, Polk, Cass (ND) & Traill (ND).

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

  • Norman County     (The home county of Twin Valley)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Twin Valley, with the one closest to Twin Valley listed first.
    • Faith
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Faith is located in Norman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Faith
    • Gary
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Flom
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Borup
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Borup is located in Norman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borup
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 103 people
    • Ada
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Ada is located in Norman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ada
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,556 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ada <1>
    • Flaming
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Flaming is located in Norman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flaming
    • Rindal
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Rindal is located in Norman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rindal
    • Hendrum
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Hendrum is located in Norman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hendrum
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 282 people
    • Perley
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Perley is located in Norman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 83 people
    • Halstad
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Shelly
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Shelly is located in Norman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shelly
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 178 people
  • Becker County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Twin Valley, with the one closest to Twin Valley listed first.
    • Ogema
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Ogema is located in Becker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogema
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 183 people
    • White Earth
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Callaway
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Lake Park
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Richwood
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Richwood is located in Becker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richwood
    • Audubon
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Clay County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Twin Valley, with the one closest to Twin Valley listed first.
    • Ulen
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Felton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Hitterdal
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Hitterdal is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hitterdal
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 213 people
    • Hawley
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Muskoda
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Muskoda is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muskoda
    • Georgetown
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Georgetown is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgetown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 126 people
    • Kragnes
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Kragnes is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kragnes
    • Glyndon
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Mahnomen County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Twin Valley, with the one closest to Twin Valley listed first.
    • Mahnomen
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Waubun
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Bejou
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Naytahwaush
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Polk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Twin Valley, with the one closest to Twin Valley listed first.
    • Fertile
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Winger
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Beltrami
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Beltrami is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beltrami
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 99 people
    • Melvin
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Melvin is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melvin
    • Dugdale
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Dugdale is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dugdale
    • Erskine
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • Mentor
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)

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

Cemeteries Near Twin Valley ...

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

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

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

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

  • Zion Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • St. Williams Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Twin Valley City Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Zion Memorial Gardens
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Trinity Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • West Wild Rice Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Syre Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • North Wild Rice Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • East Wild Rice Lutheran Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Hlubek Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Immanuel Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • West Wild Rice Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (144 more) ...

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 in 1895, Twin Valley had railroad service and no post office. In 2020, Twin Valley had a population of 750 people.

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

  • Heiberg
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Heiberg is located in Norman County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heiberg
  • Fossum
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Fossum is located in Norman County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fossum
  • Syre
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Syre is located in Norman County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Syre
  • Faith
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Faith is located in Norman County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Faith
  • Gary
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Ulen
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Ada
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Ada is located in Norman County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ada
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,556 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ada <1>
  • Felton
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Rindal
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Rindal is located in Norman County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rindal
  • Lockhart
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Lockhart is located in Norman County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lockhart
  • Hitterdal
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Hitterdal is located in Clay County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hitterdal
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 213 people
  • Fertile
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • White Earth
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Winger
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Beltrami
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Beltrami is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beltrami
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 99 people

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Twin Valley ...

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 29 newspapers that have been published in the area around Twin Valley.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

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

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 websites either 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 Valley:

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 Valley, 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- Twin Valley) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.