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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 Underwood (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 Underwood. 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.

Underwood is located in Otter Tail County.

To see how the shape of Minnesota's counties 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 Underwood. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Underwood:

  • Otter Tail County     (The home county of Underwood)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Underwood, with the one closest to Underwood listed first.
    • Battle Lake
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Dalton
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Maine
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Maine. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maine
      • Maine is located in Otter Tail County
    • Fergus Falls
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Amor
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Amor. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amor
      • Amor is located in Otter Tail County
    • Clitherall
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clitherall have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clitherall
      • Clitherall is located in Otter Tail County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 106 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clitherall <1>
    • Edwards
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwards
      • Edwards is located in Otter Tail County
    • Nirvana
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nirvana
      • Nirvana is located in Otter Tail County
    • Elizabeth
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elizabeth have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elizabeth
      • Elizabeth is located in Otter Tail County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 170 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elizabeth <1>
    • Vining
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Ottertail
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ottertail have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ottertail
      • Ottertail is located in Otter Tail County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 660 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ottertail <1>
    • Erhard
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Erhard have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erhard
      • Erhard is located in Otter Tail County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 145 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Erhard <1>
  • Becker County
    • Bucks Mill
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bucks Mill. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bucks Mill
      • Bucks Mill is located in Becker County
  • Douglas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Underwood, with the one closest to Underwood listed first.
    • Melby
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melby
      • Melby is located in Douglas County
    • Evansville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Millerville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Millerville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerville
      • Millerville is located in Douglas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 103 people
    • Brandon
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Garfield
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Garfield. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garfield
      • Garfield is located in Douglas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 349 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Garfield <1>
  • Grant County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Underwood, with the one closest to Underwood listed first.
    • Ashby
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ashby have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashby
      • Ashby is located in Grant County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 444 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ashby <1>
    • Elbow Lake
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Erdahl
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erdahl
      • Erdahl is located in Grant County
    • Wendell
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Barrett
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Barrett have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrett
      • Barrett is located in Grant County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 414 people
  • Traverse County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Underwood, with the one closest to Underwood listed first.
    • Tintah
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tintah
      • Tintah is located in Traverse County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 56 people
    • Charlesville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Charlesville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlesville
      • Charlesville is located in Traverse County
  • Wilkin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Underwood, with the one closest to Underwood listed first.
    • Foxhome
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Foxhome have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foxhome
      • Foxhome is located in Wilkin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 112 people
    • Nashua
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nashua have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nashua
      • Nashua is located in Wilkin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 66 people
    • Campbell
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Campbell have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell
      • Campbell is located in Wilkin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 152 people
    • Lawndale
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lawndale. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawndale
      • Lawndale is located in Wilkin County
    • Doran
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Doran. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doran
      • Doran is located in Wilkin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 47 people

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

Cemeteries Near Underwood ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Underwood.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

  • Sunset Memorial Unitarian Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sunset Memorial Unitarian Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sunset Memorial Unitarian Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sverdrup Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sverdrup Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sverdrup Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Free Lutheran Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Free Lutheran Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Free Lutheran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Norwegian Methodist Episcopal Church Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Norwegian Methodist Episcopal Church Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Norwegian Methodist Episcopal Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Aurdal Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Aurdal Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Aurdal Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Evangelical Lutheran Rolling Prairie Congregational Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Rindal Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Swan Lake Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Swan Lake Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Swan Lake Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Tordenskjold Free Mission Church Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Tordenskjold Free Mission Church Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Tordenskjold Free Mission Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Tingvold Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Tingvold Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Tingvold Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Vang Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Vang Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Vang Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Swan Lake Lutheran Church Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Swan Lake Lutheran Church Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Swan Lake Lutheran Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (198 more) ...
    • Trefoldlighed Lutheran Church Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Trinity Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Trinity Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Trinity Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Swedish Baptist Church Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Swedish Baptist Church Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Swedish Baptist Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Underwood had a population of 100 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Underwood had a population of 364 people.

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

  • Wall Lake
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wall Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wall Lake
    • Wall Lake is located in Otter Tail County
  • Phelps
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Phelps have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phelps
    • Phelps is located in Otter Tail County
  • Parkdale
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Parkdale have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkdale
    • Parkdale is located in Otter Tail County
  • Battle Lake
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Dalton
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Maine
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Maine. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maine
    • Maine is located in Otter Tail County
  • Fergus Falls
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Amor
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Amor. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amor
    • Amor is located in Otter Tail County
  • Clitherall
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clitherall have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clitherall
    • Clitherall is located in Otter Tail County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 106 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clitherall <1>
  • Edwards
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwards
    • Edwards is located in Otter Tail County
  • Ashby
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ashby have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashby
    • Ashby is located in Grant County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 444 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ashby <1>
  • Elizabeth
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elizabeth have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elizabeth
    • Elizabeth is located in Otter Tail County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 170 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elizabeth <1>
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • French
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for French have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for French
      • French is located in Otter Tail County
    • Melby
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melby
      • Melby is located in Douglas County
    • Vining
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Underwood ...

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 70 newspapers that have been published in the area around Underwood.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Underwood. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Underwood and those printed in the larger area surrounding Underwood.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<5> of Underwood.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with 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 Underwood:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Underwood. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Otter Tail County: www.co.otter-tail.mn.us/

The official website for State of Minnesota: https://mn.gov/

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>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<3>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<4>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.
<5>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 from Point A (ie- Underwood) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Underwood. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.2870, Longitude: -95.8723       In this case, the coordinates for Underwood have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>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 Underwood, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025