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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 Urbank (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 Urbank. 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 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.

Urbank 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 Urbank. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Urbank:

  • Otter Tail County     (The home county of Urbank)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Urbank, with the one closest to Urbank listed first.
    • Parkers Prairie
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Vining
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Nirvana
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nirvana
      • Nirvana is located in Otter Tail County
    • Clitherall
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clitherall have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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>
    • Henning
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Henning have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henning
      • Henning is located in Otter Tail County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 806 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Henning <1>
    • Battle Lake
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Leaf City
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Leaf City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leaf City
      • Leaf City is located in Otter Tail County
    • Dalton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Ottertail
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ottertail have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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>
    • Deer Creek
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Creek
      • Deer Creek is located in Otter Tail County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 321 people
    • Underwood
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Underwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Underwood
      • Underwood is located in Otter Tail County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 364 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Underwood <1>
    • Amor
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • 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.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amor
      • Amor is located in Otter Tail County
    • Maine
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • 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.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maine
      • Maine is located in Otter Tail County
  • Douglas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Urbank, with the one closest to Urbank listed first.
    • Millerville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Millerville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Miltona
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Miltona. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miltona
      • Miltona is located in Douglas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 425 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Miltona <1>
    • Evansville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Melby
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melby
      • Melby is located in Douglas County
    • Garfield
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • 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.<3>
      • 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>
    • Carlos
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carlos have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlos
      • Carlos is located in Douglas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 490 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Carlos <1>
    • Rose City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rose City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose City
      • Rose City is located in Douglas County
    • Belle River
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Belle River. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle River
      • Belle River is located in Douglas County
    • Alexandria
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Holmes City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holmes City
      • Holmes City is located in Douglas County
    • Nelson
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nelson have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nelson
      • Nelson is located in Douglas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 192 people
    • Forada
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Forada have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forada
      • Forada is located in Douglas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 192 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Forada <1>
  • Grant County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Urbank, with the one closest to Urbank listed first.
    • Ashby
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ashby have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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>
    • Erdahl
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erdahl
      • Erdahl is located in Grant County
    • Barrett
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Barrett have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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
    • Elbow Lake
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Hoffman
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Wendell
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
  • Pope County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Urbank, with the one closest to Urbank listed first.
    • Farwell
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Farwell have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farwell
      • Farwell is located in Pope County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 52 people
    • Lowry
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lowry have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowry
      • Lowry is located in Pope County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 301 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lowry <1>
    • Villard
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Todd County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Urbank, with the one closest to Urbank listed first.
    • Eagle Bend
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eagle Bend have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Bend
      • Eagle Bend is located in Todd County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 518 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eagle Bend <1>
    • Clotho
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clotho
      • Clotho is located in Todd County
    • Bertha
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bertha have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bertha
      • Bertha is located in Todd County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 481 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bertha <1>
    • Hewitt
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hewitt have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hewitt
      • Hewitt is located in Todd County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 260 people
    • Clarissa
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clarissa have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarissa
      • Clarissa is located in Todd County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 651 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clarissa <1>
    • West Union
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Union have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Union
      • West Union is located in Todd County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 123 people
  • Wadena County
    • Verndale
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Urbank ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Urbank.

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 Urbank covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Sacred Heart Catholic Church Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sacred Heart Catholic Church Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sacred Heart Catholic Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. James Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. James Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. James Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Inspiration Peak Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Inspiration Peak Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Inspiration Peak Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Millerville Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Millerville Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Millerville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • North Effington Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the North Effington Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the North Effington Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Leaf Mtn. Lutheran Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Leaf Mtn. Lutheran Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Leaf Mtn. Lutheran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Trinity Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • 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.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mission Covenant Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mission Covenant Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mission Covenant Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Oak Hill Farm Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak Hill Farm Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oak Hill Farm Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Ebenezer Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ebenezer Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ebenezer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Paul's Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Paul's Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Paul's Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Free Church Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Free Church Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Free Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (222 more) ...
    • Vestre Nidaaros Lutheran Church Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Vestre Nidaaros Lutheran Church Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Vestre Nidaaros Lutheran Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Parkers Prairie Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • St. Williams Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Williams Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Williams Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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.<5>

While we didn't find Urbank in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Urbank.

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

  • Millerville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Millerville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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
  • Leaf Valley
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Leaf Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leaf Valley
    • Leaf Valley is located in Douglas County
  • Parkers Prairie
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Vining
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Melby
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melby
    • Melby is located in Douglas County
  • Evansville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Brandon
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Miltona
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Miltona. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miltona
    • Miltona is located in Douglas County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 425 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Miltona <1>
  • Clitherall
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clitherall have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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>
  • Garfield
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • 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.<3>
    • 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>
  • Henning
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Henning have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henning
    • Henning is located in Otter Tail County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 806 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Henning <1>
  • Battle Lake
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Ashby
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ashby have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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>
    • Belle River
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Belle River. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle River
      • Belle River is located in Douglas County
    • Erdahl
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erdahl
      • Erdahl is located in Grant County

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

Newspapers Published in Urbank ...

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 32 newspapers that have been published in the area around Urbank.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Urbank, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Urbank.

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 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 Urbank:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Urbank. 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>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.
<3>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.
<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>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 Urbank, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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- Urbank) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Urbank. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.1245, Longitude: -95.5110       In this case, the coordinates for Urbank have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025