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 Vesta (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 Vesta. 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 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.
Vesta is located in Redwood 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 Redwood County: Brown, Cottonwood, Lyon, Murray, Renville & Yellow Medicine.
Below are the counties that are near Vesta. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Vesta:
- Redwood County (The home county of Vesta)
- The following are listed by their distance from Vesta, with the one closest to Vesta listed first.
- Seaforth
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seaforth have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seaforth
- Seaforth is located in Redwood County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 82 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Seaforth <2>
- Lucan
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lucan have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucan
- Lucan is located in Redwood County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 174 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lucan <2>
- Belview
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Belview have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belview
- Belview is located in Redwood County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 352 people
- Milroy
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Wabasso
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wabasso have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wabasso
- Wabasso is located in Redwood County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 653 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wabasso <2>
- Delhi
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delhi
- Delhi is located in Redwood County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 63 people
- Redwood Falls
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Redwood Falls have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redwood Falls
- Redwood Falls is located in Redwood County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,946 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Redwood Falls <2>
- North Redwood
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for North Redwood. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Redwood
- North Redwood is located in Redwood County
- Wanda
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wanda have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wanda
- Wanda is located in Redwood County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 80 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wanda <2>
- Revere
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Revere have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Revere
- Revere is located in Redwood County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 88 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Revere <2>
- Walnut Grove
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walnut Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Grove
- Walnut Grove is located in Redwood County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 798 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Walnut Grove <2>
- Clements
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clements have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clements
- Clements is located in Redwood County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 140 people
- Brown County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vesta, with the one closest to Vesta listed first.
- Springfield
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Springfield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springfield
- Springfield is located in Brown County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,990 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Springfield <2>
- Evan
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evan
- Evan is located in Brown County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 84 people
- Chippewa County
- Maynard
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maynard have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maynard
- Maynard is located in Chippewa County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 344 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Maynard <2>
- Lyon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vesta, with the one closest to Vesta listed first.
- Cottonwood
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cottonwood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottonwood
- Cottonwood is located in Lyon County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,223 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cottonwood <2>
- Marshall
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Amiret
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amiret
- Amiret is located in Lyon County
- Tracy
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Ghent
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Lynd
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lynd have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynd
- Lynd is located in Lyon County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 455 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lynd <2>
- Garvin
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garvin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garvin
- Garvin is located in Lyon County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 129 people
- Minneota
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Balaton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Balaton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balaton
- Balaton is located in Lyon County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 616 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Balaton <2>
- Russell
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Russell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell
- Russell is located in Lyon County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 343 people
- Murray County
- The Lakes
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for The Lakes have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Lakes
- The Lakes is located in Murray County
- Renville County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vesta, with the one closest to Vesta listed first.
- Sacred Heart
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Morton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Morton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morton
- Morton is located in Renville County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 369 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Morton <2>
- Renville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Danube
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Danube have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danube
- Danube is located in Renville County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 451 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Danube <2>
- Franklin
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Olivia
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Yellow Medicine County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vesta, with the one closest to Vesta listed first.
- Echo
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Echo have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo
- Echo is located in Yellow Medicine County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 247 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Echo <2>
- Wood Lake
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wood Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wood Lake
- Wood Lake is located in Yellow Medicine County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 395 people
- Hanley Falls
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanley Falls
- Hanley Falls is located in Yellow Medicine County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 273 people
- Granite Falls
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Hazel Run
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hazel Run have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazel Run
- Hazel Run is located in Yellow Medicine County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 56 people
- Clarkfield
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clarkfield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarkfield
- Clarkfield is located in Yellow Medicine County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 775 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clarkfield <2>
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Vesta, see our County-by-County Page for Vesta.
Cemeteries Near Vesta ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Vesta.
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 Vesta covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Vesta, with the one closest to Vesta listed first.
- Vesta Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Vesta Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Vesta Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Holy Name Catholic Church Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Holy Name Catholic Church Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Holy Name Catholic Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Hustad Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hustad Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hustad Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- St. Marys Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Marys Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Marys Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- St. Pauls Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Pauls Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Pauls Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Danish Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Danish Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Danish Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Trinity Lutheran Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Trinity Lutheran Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Trinity Lutheran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Our Lady of Victory Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Our Lady of Victory Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Our Lady of Victory Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- St. Henry Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Henry Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Henry Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- German Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the German Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the German Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Belview Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Belview Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Belview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Our Savior Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Our Savior Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Our Savior Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Continue List (181 more) ...
- Adsit Family Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Adsit Family Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Adsit Family Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- St. Johns Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Johns Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Johns Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- St. Michael Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Michael Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Michael Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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.<4>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Vesta had a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Vesta had a population of 295 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Vesta, with the one closest to Vesta listed first.
- Echo
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Echo have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo
- Echo is located in Yellow Medicine County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 247 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Echo <2>
- Belview
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Belview have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belview
- Belview is located in Redwood County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 352 people
- Delhi
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delhi
- Delhi is located in Redwood County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 63 people
- Wood Lake
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wood Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wood Lake
- Wood Lake is located in Yellow Medicine County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 395 people
- Cottonwood
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cottonwood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottonwood
- Cottonwood is located in Lyon County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,223 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cottonwood <2>
- North Redwood
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for North Redwood. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Redwood
- North Redwood is located in Redwood County
- Hanley Falls
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanley Falls
- Hanley Falls is located in Yellow Medicine County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 273 people
- Green Valley
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Valley
- Green Valley is located in Lyon County
- Marshall
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Beaver Falls
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beaver Falls have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Falls
- Beaver Falls is located in Renville County
- Amiret
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amiret
- Amiret is located in Lyon County
- Walnut Grove
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walnut Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Grove
- Walnut Grove is located in Redwood County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 798 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Walnut Grove <2>
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Revere
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Revere have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Revere
- Revere is located in Redwood County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 88 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Revere <2>
- Bechyn
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bechyn have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bechyn
- Bechyn is located in Renville County
- Sacred Heart
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Vesta. See our List of 1890's Communities around Vesta.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Vesta ...
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 97 newspapers that have been published in the area around Vesta.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Vesta. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Vesta and those printed in the larger area surrounding Vesta.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<5> of Vesta.
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 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 Vesta:
- Websites specific to Minnesota
- Pages specific to Redwood County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Brown County
- Chippewa County
- Lyon County
- Murray County
- Renville County
- Yellow Medicine County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Minnesota
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Vesta. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Redwood County: www.co.redwood.mn.us/
The official website for State of Minnesota: https://mn.gov/
Footnotes ...
<1> | 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. |
<2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
<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> | 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 Vesta, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
<5> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Vesta) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Vesta. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.5065, Longitude: -95.4140 In this case, the coordinates for Vesta have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |