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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 Virginia (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 Virginia. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Virginia is located in Saint Louis 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 Saint Louis County: Aitkin, Carlton, Itasca, Koochiching, Lake & Douglas (WI).

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

  • Saint Louis County     (The home county of Virginia)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Virginia, with the one closest to Virginia listed first.
    • Franklin
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Franklin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
      • Franklin is located in Saint Louis County
    • Midway
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Midway. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
      • Midway is located in Saint Louis County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Midway
      • From Virginia to Midway
    • Leonidas
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Leonidas have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leonidas
      • Leonidas is located in Saint Louis County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 52 people
    • Mountain Iron
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Eveleth
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Genoa
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Gilbert
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gilbert have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilbert
      • Gilbert is located in Saint Louis County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,761 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gilbert <3>
    • McKinley
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McKinley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKinley
      • McKinley is located in Saint Louis County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 122 people
    • Ramshaw
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Iron Junction
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Belgrade
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Belgrade have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belgrade
      • Belgrade is located in Saint Louis County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Belgrade <3>
    • Britt
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Britt have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Britt
      • Britt is located in Saint Louis County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Britt <3>
  • Itasca County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Virginia, with the one closest to Virginia listed first.
    • Keewatin
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Keewatin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keewatin
      • Keewatin is located in Itasca County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,010 people
    • Nashwauk
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nashwauk have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nashwauk
      • Nashwauk is located in Itasca County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 951 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nashwauk <3>

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

Cemeteries Near Virginia ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Virginia.

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

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

  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Greenwood Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Greenwood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Eveleth Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Gilbert Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gilbert Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gilbert Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Florenton Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Florenton Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Florenton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bethel Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bethel Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bethel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lake View Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • West Pike Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the West Pike Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the West Pike Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sandy Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sandy Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sandy Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Forbes Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Pike River Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pike River Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pike River Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Idington Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Idington Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Idington Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Rauha Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rauha Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rauha Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (29 more) ...
    • Forest Hill Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Forest Hill Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Forest Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Czechoslovakian National Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Czechoslovakian National Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Czechoslovakian National Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Zim Cemetery
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Zim Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Zim 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.<5>

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

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

  • Midway
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Midway. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
    • Midway is located in Saint Louis County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Midway
    • From Virginia to Midway
  • Hinsdale
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hinsdale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hinsdale
    • Hinsdale is located in Saint Louis County
  • Tower Junction
    (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
  • Tower
    (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
  • Soudan
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Soudan have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soudan
    • Soudan is located in Saint Louis County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Soudan <3>

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Virginia ...

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 Virginia.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Virginia. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Virginia and those printed in the larger area surrounding Virginia.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<6> of Virginia.

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 Virginia:

The official website for Virginia: www.virginiamn.us/

The official website for Saint Louis County: www.co.st-louis.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>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>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Virginia, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Virginia) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Virginia. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 47.5232, Longitude: -92.5468    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025