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 Walters (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 Walters. 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 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 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.
Walters is located in Faribault County.
To see how the shape of Minnesota's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Faribault County: Kossuth (IA), Winnebago (IA), Blue Earth, Freeborn, Martin & Waseca.
Below are the counties that are near Walters. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Walters:
- Faribault County (The home county of Walters)
- The following are listed by their distance from Walters, with the one closest to Walters listed first.
- Kiester
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Bricelyn
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Bricelyn is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bricelyn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 334 people
- Wells
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Dell
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Dell is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dell
- Frost
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Easton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Easton is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 183 people
- Minnesota Lake
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Delavan
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Delavan is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delavan
- Population from the 2020 Census: 166 people
- Blue Earth
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Blue Earth is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Earth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,098 people
- Former name for Blue Earth:
- Blue Earth City
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Blue Earth <1>
- Elmore
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Elmore is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 613 people
- Winnebago
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Huntley
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Huntley is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntley
- Blue Earth County
- The following are listed by their distance from Walters, with the one closest to Walters listed first.
- Mapleton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Pemberton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Pemberton is located in Blue Earth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pemberton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 241 people
- Freeborn County
- The following are listed by their distance from Walters, with the one closest to Walters listed first.
- Alden
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Conger
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Conger is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conger
- Population from the 2020 Census: 144 people
- Emmons
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Emmons is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmons
- Population from the 2020 Census: 380 people
- Twin Lakes
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Twin Lakes is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Lakes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 149 people
- Freeborn
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Manchester
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Manchester is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manchester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 55 people
- Albert Lea
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Hartland
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hartland is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 307 people
- Glenville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Bath
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Bath is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bath
- Clarks Grove
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Hayward
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Geneva
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Steele County
- Ellendale
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Waseca County
- The following are listed by their distance from Walters, with the one closest to Walters listed first.
- New Richland
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Waldorf
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Waldorf is located in Waseca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldorf
- Population from the 2020 Census: 224 people
- Vista
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Vista is located in Waseca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vista
- Alma City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Alma City is located in Waseca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alma City
- Wilton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Wilton is located in Waseca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilton
- Hancock County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Walters, with the one closest to Walters listed first.
- Crystal Lake
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Crystal Lake is located in Hancock County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 228 people
- Woden
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Kossuth County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Walters, with the one closest to Walters listed first.
- Lakota
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Lakota is located in Kossuth County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakota
- Population from the 2020 Census: 275 people
- Ledyard
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Gerled
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Gerled is located in Kossuth County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gerled
- German Valley
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- German Valley is located in Kossuth County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for German Valley
- Winnebago County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Walters, with the one closest to Walters listed first.
- Scarville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Vinje
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Vinje is located in Winnebago County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vinje
- Lake Mills
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Rake
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Rake is located in Winnebago County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
- Thompson
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Leland
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Leland is located in Winnebago County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 268 people
- Buffalo Center
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Forest City
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Worth County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Walters, with the one closest to Walters listed first.
- Bristol
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bristol is located in Worth County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bristol
- Silver Lake
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Silver Lake is located in Worth County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Lake
- Joice
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Joice is located in Worth County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joice
- Population from the 2020 Census: 209 people
- Northwood
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Fertile
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Hanlontown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Hanlontown is located in Worth County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanlontown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
- Kensett
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Kensett is located in Worth County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kensett
- Population from the 2020 Census: 249 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Walters, see our County-by-County Page for Walters.
Cemeteries Near Walters ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Walters.
This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.
Although we don't have the information ourselves, if you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our list of websites on our Genealogy Helper Page for Walters - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Walters covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Walters, with the one closest to Walters listed first.
- United Lutheran Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for United Lutheran Cemetery
- The United Lutheran Cemetery has also been known as:
- St. John's Cemetery
- St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery
- St. John's Lutheran Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2443887 <2>
- Fairview Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- United Brethren Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Rice Lake Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Mansfield Lutheran Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- American Lutheran Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Zion Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Schnieder Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Alden Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Conger Community Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Clayton Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Bricelyn Lutheran Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (226 more) ...
- Synod Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Carlston Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Brush Creek Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
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.<3>
While we didn't find Walters in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Walters.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Walters, with the one closest to Walters listed first.
- Mansfield
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Mansfield is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mansfield
- Kiester
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Alden
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Amund
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Amund is located in Winnebago County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amund
- Norman ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Norman is located in Winnebago County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norman
- Emmons
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Emmons is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmons
- Population from the 2020 Census: 380 people
- Armstrong
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Armstrong is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armstrong
- Twin Lakes
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Twin Lakes is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Lakes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 149 people
- Freeborn
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Dell
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Dell is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dell
- Manchester
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Manchester is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manchester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 55 people
- Lake Mills
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Rake
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Rake is located in Winnebago County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
- Albert Lea
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Easton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Easton is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 183 people
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Walters. See our List of 1890's Communities around Walters.
Newspapers Published in Walters ...
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 103 newspapers that have been published in the area around Walters.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Walters, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Walters.
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 Walters:
- Websites specific to Minnesota
- Pages specific to Faribault County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Blue Earth County
- Freeborn County
- Steele County
- Waseca County
- Hancock County
- Kossuth County
- Winnebago County
- Worth County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Minnesota
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 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. |
| <3> | 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 Walters, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Walters) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |