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 Wilno (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 Wilno. 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.
Wilno is located in Lincoln 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 Lincoln County: Lyon, Pipestone, Yellow Medicine, Brookings (SD) & Deuel (SD).
Below are the counties that are near Wilno. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Wilno:
- Lincoln County (The home county of Wilno)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilno, with the one closest to Wilno listed first.
- Ivanhoe
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Arco
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Hendricks
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Lake Benton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Tyler
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Lac qui Parle County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilno, with the one closest to Wilno listed first.
- Providence
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Providence is located in Lac qui Parle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
- Boyd
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Boyd is located in Lac qui Parle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyd
- Population from the 2020 Census: 154 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Boyd <1>
- Dawson
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Lyon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilno, with the one closest to Wilno listed first.
- Taunton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Minneota
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Ghent
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Lynd
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Russell
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Russell is located in Lyon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 343 people
- Florence
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Florence is located in Lyon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
- Population from the 2020 Census: 35 people
- Marshall
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Balaton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Cottonwood
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Amiret
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Amiret is located in Lyon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amiret
- Garvin
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Garvin is located in Lyon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garvin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 129 people
- Pipestone County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilno, with the one closest to Wilno listed first.
- Ruthton
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Holland
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Holland is located in Pipestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 172 people
- Yellow Medicine County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilno, with the one closest to Wilno listed first.
- Porter
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Porter is located in Yellow Medicine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter
- Population from the 2020 Census: 164 people
- Canby
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Canby is located in Yellow Medicine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canby
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,645 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Canby <1>
- Saint Leo
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Saint Leo is located in Yellow Medicine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Leo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 90 people
- Clarkfield
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Hazel Run
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Hazel Run is located in Yellow Medicine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazel Run
- Population from the 2020 Census: 56 people
- Brookings County (SD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilno, with the one closest to Wilno listed first.
- White
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- White is located in Brookings County (SD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White
- Population from the 2020 Census: 487 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for White <1>
- Elkton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Bushnell
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Bushnell is located in Brookings County (SD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bushnell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
- Aurora
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- North Grove Addition
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- North Grove Addition is located in Brookings County (SD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Grove Addition
- Estimated population in 2014: 471 people
- Sunnyview
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Sunnyview is located in Brookings County (SD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnyview
- Estimated population in 2014: 17 people
- Brookings
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Deuel County (SD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilno, with the one closest to Wilno listed first.
- Astoria
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Toronto
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Brandt
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Gary
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Johnsonville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Johnsonville is located in Deuel County (SD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnsonville
- Clear Lake
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Moritz
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Moritz is located in Deuel County (SD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moritz
- Estimated population in 2011: 13 people
- Moody County (SD)
- Ward
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Wilno, see our County-by-County Page for Wilno.
Cemeteries Near Wilno ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wilno.
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 Wilno - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Wilno covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Wilno, with the one closest to Wilno listed first.
- St. Johns Cantius Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Icelandic Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- West Elim Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- East Elim Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Alta Vista Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Marble Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Shaokatan Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Porter Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Calvary Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- New Grove Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Hendricks Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Swenson Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Continue List (105 more) ...
- Old Taunton Catholic Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Hansonville Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Trinity Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Wilno had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Wilno, with the one closest to Wilno listed first.
- Hendricks
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Taunton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Porter
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Porter is located in Yellow Medicine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter
- Population from the 2020 Census: 164 people
- Minneota
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Canby
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Canby is located in Yellow Medicine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canby
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,645 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Canby <1>
- Lake Benton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Tyler
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Ghent
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Saint Leo
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Saint Leo is located in Yellow Medicine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Leo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 90 people
- Russell
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Russell is located in Lyon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 343 people
- Lynd
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- White
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- White is located in Brookings County (SD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White
- Population from the 2020 Census: 487 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for White <1>
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Verdi
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Verdi is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verdi
- Florence
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Florence is located in Lyon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
- Population from the 2020 Census: 35 people
- Burchard
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Burchard is located in Lyon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burchard
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Wilno. See our List of 1890's Communities around Wilno.
Newspapers Published in Wilno ...
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 Wilno.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Wilno, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Wilno.
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 Wilno:
- Websites specific to Minnesota
- Pages specific to Lincoln County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Lac qui Parle County
- Lyon County
- Pipestone County
- Yellow Medicine County
- Brookings County
- Deuel County
- Moody 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 Wilno, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Wilno) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |