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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 Winnebago (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 Winnebago. 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 doctors and 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.

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

  • Faribault County     (The home county of Winnebago)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Winnebago, with the one closest to Winnebago listed first.
    • Huntley
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Delavan
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Delavan is located in Faribault County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delavan
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 166 people
    • Blue Earth
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Easton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Easton is located in Faribault County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 183 people
    • Dell
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Minnesota Lake
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Frost
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Frost is located in Faribault County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frost
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 181 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Frost <1>
    • Elmore
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Elmore is located in Faribault County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmore
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 613 people
    • Wells
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Wells is located in Faribault County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wells
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,157 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wells <1>
    • Bricelyn
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Bricelyn is located in Faribault County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bricelyn
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 334 people
    • Walters
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Walters is located in Faribault County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walters
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
    • Kiester
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Blue Earth County
  • Brown County
    • Hanska
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Freeborn County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Winnebago, with the one closest to Winnebago listed first.
    • Alden
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Freeborn
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Martin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Winnebago, with the one closest to Winnebago listed first.
    • Granada
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Northrop
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Truman
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Truman is located in Martin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Truman
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,028 people
    • Fairmont
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Welcome
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Ormsby
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Ormsby is located in Martin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ormsby
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 121 people
    • Trimont
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Ceylon
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Sherburn
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Nicollet County
    • North Mankato
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Waseca County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Winnebago, with the one closest to Winnebago listed first.
    • Waldorf
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Waldorf is located in Waseca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldorf
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 224 people
    • Alma City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Watonwan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Winnebago, with the one closest to Winnebago listed first.
    • Lewisville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Lewisville is located in Watonwan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewisville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 244 people
    • Madelia
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Grogan
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Saint James
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • La Salle
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • La Salle is located in Watonwan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Salle
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 86 people
    • Odin
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Emmet County (IA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Winnebago, with the one closest to Winnebago listed first.
    • Armstrong
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Dolliver
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Kossuth County (IA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Winnebago, with the one closest to Winnebago listed first.
    • Ledyard
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Gerled
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Lakota
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Lakota is located in Kossuth County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakota
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 275 people
    • Swea City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
  • Winnebago County (IA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Winnebago, with the one closest to Winnebago listed first.
    • Rake
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Rake is located in Winnebago County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rake
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
    • Buffalo Center
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Winnebago ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Winnebago.

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 Winnebago - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Winnebago covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Rose Hill Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Riverside Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • North Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Wiltsey Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • West Verona Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Verona Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Rice Lake Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Pleasant Prairie Basey Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Pioneer Shelbyville Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Bass Lake Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (190 more) ...
    • Pleasant View Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Center Creek Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • West Lutheran Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)

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.<2>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Winnebago had railroad service and no post office. In 2020, Winnebago had a population of 1,334 people.

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

  • Huntley
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Delavan
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Delavan is located in Faribault County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delavan
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 166 people
  • Amboy
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Nashville Center
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Nashville Center is located in Martin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nashville Center
  • Blue Earth
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Willow Creek
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Sterling Center
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Sterling Center is located in Blue Earth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sterling Center
  • Vernon Center
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Vernon Center is located in Blue Earth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vernon Center
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 313 people
  • Easton
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Easton is located in Faribault County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easton
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 183 people
  • Dell
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Mapleton
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Fairmont
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Pilot Grove
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Pilot Grove is located in Faribault County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilot Grove
    • Minnesota Lake
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Good Thunder
      (17 miles [27.4 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 Winnebago. See our List of 1890's Communities around Winnebago.

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Winnebago ...

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 72 newspapers that have been published in the area around Winnebago.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Winnebago. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Winnebago and those printed in the larger area surrounding Winnebago.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3> of Winnebago.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with 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 Winnebago:

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>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 Winnebago, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Winnebago) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.