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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 Wright (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 Wright. 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 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 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.

Wright is located in Carlton 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 Carlton County: Aitkin, Pine, Saint Louis & Douglas (WI).

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

  • Carlton County     (The home county of Wright)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wright, with the one closest to Wright listed first.
    • Cromwell
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Automba
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Automba is located in Carlton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Automba
    • Kettle River
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Sawyer
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Sawyer is located in Carlton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sawyer
    • Mahtowa
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Mahtowa is located in Carlton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mahtowa
    • Barnum
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Moose Lake
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Otter Creek
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Otter Creek is located in Carlton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otter Creek
    • Cloquet
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Carlton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Scanlon
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Scanlon is located in Carlton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scanlon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 945 people
    • Thomson
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Thomson is located in Carlton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomson
      • Estimated population in 2014: 158 people
  • Aitkin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wright, with the one closest to Wright listed first.
    • Tamarack
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Tamarack is located in Aitkin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tamarack
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 94 people
    • Minnewawa
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Minnewawa is located in Aitkin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minnewawa
    • McGregor
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Libby
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Libby is located in Aitkin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Libby
    • Kimberly
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Kimberly is located in Aitkin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimberly
    • Palisade
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Jacobson
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Hassman
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Hassman is located in Aitkin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hassman
  • Itasca County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wright, with the one closest to Wright listed first.
    • Wawina
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Wawina is located in Itasca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wawina
    • Swan River
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Pine County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wright, with the one closest to Wright listed first.
    • Denham
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Denham is located in Pine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denham
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 34 people
    • Sturgeon Lake
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Willow River
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Rutledge
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Rutledge is located in Pine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutledge
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 221 people
    • Kerrick
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Saint Louis County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wright, with the one closest to Wright listed first.
    • Floodwood
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Island
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Island is located in Saint Louis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Island
    • Brookston
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Alborn
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Alborn is located in Saint Louis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alborn
    • Saginaw
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Saginaw is located in Saint Louis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saginaw
    • Meadowlands
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Meadowlands is located in Saint Louis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowlands
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 128 people

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

Cemeteries Near Wright ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wright.

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

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

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

  • Wright Catholic Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Lakeview Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Wright Community Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Violet Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Lakeside Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Forest Hill Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Eagle Lake Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Fairview Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Prairie Lake Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Fine Lakes Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Round Lake Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Grayling Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (87 more) ...
    • Sheriff Lake Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Finnish Apostolic Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Salo Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salo Cemetery
      • The Salo Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #83542 <2>

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, Wright had railroad service and no post office. In 2020, Wright had a population of 126 people.

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

  • Tamarack
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Tamarack is located in Aitkin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tamarack
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 94 people
  • Cromwell
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Corona
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Corona is located in Carlton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corona
  • McGregor
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • Libby
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Libby is located in Aitkin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Libby
  • Sawyer
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Sawyer is located in Carlton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sawyer
  • Floodwood
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
  • Moose Lake
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
  • Barnum
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
  • Mahtowa
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Mahtowa is located in Carlton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mahtowa
  • Island
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Island is located in Saint Louis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Island
  • Sturgeon Lake
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (10 more) ...
    • Otter Creek
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Otter Creek is located in Carlton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otter Creek
    • Kimberly
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Kimberly is located in Aitkin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimberly
    • Willow River
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in Wright ...

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 30 newspapers that have been published in the area around Wright.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Wright, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Wright.

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 Wright:

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 Wright, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Wright) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.