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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 Zerkel (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 Zerkel. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Zerkel is located in Clearwater 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 Clearwater County: Becker, Beltrami, Hubbard, Mahnomen, Pennington & Polk.

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

  • Clearwater County     (The home county of Zerkel)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Zerkel, with the one closest to Zerkel listed first.
    • Minerva
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minerva
      • Minerva is located in Clearwater County
    • Rice Lake
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rice Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rice Lake
      • Rice Lake is located in Clearwater County
    • Long Lost Lake
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Long Lost Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Lost Lake
      • Long Lost Lake is located in Clearwater County
      • Estimated population in 2015: 44 people
    • Bagley
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bagley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bagley
      • Bagley is located in Clearwater County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,439 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bagley <2>
    • Shevlin
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shevlin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shevlin
      • Shevlin is located in Clearwater County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 179 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Shevlin <2>
    • Leonard
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Leonard have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leonard
      • Leonard is located in Clearwater County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 44 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Leonard <2>
    • Clearbrook
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clearbrook have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clearbrook
      • Clearbrook is located in Clearwater County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 535 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clearbrook <2>
    • Gonvick
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gonvick have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gonvick
      • Gonvick is located in Clearwater County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 285 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gonvick <2>
  • Becker County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Zerkel, with the one closest to Zerkel listed first.
    • Elbow Lake
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elbow Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elbow Lake
      • Elbow Lake is located in Becker County
    • Two Inlets
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Two Inlets
      • Two Inlets is located in Becker County
    • Pine Point
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pine Point have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Point
      • Pine Point is located in Becker County
    • Ponsford
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ponsford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ponsford
      • Ponsford is located in Becker County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ponsford <2>
    • White Earth
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Osage
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Osage have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osage
      • Osage is located in Becker County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Osage <2>
    • Ogema
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ogema have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogema
      • Ogema is located in Becker County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 183 people
  • Beltrami County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Zerkel, with the one closest to Zerkel listed first.
    • Solway
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Wilton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilton
      • Wilton is located in Beltrami County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 295 people
    • Pinewood
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinewood
      • Pinewood is located in Beltrami County
    • Bemidji
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Rosby
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rosby have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosby
      • Rosby is located in Beltrami County
    • Lavinia
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lavinia
      • Lavinia is located in Beltrami County
  • Hubbard County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Zerkel, with the one closest to Zerkel listed first.
    • Lake George
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake George have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake George
      • Lake George is located in Hubbard County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lake George <2>
    • Laporte
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Laporte have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laporte
      • Laporte is located in Hubbard County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 118 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Laporte <2>
    • Park Rapids
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Mahnomen County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Zerkel, with the one closest to Zerkel listed first.
    • Roy Lake
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roy Lake
      • Roy Lake is located in Mahnomen County
    • Naytahwaush
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Naytahwaush have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naytahwaush
      • Naytahwaush is located in Mahnomen County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Naytahwaush <2>
    • Mahnomen
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mahnomen have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mahnomen
      • Mahnomen is located in Mahnomen County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,220 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mahnomen <2>
    • Waubun
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Waubun have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waubun
      • Waubun is located in Mahnomen County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 401 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Waubun <2>
    • Bejou
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bejou have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bejou
      • Bejou is located in Mahnomen County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 90 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bejou <2>
  • Polk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Zerkel, with the one closest to Zerkel listed first.
    • Lengby
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lengby have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lengby
      • Lengby is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 86 people
    • Fosston
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fosston have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fosston
      • Fosston is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,442 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fosston <2>

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

Newspapers Published in Zerkel ...

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 56 newspapers that have been published in the area around Zerkel.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Zerkel, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Zerkel.

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 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 Zerkel:

Cemeteries Near Zerkel ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Zerkel.

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

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

  • Rice Free Lutheran Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Stevens Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Stevens Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Stevens Cemetery
  • Sell Lake Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sell Lake Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sell Lake Cemetery
  • Alida Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Alida Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Alida Cemetery
  • Old Sell Lake Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Sell Lake Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Sell Lake Cemetery
  • Nora Twp. Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Pioneer Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pioneer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pioneer Cemetery
  • Indian Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Indian Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Indian Cemetery
  • Samuel Memorial Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Samuel Memorial Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Samuel Memorial Cemetery
  • Moose Creek Twp. Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Moose Creek Twp. Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Moose Creek Twp. Cemetery
  • Pine Bend Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pine Bend Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pine Bend Cemetery
  • Lake Alice Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lake Alice Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lake Alice Cemetery
  • Continue List   (107 more) ...
    • Fern Twp. Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Holiness Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Holiness Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Holiness Cemetery
    • Shevlin - Moose Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Shevlin - Moose Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Shevlin - Moose Cemetery

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 Zerkel in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Zerkel.

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

  • Fosston
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fosston have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fosston
    • Fosston is located in Polk County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,442 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fosston <2>
  • White Earth
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Osage
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Osage have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osage
    • Osage is located in Becker County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Osage <2>
  • Olga
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Olga have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olga
    • Olga is located in Polk County

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

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Zerkel. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Clearwater County: www.co.clearwater.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>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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- Zerkel) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Zerkel. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 47.3108, Longitude: -95.3817       In this case, the coordinates for Zerkel have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Zerkel, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024