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The Commemorative Quarter for North Dakota







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 Alpha (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 Alpha. 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 and hospitals 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.

Alpha is located in Golden Valley County.

To see how the shape of North Dakota's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Golden Valley County: Fallon (MT), Wibaux (MT), Billings, McKenzie & Slope.

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

  • Golden Valley County     (The home county of Alpha)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alpha, with the one closest to Alpha listed first.
    • Golva
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Golva have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golva
      • Golva is located in Golden Valley County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Golva <2>
    • Sentinel Butte
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sentinel Butte have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sentinel Butte
      • Sentinel Butte is located in Golden Valley County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 62 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sentinel Butte <2>
    • Beach
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beach
      • Beach is located in Golden Valley County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,026 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Beach <2>
  • Billings County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alpha, with the one closest to Alpha listed first.
    • Medora
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Fryburg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fryburg
      • Fryburg is located in Billings County
  • Bowman County
    • Rhame
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rhame have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rhame
      • Rhame is located in Bowman County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 163 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rhame <2>
  • Slope County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alpha, with the one closest to Alpha listed first.
    • Marmarth
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marmarth have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marmarth
      • Marmarth is located in Slope County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marmarth <2>
    • Amidon
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Amidon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amidon
      • Amidon is located in Slope County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 23 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Amidon <2>
  • Fallon County (MT)
    • Baker
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Baker have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baker
      • Baker is located in Fallon County (MT)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,897 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Baker <2>
  • Wibaux County (MT)
    • Wibaux
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wibaux have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wibaux
      • Wibaux is located in Wibaux County (MT)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 575 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wibaux <2>

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

Newspapers Published in Alpha ...

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 20 newspapers that have been published in the area around Alpha.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Alpha, 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 Alpha.

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 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 Alpha:

Cemeteries Near Alpha ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Alpha.

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

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

  • Burkey Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Burkey Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Burkey Cemetery
  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Marys Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Marys Cemetery
  • Connell Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Connell Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Connell Cemetery
  • Ollie Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Carlyle Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • St. Michaels Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Michaels Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Michaels Cemetery
  • St. Philips Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Philips Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Philips Cemetery
  • St. Paul Cemetery
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Paul Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Paul Cemetery
  • Medora Cemetery
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Fertile Prairie Cemetery
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fertile Prairie Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fertile Prairie Cemetery
  • Riverside Cemetery
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Riverside Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Riverside Cemetery
  • Plain View Cemetery
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Plain View Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Plain View Cemetery
  • Continue List   (8 more) ...
    • Lebanon Cemetery
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lebanon Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lebanon Cemetery
    • St.s Peter & Paul Cemetery
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Peaceful Valley Cemetery
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Peaceful Valley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Peaceful Valley 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 Alpha in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Alpha.

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

  • Medora
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Sully Springs
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sully Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sully Springs
    • Sully Springs is located in Billings County
  • Fryburg
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fryburg
    • Fryburg is located in Billings County

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

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

The official website for State of North Dakota: www.nd.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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Alpha) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Alpha. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.6583, Longitude: -103.8199       In this case, the coordinates for Alpha 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 Alpha, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 10 Mar 2024