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A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of North Dakota >> Nelson County >> Dahlen >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Dahlen (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 Dahlen. 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 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.

Dahlen is located in Nelson County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Nelson County: Benson, Eddy, Grand Forks, Griggs, Ramsey, Steele & Walsh.

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

  • Nelson County     (The home county of Dahlen)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dahlen, with the one closest to Dahlen listed first.
    • Whitman
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Whitman is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitman
    • Petersburg
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Michigan City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Michigan City is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Michigan City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 260 people
    • Michigan
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Mapes
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Mapes is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mapes
    • Lakota
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Harrisburg ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Harrisburg is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrisburg
    • McVille
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Grand Forks County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dahlen, with the one closest to Dahlen listed first.
    • Niagara
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Orr
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Orr is located in Grand Forks County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orr
    • Inkster
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • McCanna
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • McCanna is located in Grand Forks County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCanna
    • Gilby
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Gilby is located in Grand Forks County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilby
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 230 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gilby <1>
    • Johnstown
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Johnstown is located in Grand Forks County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnstown
    • Larimore
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Arvilla
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Mekinock
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Kempton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Kempton is located in Grand Forks County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kempton
    • Emerado
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Pembina County
    • Gardar
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Gardar is located in Pembina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gardar
  • Ramsey County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dahlen, with the one closest to Dahlen listed first.
    • Brocket
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Lawton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Bartlett
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Bartlett is located in Ramsey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bartlett
    • Doyon
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Doyon is located in Ramsey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doyon
    • Edmore
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Walsh County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dahlen, with the one closest to Dahlen listed first.
    • Praha ‑ Historic
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Praha is located in Walsh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Praha
    • Fordville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Lankin
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Conway
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Conway is located in Walsh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conway
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 21 people
    • Pleasant Valley
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Pleasant Valley is located in Walsh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Valley
    • Pisek
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Park River
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Adams
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Forest River
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Kerry ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Kerry is located in Walsh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kerry
    • Edinburg
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Mandt
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Mandt is located in Walsh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mandt
    • Fairdale
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Dahlen ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Dahlen.

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

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

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

  • Zion Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Middle Forest River Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • East Sarnia Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Oak Grove Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • St. Andrews Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • East Forest River Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • West Forest Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Forest River Colony Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • St. Josephs Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • ZCBJ Narodni Hrbitov Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Niagara Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • St. Marks Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (59 more) ...

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>

While we didn't find Dahlen in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Dahlen.

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

  • Praha ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Praha is located in Walsh County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Praha
  • Petersburg
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Niagara
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Michigan City
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Michigan City is located in Nelson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Michigan City
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 260 people
  • Michigan
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Orr
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Orr is located in Grand Forks County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orr
  • Conway
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Conway is located in Walsh County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conway
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 21 people
  • Inkster
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • McCanna
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • McCanna is located in Grand Forks County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCanna
  • Pisek
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Mapes
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Mapes is located in Nelson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mapes
  • Shawnee
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Shawnee is located in Grand Forks County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawnee
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Park River
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Adams
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Lakota
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Dahlen ...

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 63 newspapers that have been published in the area around Dahlen.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Dahlen, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Dahlen.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Dahlen:

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 Dahlen, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Dahlen) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.