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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 Devils Lake (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 Devils Lake. 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.

Name Variations for Devils Lake ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

  • A typical abbreviation for Devils Lake: Devils Lk.
  • While the name of this city is Devils Lake, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Devils Lake may originally have been Devil's Lake.

    Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Devils Lake might be written as Devil Lake.

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

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 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.

Devils Lake is located in Ramsey County and is the County Seat.

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 Ramsey County: Benson, Cavalier, Nelson, Towner & Walsh.

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

  • Ramsey County     (The home county of Devils Lake)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Devils Lake, with the one closest to Devils Lake listed first.
    • Grand Harbor
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Crary
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crary have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crary
      • Crary is located in Ramsey County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 147 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Crary <4>
    • Webster
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Penn
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Doyon
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Garske
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Churchs Ferry
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Churchs Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Churchs Ferry
      • Churchs Ferry is located in Ramsey County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 12 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Churchs Ferry <4>
    • Bartlett
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Starkweather
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Brocket
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brocket have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brocket
      • Brocket is located in Ramsey County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 53 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brocket <4>
    • Lawton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lawton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawton
      • Lawton is located in Ramsey County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 31 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lawton <4>
    • Edmore
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edmore have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmore
      • Edmore is located in Ramsey County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 175 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Edmore <4>
  • Benson County
  • Eddy County
  • Nelson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Devils Lake, with the one closest to Devils Lake listed first.
    • Lakota
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Tolna
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tolna have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tolna
      • Tolna is located in Nelson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 146 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tolna <4>
    • Mapes
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Mapes. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mapes
      • Mapes is located in Nelson County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Mapes
      • From Devils Lake to Mapes
  • Towner County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Devils Lake, with the one closest to Devils Lake listed first.
    • Maza
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maza have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maza
      • Maza is located in Towner County
    • Cando
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cando have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cando
      • Cando is located in Towner County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,008 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cando <4>

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

Cemeteries Near Devils Lake ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Devils Lake.

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

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

  • G A R Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the G A R Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the G A R Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Grand Harbor Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Grand Harbor Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Grand Harbor Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Christian Church Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Webster Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Webster Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Webster Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Crary Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Crary Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Crary Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Paul Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Paul Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Paul Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Fox Lake Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fox Lake Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fox Lake Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Presbyterian Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Presbyterian Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Presbyterian Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Doyon Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Doyon Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Doyon Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bourett Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bourett Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bourett Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Odessa Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Odessa Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Odessa Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hope Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hope Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hope Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (36 more) ...
    • Zion Cemetery
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Zion Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Zion Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Kalhagen Cemetery
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Kalhagen Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Kalhagen Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Almlie Cemetery
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Almlie Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Almlie Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Devils Lake had a population of 846 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Devils Lake had a population of 7,229 people.

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

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Devils Lake ...

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 66 newspapers that have been published in the area around Devils Lake.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Devils Lake. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Devils Lake and those printed in the larger area surrounding Devils Lake.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<6> of Devils Lake.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Devils Lake:

The official website for Devils Lake: www.ci.devils-lake.nd.us/

The official website for State of North Dakota: https://www.nd.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties).
<2>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<3>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.
<4>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Devils Lake, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Devils Lake) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Devils Lake. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 48.1118, Longitude: -98.8652    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025