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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 Douglas (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 Douglas. 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 and hospitals 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.

Douglas is located in Ward 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 Ward County: Burke, McHenry, McLean, Mountrail & Renville.

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

  • Ward County     (The home county of Douglas)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Douglas, with the one closest to Douglas listed first.
    • Ryder
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Makoti
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Sawyer
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sawyer have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sawyer
      • Sawyer is located in Ward County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 324 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sawyer <1>
    • Des Lacs
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Minot
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Burlington
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Lonetree
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • McHenry County
    • Velva
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Velva have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Velva
      • Velva is located in McHenry County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,185 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Velva <1>
  • McLean County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Douglas, with the one closest to Douglas listed first.
    • Max
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Max
      • Max is located in McLean County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 348 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Max <1>
    • Garrison
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garrison have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garrison
      • Garrison is located in McLean County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,458 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Garrison <1>
    • Roseglen
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Benedict
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Benedict have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benedict
      • Benedict is located in McLean County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 75 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Benedict <1>
    • White Shield
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for White Shield have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Shield
      • White Shield is located in McLean County
    • Riverdale
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Coleharbor
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coleharbor have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleharbor
      • Coleharbor is located in McLean County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 87 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Coleharbor <1>
    • Ruso
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Riverdale Junction
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverdale Junction
      • Riverdale Junction is located in McLean County
    • Nishu ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Nishu. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nishu
      • Nishu is located in McLean County
  • Mercer County
    • Pick City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pick City
      • Pick City is located in Mercer County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 132 people
  • Mountrail County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Douglas, with the one closest to Douglas listed first.
    • Plaza
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plaza have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plaza
      • Plaza is located in Mountrail County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 211 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Plaza <1>
    • Parshall
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Douglas ...

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 49 newspapers that have been published in the area around Douglas.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Douglas. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Douglas and those printed in the larger area surrounding Douglas.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4> of Douglas.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with 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 Douglas:

Cemeteries Near Douglas ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Douglas.

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

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

  • Spring Lake Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • First Baptist Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Ryder Rosehill Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Clifton Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Clifton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Clifton Cemetery
  • Max Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Max Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Max Cemetery
  • Immaculate Conception Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Immaculate Conception Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Immaculate Conception Cemetery
  • Township Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Township Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Township Cemetery
  • Hiddenwood Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hiddenwood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hiddenwood Cemetery
  • Roseglen Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Roseglen Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Roseglen Cemetery
  • St. Paul's Lutheran Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
  • Helland Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Helland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Helland Cemetery
  • Hope Lutheran Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (33 more) ...
    • Blackwater Cemetery
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Blackwater Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Blackwater Cemetery
    • Saron Cemetery
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Saron Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Saron Cemetery
    • Roseglen Cemetery
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Roseglen Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Roseglen 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.<6>

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

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

  • Logan
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Logan have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Logan
    • Logan is located in Ward County
  • Minot
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
  • Des Lacs
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
  • Burlington
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)

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

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

The official website for Ward County: www.co.ward.nd.us/

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

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 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.
<3>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.
<4>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- Douglas) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Douglas. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 47.8561, Longitude: -101.5015    
<5>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.
<6>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 Douglas, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024