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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 Fordville (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 Fordville. 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 hospitals and 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.

Fordville is located in Walsh 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 Walsh County: Marshall (MN), Cavalier, Grand Forks, Nelson, Pembina & Ramsey.

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

  • Walsh County     (The home county of Fordville)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fordville, with the one closest to Fordville listed first.
    • Conway
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Conway is located in Walsh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conway
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 21 people
    • Pisek
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Lankin
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Praha ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Praha is located in Walsh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Praha
    • Pleasant Valley
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Pleasant Valley is located in Walsh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Valley
    • Park River
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Forest River
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Kerry ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Kerry is located in Walsh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kerry
    • Mandt
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Mandt is located in Walsh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mandt
    • Edinburg
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Adams
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Ardoch
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
  • Cavalier County
    • Milton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Grand Forks County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fordville, with the one closest to Fordville listed first.
    • Inkster
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Orr
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Orr is located in Grand Forks County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orr
    • Johnstown
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Johnstown is located in Grand Forks County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnstown
    • McCanna
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • McCanna is located in Grand Forks County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCanna
    • Niagara
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Gilby
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • 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>
    • Larimore
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Arvilla
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Mekinock
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Kempton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Kempton is located in Grand Forks County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kempton
    • Emerado
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Kelly
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Kelly is located in Grand Forks County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelly
  • Nelson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fordville, with the one closest to Fordville listed first.
    • Whitman
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Whitman is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitman
    • Petersburg
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Michigan City
      (20 miles [32.2 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
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Mapes
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Mapes is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mapes
    • Lakota
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Pembina County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fordville, with the one closest to Fordville listed first.
    • Gardar
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Gardar is located in Pembina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gardar
    • Crystal
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
  • Ramsey County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fordville, with the one closest to Fordville listed first.
    • Brocket
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Lawton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
  • Marshall County (MN)
    • Oslo
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Oslo is located in Marshall County (MN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oslo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 323 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oslo <1>

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

Cemeteries Near Fordville ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Fordville.

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

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

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

  • Oak Grove Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • East Forest River Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Forest River Colony Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Middle Forest River Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Marks Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Zion Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Inkster Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • St. Josephs Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Christianson Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Machart Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • East Sarnia Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (61 more) ...
    • St. Andrews Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Pleasant Valley Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Calvary Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvary Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Calvary Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the east of Park River.
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #101787 <2>

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

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

  • Conway
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Conway is located in Walsh County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conway
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 21 people
  • Pisek
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Inkster
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Praha ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Praha is located in Walsh County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Praha
  • Orr
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Orr is located in Grand Forks County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orr
  • Park River
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Veseleyville
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Veseleyville is located in Walsh County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Veseleyville
  • Niagara
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
  • McCanna
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • McCanna is located in Grand Forks County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCanna
  • Johnstown
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Johnstown is located in Grand Forks County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnstown
  • Forest River
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
  • Voss
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Voss is located in Walsh County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Voss
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Petersburg
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Gilby
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • 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>
    • Shawnee
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Shawnee is located in Grand Forks County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawnee

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Fordville ...

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 55 newspapers that have been published in the area around Fordville.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

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

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 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 Fordville:

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