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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 Independence (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 Independence. 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 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.

Independence is located in LaMoure 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 LaMoure County: Barnes, Dickey, Logan, McIntosh, Ransom & Stutsman.

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

  • LaMoure County     (The home county of Independence)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Independence, with the one closest to Independence listed first.
    • LaMoure
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Verona
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Grand Rapids
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Grand Rapids is located in LaMoure County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Rapids
    • Berlin
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Dickey
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Marion
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Saratoga Springs ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Saratoga Springs is located in LaMoure County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saratoga Springs
    • Adrian
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Adrian is located in LaMoure County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adrian
    • Edgeley
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Nortonville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Nortonville is located in LaMoure County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nortonville
  • Barnes County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Independence, with the one closest to Independence listed first.
    • Litchville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Kathryn
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Nome
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Dickey County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Independence, with the one closest to Independence listed first.
    • Glover
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Glover is located in Dickey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glover
    • Norway
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Norway is located in Dickey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norway
    • Oakes
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Fullerton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Guelph
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Guelph is located in Dickey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guelph
    • Monango
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Monango is located in Dickey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monango
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 36 people
    • Ludden
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Ludden is located in Dickey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ludden
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 24 people
    • Silverleaf
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Silverleaf is located in Dickey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silverleaf
    • Ellendale
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Merricourt
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Merricourt is located in Dickey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merricourt
  • Ransom County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Independence, with the one closest to Independence listed first.
    • Fort Ransom
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Elliott
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Elliott is located in Ransom County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliott
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 25 people
    • Lisbon
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
  • Sargent County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Independence, with the one closest to Independence listed first.
    • Stirum
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Stirum is located in Sargent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stirum
    • Harlem ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Harlem is located in Sargent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlem
    • Straubville ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Straubville is located in Sargent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Straubville
    • Cogswell
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Gwinner
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)

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

Cemeteries Near Independence ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Independence.

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

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

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

  • St. Ansgar Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Rosehill Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosehill Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Rosehill Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the south of LaMoure.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #102360 <2>
  • St. Raphael Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Pilgrims Rest Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Fairview Colony Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • West Fairview Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Sjulli Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Norwegian Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Oakes View Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Dick Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
  • Stiklestad Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (43 more) ...
    • Finnish Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Maple View Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • St. Johns Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)

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

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

  • LaMoure
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Verona
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Glover
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Glover is located in Dickey County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glover
  • Grand Rapids
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Grand Rapids is located in LaMoure County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Rapids
  • Clement
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Clement is located in Dickey County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clement
  • Oakes
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
  • Berlin
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • Fullerton
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Fort Ransom
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Dickey
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
  • Medberry
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Medberry is located in LaMoure County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medberry
  • Boynton
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Boynton is located in Dickey County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boynton
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Monango
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Monango is located in Dickey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monango
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 36 people
    • Guelph
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Guelph is located in Dickey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guelph
    • Port Emma ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Port Emma is located in Dickey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Emma

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

Newspapers Published in Independence ...

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 48 newspapers that have been published in the area around Independence.

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

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 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 Independence:

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 Independence, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Independence) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.