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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 Kief (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 Kief. 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 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.

Kief is located in McHenry 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 McHenry County: Bottineau, McLean, Pierce, Renville, Sheridan & Ward.

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

  • McHenry County     (The home county of Kief)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kief, with the one closest to Kief listed first.
    • Balfour
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Balfour have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balfour
      • Balfour is located in McHenry County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 27 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Balfour <2>
    • Drake
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Drake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drake
      • Drake is located in McHenry County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 267 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Drake <2>
    • Guthrie
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guthrie
      • Guthrie is located in McHenry County
    • Anamoose
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Anamoose have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anamoose
      • Anamoose is located in McHenry County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 242 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Anamoose <2>
    • Bergen
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bergen have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bergen
      • Bergen is located in McHenry County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7 people
    • Kongsberg
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kongsberg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kongsberg
      • Kongsberg is located in McHenry County
    • Funston
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Funston
      • Funston is located in McHenry County
    • Karlsruhe
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Karlsruhe have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Karlsruhe
      • Karlsruhe is located in McHenry County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 85 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Karlsruhe <2>
    • Voltaire
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Voltaire have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Voltaire
      • Voltaire is located in McHenry County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 44 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Voltaire <2>
    • Velva
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Velva have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <2>
  • McLean County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kief, with the one closest to Kief listed first.
    • Butte
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Butte have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butte
      • Butte is located in McLean County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 76 people
    • Ruso
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Benedict
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Benedict have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <2>
    • Mercer
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mercer have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mercer
      • Mercer is located in McLean County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mercer <2>
    • Turtle Lake
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Pierce County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kief, with the one closest to Kief listed first.
    • Orrin
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Selz
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selz
      • Selz is located in Pierce County
    • Balta
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Balta have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balta
      • Balta is located in Pierce County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 58 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Balta <2>
  • Sheridan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kief, with the one closest to Kief listed first.
    • Martin
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Martin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martin
      • Martin is located in Sheridan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Martin <2>
    • McClusky
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Denhoff
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Ward County
    • Sawyer
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sawyer have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <2>
  • Wells County
    • Harvey
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harvey have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvey
      • Harvey is located in Wells County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,587 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Harvey <2>

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

Newspapers Published in Kief ...

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 32 newspapers that have been published in the area around Kief.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Kief, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Kief.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Kief:

Cemeteries Near Kief ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Kief.

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

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

  • Kief Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Kief Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Kief Cemetery
  • Rosenfield Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rosenfield Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rosenfield Cemetery
  • Skogmo Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Skogmo Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Skogmo Cemetery
  • Stenso Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Stenso Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Stenso Cemetery
  • Zion Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Zion Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Zion Cemetery
  • Union Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Union Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Union Cemetery
  • West Scandia Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the West Scandia Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the West Scandia Cemetery
  • Norwegian Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Norwegian Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Norwegian Cemetery
  • St. Francis Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Francis Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Francis Cemetery
  • St. Martins Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Martins Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Martins Cemetery
  • Sons of Herman Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sons of Herman Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sons of Herman Cemetery
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Johns Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Johns Cemetery
  • Continue List   (37 more) ...
    • Bergen Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bergen Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bergen Cemetery
    • Berlin Cemetery
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Berlin Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Berlin Cemetery
    • St.s Peter & Paul Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St.s Peter & Paul Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St.s Peter & Paul 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.<4>

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

  • Turtle Lake
    (29 miles [46.7 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 Kief. See our List of 1890's Communities around Kief.

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

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Kief) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Kief. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 47.8585, Longitude: -100.5122    
<4>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 Kief, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024