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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 Pelto (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 Pelto. 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 hospitals and 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.

Pelto is located in Nelson 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 Nelson County: Benson, Eddy, Grand Forks, Griggs, Ramsey, Steele & Walsh.

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

  • Nelson County     (The home county of Pelto)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pelto, with the one closest to Pelto listed first.
    • Whitman
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitman
      • Whitman is located in Nelson County
    • Mapes
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • 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.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mapes
      • Mapes is located in Nelson County
    • Lakota
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Michigan City
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Michigan City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Michigan City
      • Michigan City is located in Nelson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 260 people
    • Michigan
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Petersburg
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Petersburg have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersburg
      • Petersburg is located in Nelson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 168 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Petersburg <2>
    • Tolna
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • 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 <2>
    • Pekin
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pekin have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pekin
      • Pekin is located in Nelson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 63 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pekin <2>
    • McVille
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McVille have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McVille
      • McVille is located in Nelson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 313 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for McVille <2>
  • Benson County
    • Warwick
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Warwick have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warwick
      • Warwick is located in Benson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 63 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Warwick <2>
  • Cavalier County
    • Nekoma
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nekoma have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nekoma
      • Nekoma is located in Cavalier County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 48 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nekoma <2>
  • Eddy County
    • Hamar
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamar
      • Hamar is located in Eddy County
  • Grand Forks County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pelto, with the one closest to Pelto listed first.
    • Niagara
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Orr
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orr
      • Orr is located in Grand Forks County
    • Inkster
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • McCanna
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCanna
      • McCanna is located in Grand Forks County
  • Ramsey County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pelto, with the one closest to Pelto listed first.
    • Brocket
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • 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 <2>
    • Lawton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • 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 <2>
    • Bartlett
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bartlett
      • Bartlett is located in Ramsey County
    • Doyon
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doyon
      • Doyon is located in Ramsey County
    • Crary
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • 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 <2>
    • Edmore
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • 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 <2>
    • Devils Lake
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Walsh County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pelto, with the one closest to Pelto listed first.
    • Praha ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Praha. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Praha
      • Praha is located in Walsh County
    • Lankin
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lankin have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lankin
      • Lankin is located in Walsh County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 90 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lankin <2>
    • Adams
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Fordville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fordville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fordville
      • Fordville is located in Walsh County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 194 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fordville <2>
    • Fairdale
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fairdale have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairdale
      • Fairdale is located in Walsh County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 35 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fairdale <2>
    • Pleasant Valley
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pleasant Valley. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Valley
      • Pleasant Valley is located in Walsh County
    • Conway
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Conway have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conway
      • Conway is located in Walsh County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 21 people
    • Pisek
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Park River
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Park River have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park River
      • Park River is located in Walsh County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,305 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Park River <2>
    • Edinburg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edinburg have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edinburg
      • Edinburg is located in Walsh County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 181 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Edinburg <2>
    • Kerry ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kerry
      • Kerry is located in Walsh County

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

Cemeteries Near Pelto ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Pelto.

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

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

  • Finnish Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Finnish Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Finnish Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • West Forest Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the West Forest Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the West Forest Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Vaage Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Vaage Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Vaage Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Joseph Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Joseph Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Joseph Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hoff Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hoff Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hoff Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • East Sarnia Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the East Sarnia Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the East Sarnia Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • ZCBJ Narodni Hrbitov Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the ZCBJ Narodni Hrbitov Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the ZCBJ Narodni Hrbitov Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Michigan Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Lawton Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lawton Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lawton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hope Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • 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.
  • Bartlett Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Zion Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • 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.
  • Continue List   (52 more) ...
    • Middle Forest River Cemetery
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Middle Forest River Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Middle Forest River Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Doyon Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • 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.
    • Fox Lake Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • 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.

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>

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

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

  • Mapes
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • 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.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mapes
    • Mapes is located in Nelson County
  • Lakota
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Michigan
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Michigan City
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Michigan City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Michigan City
    • Michigan City is located in Nelson County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 260 people
  • Bartlett
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bartlett
    • Bartlett is located in Ramsey County
  • Praha ‑ Historic
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Praha. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Praha
    • Praha is located in Walsh County
  • Petersburg
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Petersburg have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersburg
    • Petersburg is located in Nelson County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 168 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Petersburg <2>
  • Crary
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • 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 <2>
  • Harrisburg ‑ Historic
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harrisburg have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrisburg
    • Harrisburg is located in Nelson County
  • Niagara
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
  • Adams
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
  • Orr
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orr
    • Orr is located in Grand Forks County
  • Continue List   (7 more) ...
    • Conway
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Conway have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conway
      • Conway is located in Walsh County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 21 people
    • Shawnee
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shawnee have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawnee
      • Shawnee is located in Grand Forks County
    • McCanna
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCanna
      • McCanna is located in Grand Forks County

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

Newspapers Published in Pelto ...

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 74 newspapers that have been published in the area around Pelto.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Pelto, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Pelto.

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 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 Pelto:

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

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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>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.
<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 Pelto, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Pelto) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Pelto. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 48.1586, Longitude: -98.2279       In this case, the coordinates for Pelto have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025