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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

So far, we found very little information about Port Emma. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>

We've added Port Emma to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Port Emma, please Contact Us.

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 Port Emma (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 Port Emma. 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.

Name Variations for Port Emma ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Port Emma: Prt. Emma

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

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.

Although our information shows that the community of Port Emma is historic, it would have been located within present day Dickey 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 Dickey County: LaMoure, McIntosh, Ransom, Sargent, Brown (SD) & McPherson (SD).

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

  • Dickey County     (The home county of Port Emma)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Port Emma, with the one closest to Port Emma listed first.
    • Ludden
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Ludden is located in Dickey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ludden
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 24 people
    • Guelph
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Guelph is located in Dickey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guelph
    • Norway
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Norway is located in Dickey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norway
    • Oakes
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Silverleaf
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Silverleaf is located in Dickey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silverleaf
    • Glover
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Glover is located in Dickey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glover
    • Fullerton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Ellendale
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Monango
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Monango is located in Dickey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monango
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 36 people
    • Forbes
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • LaMoure County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Port Emma, with the one closest to Port Emma listed first.
    • LaMoure
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Verona
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Berlin
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Sargent County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Port Emma, with the one closest to Port Emma listed first.
    • Straubville ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Straubville is located in Sargent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Straubville
    • Brampton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Brampton is located in Sargent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brampton
    • Cogswell
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Harlem ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Harlem is located in Sargent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlem
    • Stirum
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Stirum is located in Sargent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stirum
    • Forman
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Havana
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Gwinner
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Brown County (SD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Port Emma, with the one closest to Port Emma listed first.
    • Hecla
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Hecla is located in Brown County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hecla
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 217 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hecla <2>
    • Houghton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Winship
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Winship is located in Brown County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winship
      • Estimated population in 2014: 2,862 people
    • Frederick
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Claremont
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Barnard
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Huffton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Huffton is located in Brown County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huffton
      • Estimated population in 2014: 316 people
    • Columbia
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Westport
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Marshall County (SD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Port Emma, with the one closest to Port Emma listed first.
    • Newark
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Newark is located in Marshall County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newark
      • Estimated population in 2014: 109 people
    • West Britton ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • West Britton is located in Marshall County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Britton
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 1,368 people
    • Amherst
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Kidder
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Kidder is located in Marshall County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kidder
      • Estimated population in 2014: 77 people
    • Britton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Britton is located in Marshall County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Britton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,256 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Britton <2>
    • Spain
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Spain is located in Marshall County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spain
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 989 people

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

Cemeteries Near Port Emma ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Port Emma.

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 Port Emma - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Ludden Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Hecla City Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hecla City Cemetery
    • The Hecla City Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Hecla Cemetery
  • Oakes View Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Peace Lutheran Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Norwegian Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Nicholson Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Savo Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Detroit Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
  • Maple View Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Houghton Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
  • Brampton Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
  • Old Sargent Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (31 more) ...

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.

Port Emma itself is historic and was described in the Rand McNally Atlas as having railroad service and no post office.

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

  • Ludden
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Ludden is located in Dickey County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ludden
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 24 people
  • Guelph
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Guelph is located in Dickey County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guelph
  • Hecla
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Hecla is located in Brown County (SD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hecla
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 217 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hecla <2>
  • Oakes
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Clement
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Clement is located in Dickey County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clement
  • Silverleaf
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Silverleaf is located in Dickey County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silverleaf
  • Straubville ‑ Historic
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Straubville is located in Sargent County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Straubville
  • Nicholson
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Nicholson is located in Sargent County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicholson
  • Glover
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Glover is located in Dickey County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glover
  • Fullerton
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Houghton
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
  • Winship
    (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Winship is located in Brown County (SD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winship
    • Estimated population in 2014: 2,862 people
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Newark
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Newark is located in Marshall County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newark
      • Estimated population in 2014: 109 people
    • Brampton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Brampton is located in Sargent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brampton
    • Cogswell
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Port Emma ...

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 54 newspapers that have been published in the area around Port Emma.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

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

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 Port Emma:

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Port Emma, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 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.
<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 from Point A (ie- Port Emma) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.