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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

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

We've added Ransom City to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Ransom City, 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 Ransom City (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 Ransom City. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Although our information shows that the community of Ransom City is historic, it would have been located within present day Sargent 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 Sargent County: Dickey, Ransom, Richland, Brown (SD) & Marshall (SD).

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

  • Sargent County     (The home county of Ransom City)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ransom City, with the one closest to Ransom City listed first.
    • Cayuga
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Rutland
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Milnor
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Forman
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Gwinner
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Havana
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Brampton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Brampton is located in Sargent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brampton
    • Cogswell
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Harlem ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Harlem is located in Sargent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlem
    • Stirum
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Stirum is located in Sargent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stirum
    • Straubville ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Straubville is located in Sargent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Straubville
  • Ransom County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ransom City, with the one closest to Ransom City listed first.
    • McLeod
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Lisbon
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Elliott
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Elliott is located in Ransom County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliott
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 25 people
    • Anselm
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Anselm is located in Ransom County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anselm
  • Richland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ransom City, with the one closest to Ransom City listed first.
    • Lidgerwood
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Wyndmere
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Mantador
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Barney
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Hankinson
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Mooreton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Great Bend
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Fairview Junction
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Fairview Junction is located in Richland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview Junction
  • Marshall County (SD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ransom City, with the one closest to Ransom City listed first.
    • Marlow
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Marlow is located in Marshall County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlow
      • Estimated population in 2014: 14 people
    • Veblen
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Veblen is located in Marshall County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Veblen
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 527 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Veblen <2>
    • Hillhead
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Hillhead is located in Marshall County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillhead
      • Estimated population in 2014: 990 people
    • Kidder
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Kidder is located in Marshall County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kidder
      • Estimated population in 2014: 77 people
    • Newark
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Newark is located in Marshall County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newark
      • Estimated population in 2014: 109 people
    • Lake City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Britton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • 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>
    • West Britton ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • West Britton is located in Marshall County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Britton
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 1,368 people
  • Roberts County (SD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ransom City, with the one closest to Ransom City listed first.
    • Claire City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Hammer
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Hammer is located in Roberts County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hammer
      • Estimated population in 2014: 241 people
    • New Effington
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Long Hollow Housing
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Long Hollow Housing is located in Roberts County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Hollow Housing
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 192 people

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

Cemeteries Near Ransom City ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ransom City.

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 Ransom City - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Shuman Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Nordland Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Martin Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Union Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Otterburn Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Immanuel Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Immanuel Cemetery
    • The Immanuel Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery
    • Immanuel Lutheran Church Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2305927 <3>
  • Dunbar Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Immanuel Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Catholic Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Stine Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Trinity Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Lakeside Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (86 more) ...
    • Bergen Church Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • St. Johns Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • St. Johns Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Johns Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Johns Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<4> to the south of Lidgerwood.
      • The St. Johns Cemetery has also been known as:
      • St. Johns Evangelical and Reformed Church Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #102439 <3>

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.

Ransom City itself is historic and was described in the Rand McNally Atlas as having a population of 98 people in 1895 with railroad service and no post office.

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

  • Cayuga
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Geneseo
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Geneseo is located in Sargent County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geneseo
  • Rutland
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Hamlin
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Hamlin is located in Sargent County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamlin
  • Milnor
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Lidgerwood
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • De Lamere
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • De Lamere is located in Sargent County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Lamere
  • Forman
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Havana
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Stiles
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Stiles is located in Richland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stiles
  • Wyndmere
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Moselle
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Moselle is located in Richland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moselle
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Brampton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Brampton is located in Sargent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brampton
    • Harlem ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Harlem is located in Sargent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlem
    • Cogswell
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Ransom City ...

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 50 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ransom City.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Ransom City. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Ransom City and those printed in the larger area surrounding Ransom City.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<4> of Ransom City.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with 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 Ransom City:

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