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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 Saint John (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 Saint John. 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 Saint John ...

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 have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Saint John: St. John

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 hospitals 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.

Saint John is located in Rolette 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 Rolette County: Bottineau, Pierce & Towner.

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

  • Rolette County     (The home county of Saint John)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saint John, with the one closest to Saint John listed first.
    • Belcourt
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Rolla
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rolla have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rolla
      • Rolla is located in Rolette County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,273 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rolla <1>
    • Shell Valley
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shell Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shell Valley
      • Shell Valley is located in Rolette County
    • East Dunseith
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Dunseith have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Dunseith
      • East Dunseith is located in Rolette County
    • Kelvin
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelvin
      • Kelvin is located in Rolette County
    • San Haven
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Haven
      • San Haven is located in Rolette County
    • Dunseith
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dunseith have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunseith
      • Dunseith is located in Rolette County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 768 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dunseith <1>
    • Rolette
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Mylo
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mylo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mylo
      • Mylo is located in Rolette County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 23 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mylo <1>
    • Agate
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
  • Bottineau County
    • Overly
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Overly have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Overly
      • Overly is located in Bottineau County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17 people
  • Pierce County
    • Wolford
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wolford have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolford
      • Wolford is located in Pierce County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 32 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wolford <1>
  • Towner County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saint John, with the one closest to Saint John listed first.
    • Hansboro
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hansboro have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hansboro
      • Hansboro is located in Towner County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 12 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hansboro <1>
    • Perth
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Rocklake
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Bisbee
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bisbee have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bisbee
      • Bisbee is located in Towner County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 120 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bisbee <1>

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Saint John ...

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 25 newspapers that have been published in the area around Saint John.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Saint John. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Saint John and those printed in the larger area surrounding Saint John.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3> of Saint John.

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 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 Saint John:

Cemeteries Near Saint John ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Saint John.

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

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

  • St. John Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. John Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. John Cemetery
  • St. Paul Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Paul Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Paul Cemetery
  • Mill Lake Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mill Lake Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mill Lake Cemetery
  • An-qui-ni-gay Indian Burial Ground
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the An-qui-ni-gay Indian Burial Ground have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the An-qui-ni-gay Indian Burial Ground
  • St. Michael Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Michael Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Michael Cemetery
  • St. Anns Addition Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Anns Addition Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Anns Addition Cemetery
  • White Stone Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the White Stone Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the White Stone Cemetery
  • Wakopa Henderson Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Wakopa Henderson Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Wakopa Henderson Cemetery is located 13 miles [20.9 km]<3> to the northeast of Killarney (MB).
    • The Wakopa Henderson Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Henderson Cemetery
    • Wakopa Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wakopa Henderson Cemetery
  • Maryville Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Maryville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Maryville Cemetery
  • Emanuel Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Emanuel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Emanuel Cemetery
  • Finnish Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Finnish Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Finnish Cemetery
  • Lakeview Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lakeview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lakeview Cemetery
  • Continue List   (31 more) ...
    • Mt. View Cemetery
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. View Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. View Cemetery
    • Killarney Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • St. Sylvan Cemetery
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Sylvan Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Sylvan 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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Saint John had a population of 218 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Saint John had a population of 341 people.

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

  • Belcourt
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Rolla
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rolla have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rolla
    • Rolla is located in Rolette County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,273 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rolla <1>
  • Dunseith
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dunseith have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunseith
    • Dunseith is located in Rolette County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 768 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dunseith <1>
  • Perth
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
  • Bisbee
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bisbee have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bisbee
    • Bisbee is located in Towner County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 120 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bisbee <1>

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

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

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

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 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.
<3>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- Saint John) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Saint John. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 48.9436, Longitude: -99.7110       In this case, the coordinates for Saint John have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>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.
<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 Saint John, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024