RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of North Dakota >> McLean County >> Turtle Lake >> Genealogy HelperIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
North Dakota

The Commemorative Quarter for North Dakota





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 Turtle Lake (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 Turtle Lake. 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 Turtle Lake ...

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 Turtle Lake: Turtle Lk.

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 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.

Turtle Lake is located in McLean 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 McLean County: Burleigh, Dunn, McHenry, Mercer, Mountrail, Oliver, Sheridan & Ward.

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

  • McLean County     (The home county of Turtle Lake)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Turtle Lake, with the one closest to Turtle Lake listed first.
    • Mercer
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • 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>
    • Underwood
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Underwood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Underwood
      • Underwood is located in McLean County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 729 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Underwood <2>
    • Riverdale Junction
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverdale Junction
      • Riverdale Junction is located in McLean County
    • Coleharbor
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coleharbor have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleharbor
      • Coleharbor is located in McLean County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 87 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Coleharbor <2>
    • Washburn
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Ruso
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Riverdale
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Benedict
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • 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>
    • Butte
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • 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
    • Wilton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wilton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilton
      • Wilton is located in McLean County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 712 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wilton <2>
    • Garrison
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garrison have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garrison
      • Garrison is located in McLean County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,458 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Garrison <2>
    • Max
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Max
      • Max is located in McLean County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 348 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Max <2>
  • Burleigh County
    • Regan
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Regan have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Regan
      • Regan is located in Burleigh County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 43 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Regan <2>
  • McHenry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Turtle Lake, with the one closest to Turtle Lake listed first.
    • Kongsberg
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • 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
    • Kief
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Mercer County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Turtle Lake, with the one closest to Turtle Lake listed first.
    • Knife River Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Knife River Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knife River Village
      • Knife River Village is located in Mercer County
    • Stanton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Pick City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pick City
      • Pick City is located in Mercer County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 132 people
  • Oliver County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Turtle Lake, with the one closest to Turtle Lake listed first.
    • Hensler
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hensler
      • Hensler is located in Oliver County
    • Sanger
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sanger
      • Sanger is located in Oliver County
  • Sheridan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Turtle Lake, with the one closest to Turtle Lake listed first.
    • McClusky
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Denhoff
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Turtle Lake ...

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 29 newspapers that have been published in the area around Turtle Lake.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

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

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Turtle Lake:

Cemeteries Near Turtle Lake ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Turtle Lake.

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

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

  • Turtle Lake Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Turtle Lake Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Turtle Lake Cemetery
  • St. Pauls Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Pauls Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Pauls Cemetery
  • Peace Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Peace Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Peace Cemetery
  • Darling Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Darling Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Darling Cemetery
  • Medicine Hill Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Medicine Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Medicine Hill Cemetery
  • Our Savior Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Our Savior Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Our Savior Cemetery
  • Bethel Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • The Bethel Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Malcolm Twp. Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bethel Cemetery
  • Underwood Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Underwood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Underwood Cemetery
  • Sverdrup Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Zion Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • 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
  • Bethel Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • 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   (42 more) ...
    • Coleharbor Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Coleharbor Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Coleharbor Cemetery
    • Zoar Cemetery
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Zoar Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Zoar Cemetery
    • Riverview Cemetery
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Riverview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Riverview 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 in 1895, Turtle Lake had a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Turtle Lake had a population of 547 people.

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

  • Washburn
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
  • Hensler
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hensler
    • Hensler is located in Oliver County
  • Sanger
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sanger
    • Sanger is located in Oliver County
  • Stanton
    (26 miles [41.8 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 Turtle Lake. See our List of 1890's Communities around Turtle Lake.

The official website for Turtle Lake: www.wrtc.com/

The official website for McLean County: www.visitmcleancounty.com/

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' (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- Turtle Lake) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Turtle Lake. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 47.5199, Longitude: -100.8901    
<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 Turtle Lake, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

Copyright 2024
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024