At 11:46 AM 4/13/2007, you wrote: >Hello Listers, > >Can anyone tell me how Lake Frances was named? I read in Floral >Home by Harriet Bishop (published in 1857) that it was named while >my ancestor, Frances Hobbs, was on a steamboat trip on the Minnesota >River in 1853. According to the book on page 291, her fellow >passengers named a miniature lake for her. Any ideas? The MN Historical Society website offers a look-up in Minnesota Places, the geographic name reference first compiled by Warren Upham. It's at <http://mnplaces.mnhs.org/upham/index.cfm> Of course, there is no guarantee that a 'miniature lake' would be included, or that there wasn't more than one or two. But in any case, it's a neat way to find out more about MN place names and how they came about. Mary Mary Bakeman [email protected] Park Genealogical Books http://www.parkbooks.com