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 Afton (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 Afton. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and 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.
Afton is located in Rock County.
To see how the shape of Wisconsin's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Rock County: Boone (IL), Winnebago (IL), Dane, Green, Jefferson & Walworth.
Below are the counties that are near Afton. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Afton:
- Rock County (The home county of Afton)
- The following are listed by their distance from Afton, with the one closest to Afton listed first.
- Garden Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Garden Village is located in Rock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Village
- Hanover
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Hanover is located in Rock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanover
- Janesville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Janesville is located in Rock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Janesville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 64,664 people
- Beloit
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Beloit is located in Rock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beloit
- Population from the 2020 Census: 36,637 people
- Shopiere
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Shopiere is located in Rock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shopiere
- Tiffany
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Tiffany is located in Rock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tiffany
- Footville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Footville is located in Rock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Footville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 822 people
- Newark
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Newark is located in Rock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newark
- Orfordville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Orfordville is located in Rock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orfordville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,486 people
- Avalon
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Avalon is located in Rock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avalon
- Clinton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Clinton is located in Rock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,119 people
- Emerald Grove
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Emerald Grove is located in Rock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerald Grove
- Dane County
- The following are listed by their distance from Afton, with the one closest to Afton listed first.
- Edgerton Beach Park
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Edgerton Beach Park is located in Dane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgerton Beach Park
- Albion
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Albion is located in Dane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albion
- Hanerville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Hanerville is located in Dane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanerville
- Dunkirk
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Dunkirk is located in Dane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunkirk
- Brooklyn
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Brooklyn is located in Dane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklyn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,484 people
- Stone
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Stone is located in Dane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone
- Stoughton
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Stoughton is located in Dane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoughton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 13,218 people
- Rockdale
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Rockdale is located in Dane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockdale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 216 people
- Oregon
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Oregon is located in Dane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oregon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,731 people
- Cambridge
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Cambridge is located in Dane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambridge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,538 people
- Belleville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Belleville is located in Dane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belleville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,514 people
- Basco
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Basco is located in Dane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Basco
- Green County
- The following are listed by their distance from Afton, with the one closest to Afton listed first.
- Brodhead
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Brodhead is located in Green County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brodhead
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,204 people
- Albany
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Albany is located in Green County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albany
- Population from the 2020 Census: 977 people
- Mineral Point
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Mineral Point is located in Green County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral Point
- Attica
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Attica is located in Green County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Attica
- Twin Grove
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Twin Grove is located in Green County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Grove
- Dayton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Dayton is located in Green County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dayton
- Monticello
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Monticello is located in Green County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monticello
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,185 people
- Monroe
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Monroe is located in Green County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,426 people
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Afton, with the one closest to Afton listed first.
- Carcajou
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Carcajou is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carcajou
- Lake Koshkonong
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Lake Koshkonong is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Koshkonong
- Cold Spring
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Cold Spring is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cold Spring
- Fort Atkinson
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Fort Atkinson is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Atkinson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,372 people
- Lake Ripley
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Lake Ripley is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Ripley
- Hebron
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hebron is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hebron
- Jefferson
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Jefferson is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,037 people
- Palmyra
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Palmyra is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmyra
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,746 people
- Walworth County
- The following are listed by their distance from Afton, with the one closest to Afton listed first.
- Allens Grove
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Allens Grove is located in Walworth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allens Grove
- Darien
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Darien is located in Walworth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darien
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,591 people
- Sharon
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Sharon is located in Walworth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,546 people
- Richmond
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Richmond is located in Walworth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmond
- Delavan
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Delavan is located in Walworth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delavan
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,240 people
- Delavan Lake
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Delavan Lake is located in Walworth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delavan Lake
- Whitewater
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Whitewater is located in Walworth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitewater
- Population from the 2020 Census: 14,993 people
- Walworth
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Walworth is located in Walworth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walworth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,827 people
- Heart Prairie
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Heart Prairie is located in Walworth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heart Prairie
- Big Foot Prairie
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Big Foot Prairie is located in Walworth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Foot Prairie
- Fontana-on-Geneva Lake
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Fontana-on-Geneva Lake is located in Walworth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fontana-on-Geneva Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,743 people
- Williams Bay
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Williams Bay is located in Walworth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williams Bay
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,657 people
- Boone County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Afton, with the one closest to Afton listed first.
- Caledonia
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Poplar Grove
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Timberlane
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Timberlane is located in Boone County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timberlane
- Population from the 2020 Census: 934 people
- Capron
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Russellville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Russellville is located in Boone County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russellville
- Belvidere
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Garden Prairie
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- McHenry County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Afton, with the one closest to Afton listed first.
- Big Foot Prairie
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Big Foot Prairie is located in McHenry County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Foot Prairie
- Harvard
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Alden
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Stephenson County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Afton, with the one closest to Afton listed first.
- Davis
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Davis is located in Stephenson County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davis
- Population from the 2020 Census: 616 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Davis <1>
- Rock City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Rock City is located in Stephenson County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 279 people
- Rock Grove
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Rock Grove is located in Stephenson County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Grove
- Dakota
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Afolkey
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Afolkey is located in Stephenson County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Afolkey
- Ridott
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Orangeville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Winnebago County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Afton, with the one closest to Afton listed first.
- South Beloit
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Rockton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Shirland
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Roscoe
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Roscoe is located in Winnebago County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roscoe
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,406 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Roscoe <1>
- Machesney Park
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Sturbridge Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Sturbridge Village is located in Winnebago County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sturbridge Village
- Durand
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Durand is located in Winnebago County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durand
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,387 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Durand <1>
- Argyle
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Argyle is located in Winnebago County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argyle
- Loves Park
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Wempletown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Wempletown is located in Winnebago County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wempletown
- Lake Summerset
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Lake Summerset is located in Winnebago County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Summerset
- Rockford
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Afton, see our County-by-County Page for Afton.
Cemeteries Near Afton ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Afton.
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 Afton - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Afton covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Afton, with the one closest to Afton listed first.
- Baldwin Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Afton Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Plymouth Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Turtle Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Newark Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Mt. Thabor Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Tabor Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Oakwood Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Calvary Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Eastlawn Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Mt. Olivet Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Oak Hill Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Continue List (227 more) ...
- Grove Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Floral Lawns Memorial Gardens
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Milton Lawn Memorial Park
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
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.<3>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Afton had a population of 118 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Afton, with the one closest to Afton listed first.
- Hanover
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Hanover is located in Rock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanover
- Beloit
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Beloit is located in Rock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beloit
- Population from the 2020 Census: 36,637 people
- Janesville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Janesville is located in Rock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Janesville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 64,664 people
- Porters
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Porters is located in Rock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porters
- Shopiere
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Shopiere is located in Rock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shopiere
- Tiffany
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Tiffany is located in Rock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tiffany
- Footville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Footville is located in Rock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Footville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 822 people
- Newark
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Newark is located in Rock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newark
- Leyden
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Leyden is located in Rock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leyden
- Orfordville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Orfordville is located in Rock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orfordville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,486 people
- Rockton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Clinton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Clinton is located in Rock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,119 people
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Emerald Grove
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Emerald Grove is located in Rock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerald Grove
- Fellows ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Fellows is located in Rock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fellows
- Cainville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Cainville is located in Rock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cainville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Afton. See our List of 1890's Communities around Afton.
Newspapers Published in Afton ...
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 119 newspapers that have been published in the area around Afton.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Afton, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Afton.
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 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 Afton:
- Websites specific to Wisconsin
- Pages specific to Rock County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Dane County
- Green County
- Jefferson County
- Walworth County
- Boone County
- McHenry County
- Stephenson County
- Winnebago County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Wisconsin
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 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. |
| <3> | 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 Afton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Afton) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |