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 Alvin (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 Alvin. 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.
Alvin is located in Forest 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 Forest County: Iron (MI), Florence, Langlade, Marinette, Oconto, Oneida & Vilas.
Below are the counties that are near Alvin. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Alvin:
- Forest County (The home county of Alvin)
- The following are listed by their distance from Alvin, with the one closest to Alvin listed first.
- Nelma
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Nelma is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nelma
- Hiles
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Hiles is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hiles
- Atkins
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Atkins is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atkins
- Crandon
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Crandon is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crandon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,780 people
- Laona
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Laona is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laona
- Florence County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alvin, with the one closest to Alvin listed first.
- Tipler
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Tipler is located in Florence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tipler
- Fern ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Fern is located in Florence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fern
- Commonwealth
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Commonwealth is located in Florence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Commonwealth
- Florence
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Florence is located in Florence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
- Oneida County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alvin, with the one closest to Alvin listed first.
- Gagen
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Gagen is located in Oneida County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gagen
- Sugar Camp
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Sugar Camp is located in Oneida County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Camp
- Vilas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alvin, with the one closest to Alvin listed first.
- Phelps
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Phelps is located in Vilas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phelps
- Eagle River
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Eagle River is located in Vilas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle River
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,582 people
- Conover
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Conover is located in Vilas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conover
- Land O'Lakes
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Land O'Lakes is located in Vilas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Land O'Lakes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 897 people
- Gogebic County (MI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Alvin, with the one closest to Alvin listed first.
- Katakitckon Indian Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Fuller
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Fuller is located in Gogebic County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fuller
- Watersmeet
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Iron County (MI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Alvin, with the one closest to Alvin listed first.
- Caspian
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Gaastra
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Stambaugh
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Stambaugh is located in Iron County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stambaugh
- Iron River
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Mineral Hills
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Mineral Hills is located in Iron County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral Hills
- Bates Junction
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Bates Junction is located in Iron County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bates Junction
- Pentoga
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Pentoga is located in Iron County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pentoga
- Gibbs City ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Gibbs City is located in Iron County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibbs City
- Chicagon
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Chicagon is located in Iron County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chicagon
- Atkinson ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Atkinson is located in Iron County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atkinson
- Alpha
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Clinch ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Clinch is located in Iron County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinch
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Alvin, see our County-by-County Page for Alvin.
Cemeteries Near Alvin ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Alvin.
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 Alvin - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Alvin covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Alvin, with the one closest to Alvin listed first.
- Lakeview Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Martin Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Stambaugh Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Resthaven Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Stambaugh Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Long Lake Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Iron River Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Rosehill Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Indian Burial Ground
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Bates Cemetery
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Katakikon Indian Village Cemetery
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Forest Home Cemetery
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Continue List (18 more) ...
- Hildegard Cemetery
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Hiles Cemetery
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Argonne Cemetery
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
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>
While we didn't find Alvin in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Alvin.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Alvin, with the one closest to Alvin listed first.
- Stambaugh
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Stambaugh is located in Iron County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stambaugh
- Iron River
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Beechwood
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Beechwood is located in Iron County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beechwood
- Elmwood
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Elmwood is located in Iron County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmwood
- Atkinson ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Atkinson is located in Iron County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atkinson
- Eagle River
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Eagle River is located in Vilas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle River
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,582 people
- Atkins
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Atkins is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atkins
- Tamarack
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Tamarack is located in Gogebic County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tamarack
- Tamarack has also been known as:
- Tamarack Lake
- Stager
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Stager is located in Iron County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stager
- Mastodon
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Mastodon is located in Iron County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mastodon
- Cavour
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Cavour is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cavour
- Panola
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Panola is located in Iron County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panola
- Continue List (8 more) ...
- Crystal Falls
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Amasa
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Watersmeet
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Alvin. See our List of 1890's Communities around Alvin.
Newspapers Published in Alvin ...
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 30 newspapers that have been published in the area around Alvin.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Alvin, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Alvin.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 Alvin:
- Websites specific to Wisconsin
- Pages specific to Forest County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Florence County
- Oneida County
- Vilas County
- Gogebic County
- Iron 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 Alvin, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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- Alvin) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |