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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 Appleton (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 Appleton. 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 Appleton ...

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.

Prior to its current name of Appleton, it was known as Appleton Junction.

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.

A Few Details for Appleton ...

While it's still very early in our research, we found that:

  • Appleton was settled in 1847.
  • It was incorporated in 1853.

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.

Appleton is primarily located in Outagamie County and is the County Seat. A portion of Appleton extends into Calumet County and Winnebago County.

To see how the shape of Wisconsin's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Outagamie County: Brown, Calumet, Shawano, Waupaca & Winnebago.

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

  • Outagamie County     (The home county of Appleton)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Appleton, with the one closest to Appleton listed first.
    • Kimberly
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Apple Creek
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Combined Locks
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Little Chute
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Greenville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenville
      • Greenville is located in Outagamie County
    • Freedom
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Medina
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Medina. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medina
      • Medina is located in Outagamie County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Medina
      • From Appleton to Medina
    • Hortonville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Black Creek
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Black Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Creek
      • Black Creek is located in Outagamie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,309 people
    • Shiocton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shiocton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiocton
      • Shiocton is located in Outagamie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 914 people
    • Chicago Corners
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Seymour
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seymour have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seymour
      • Seymour is located in Outagamie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,457 people
  • Brown County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Appleton, with the one closest to Appleton listed first.
    • Sniderville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sniderville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sniderville
      • Sniderville is located in Brown County
    • Wrightstown
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Askeaton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Greenleaf
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Oneida
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oneida have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oneida
      • Oneida is located in Brown County
    • Hobart
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hobart have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hobart
      • Hobart is located in Brown County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,495 people
    • Morrison
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Morrison have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrison
      • Morrison is located in Brown County
    • De Pere
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Wayside
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Ashwaubenon
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Lark
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Allouez
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
  • Calumet County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Appleton, with the one closest to Appleton listed first.
    • Kaukauna
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Sherwood
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sherwood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherwood
      • Sherwood is located in Calumet County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,040 people
    • Dundas
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Harrison
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Saint John
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Forest Junction
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Stockbridge
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stockbridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stockbridge
      • Stockbridge is located in Calumet County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 619 people
    • Hilbert
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hilbert have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilbert
      • Hilbert is located in Calumet County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,081 people
    • Brant
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Brant. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brant
      • Brant is located in Calumet County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Brant
      • From Appleton to Brant
    • Quinney
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Brillion
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brillion have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brillion
      • Brillion is located in Calumet County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,079 people
    • Potter
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Potter have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Potter
      • Potter is located in Calumet County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 236 people
  • Fond du Lac County
  • Manitowoc County
  • Shawano County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Appleton, with the one closest to Appleton listed first.
    • Briarton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Briarton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briarton
      • Briarton is located in Shawano County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Briarton
      • From Appleton to Briarton
    • Rose Lawn
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rose Lawn. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Lawn
      • Rose Lawn is located in Shawano County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Rose Lawn
      • From Appleton to Rose Lawn
    • Laney
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Laney. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laney
      • Laney is located in Shawano County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Laney
      • From Appleton to Laney
    • Frazer Corners
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Lunds
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Waupaca County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Appleton, with the one closest to Appleton listed first.
    • New London
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New London have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New London
      • New London is located in Waupaca County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,065 people
    • Ostrander
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Fremont
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Gills Landing
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Weyauwega
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Weyauwega have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weyauwega
      • Weyauwega is located in Waupaca County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,745 people
    • Little Wolf ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Manawa
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Manawa have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manawa
      • Manawa is located in Waupaca County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,269 people
    • Baldwins Mill
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Clintonville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clintonville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clintonville
      • Clintonville is located in Waupaca County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,353 people
  • Waushara County
  • Winnebago County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Appleton, with the one closest to Appleton listed first.
    • Menasha
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Menasha have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Menasha
      • Menasha is located in Winnebago County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,796 people
    • Fox Crossing
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Neenah
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Adella Beach
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Adella Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adella Beach
      • Adella Beach is located in Winnebago County
    • Medina Junction
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Allenville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Oshkosh
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Winneconne
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Winneconne have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winneconne
      • Winneconne is located in Winnebago County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,480 people
    • Harbor Springs
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Zittau
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Stony Beach
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Reighmoor
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Appleton ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Appleton.

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

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

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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Appleton had a population of 11,869 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Appleton had a population of 74,058 people.

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

  • Menasha
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Menasha have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Menasha
    • Menasha is located in Winnebago County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,796 people
  • Kimberly
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Darboy
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Darboy have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darboy
    • Darboy is located in Calumet County
  • Apple Creek
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Neenah
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Combined Locks
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Little Chute
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Mackville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mackville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mackville
    • Mackville is located in Outagamie County
  • Greenville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenville
    • Greenville is located in Outagamie County
  • Kaukauna
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Snells
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Snells have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snells
    • Snells is located in Winnebago County
  • Sherwood
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sherwood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherwood
    • Sherwood is located in Calumet County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,040 people
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Medina Junction
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Dundas
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Larsen
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Larsen have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larsen
      • Larsen is located in Winnebago County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Appleton ...

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 142 newspapers that have been published in the area around Appleton.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Appleton. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Appleton and those printed in the larger area surrounding Appleton.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<5> of Appleton.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with 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 Appleton:

The official website for Appleton: www.appleton.org/

The official website for Outagamie County: www.co.outagamie.wi.us/

The official website for State of Wisconsin: https://www.wisconsin.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>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.
<3>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.
<4>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 Appleton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>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- Appleton) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Appleton. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.2618, Longitude: -88.4157    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025