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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 Bayfield (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 Bayfield. 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.

Bayfield is located in Bayfield 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 Bayfield County: Ashland, Douglas, Sawyer & Washburn.

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

  • Bayfield County     (The home county of Bayfield)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bayfield, with the one closest to Bayfield listed first.
    • Washburn
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Moquah
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Benoit
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Mason
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mason have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason
      • Mason is located in Bayfield County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 99 people
    • Sutherland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Ashland County
  • Iron County
    • Cedar
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cedar. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar
      • Cedar is located in Iron County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Cedar
      • From Bayfield to Cedar

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

Cemeteries Near Bayfield ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bayfield.

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

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

  • Calvary Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Calvary Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Calvary Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Evergreen Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Evergreen Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • La Pointe Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the La Pointe Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the La Pointe Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Greenwood Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Greenwood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Woodland Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Calvary Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Calvary Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bell Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bell Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bell Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Odanah Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Odanah Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Odanah Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • B'nai Israel Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the B'nai Israel Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the B'nai Israel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Agnes Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Agnes Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Agnes Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. Hope Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Hope Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Hope Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Herbster Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (11 more) ...
    • St. Peters Cemetery
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Peters Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Peters Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Edgewood Cemetery
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Edgewood Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Edgewood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Historic Indian Burial Grounds
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Historic Indian Burial Grounds
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Historic Indian Burial Grounds have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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 Bayfield had a population of 1,373 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Bayfield had a population of 474 people.

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

  • La Pointe
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Washburn
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Ashland
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
  • Odanah
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
  • Ashland Junction
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ashland Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland Junction
    • Ashland Junction is located in Bayfield County
  • White River
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
  • Moquah
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Birch
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Birch have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birch
    • Birch is located in Ashland County
  • Benoit
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
  • Ino
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ino have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ino
    • Ino is located in Bayfield County
  • Sedgwick
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sedgwick have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedgwick
    • Sedgwick is located in Ashland County
  • Sanborn
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sanborn have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sanborn
    • Sanborn is located in Ashland County
  • Continue List   (5 more) ...
    • Marengo
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Mason
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mason have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason
      • Mason is located in Bayfield County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 99 people
    • Topside
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Topside have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Topside
      • Topside is located in Bayfield County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Bayfield ...

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 35 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bayfield.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Bayfield. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Bayfield and those printed in the larger area surrounding Bayfield.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<4> of Bayfield.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Bayfield:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Bayfield. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Bayfield County: www.bayfieldcounty.org/

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>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 Bayfield, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Bayfield) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Bayfield. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.8110, Longitude: -90.8159    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025