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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 Belleville (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 Belleville. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Belleville is primarily located in Dane County. A portion of Belleville extends into Green 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 Dane County: Columbia, Dodge, Green, Iowa, Jefferson, Rock & Sauk.

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

  • Dane County     (The home county of Belleville)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Belleville, with the one closest to Belleville listed first.
    • Basco
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Paoli
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Paoli. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paoli
      • Paoli is located in Dane County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Paoli
      • From Belleville to Paoli
    • Brooklyn
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brooklyn have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklyn
      • Brooklyn is located in Dane County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,484 people
    • Oak Hall
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Verona
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Verona have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verona
      • Verona is located in Dane County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,539 people
    • Oregon
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oregon have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oregon
      • Oregon is located in Dane County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,731 people
    • Stone
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Fitchburg
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Syene ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Syene. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Syene
      • Syene is located in Dane County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Syene
      • From Belleville to Syene
    • Klevenville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Pilgrim Village
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pilgrim Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilgrim Village
      • Pilgrim Village is located in Dane County
    • Mount Horeb
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Horeb have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Horeb
      • Mount Horeb is located in Dane County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,563 people
  • Green County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Belleville, with the one closest to Belleville listed first.
    • Dayton
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Attica
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • New Glarus
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Monticello
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Mineral Point
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mineral Point have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral Point
      • Mineral Point is located in Green County
    • Albany
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Albany have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albany
      • Albany is located in Green County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 977 people
    • Monroe
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Monroe have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
      • Monroe is located in Green County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,426 people
    • Brodhead
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brodhead have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brodhead
      • Brodhead is located in Green County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,204 people
    • Twin Grove
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Browntown
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Cadiz
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cadiz. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cadiz
      • Cadiz is located in Green County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Cadiz
      • From Belleville to Cadiz
  • Iowa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Belleville, with the one closest to Belleville listed first.
    • Moscow
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Hollandale
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Barneveld
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Barneveld have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barneveld
      • Barneveld is located in Iowa County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,252 people
    • Ridgeway
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ridgeway have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeway
      • Ridgeway is located in Iowa County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 635 people
    • Hyde
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Arena
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Cassell
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cassell. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cassell
      • Cassell is located in Iowa County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Cassell
      • From Belleville to Cassell
    • Pleasant Ridge
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Jefferson County
  • Lafayette County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Belleville, with the one closest to Belleville listed first.
    • Blanchardville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Argyle
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Argyle have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argyle
      • Argyle is located in Lafayette County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 809 people
    • Woodford
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • South Wayne
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Wayne have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Wayne
      • South Wayne is located in Lafayette County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 472 people
    • Wiota
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Rock County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Belleville, with the one closest to Belleville listed first.
    • Union
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Union. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
      • Union is located in Rock County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Union
      • From Belleville to Union
    • Evansville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Evansville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evansville
      • Evansville is located in Rock County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,556 people
    • Cooksville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Magnolia
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Fulton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Footville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Orfordville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Indianford
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Edgerton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Avon
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Hanover
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Newark
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Newark. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newark
      • Newark is located in Rock County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Newark
      • From Belleville to Newark
  • Sauk County
    • Sauk City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sauk City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sauk City
      • Sauk City is located in Sauk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,498 people
  • Stephenson County (IL)
  • Winnebago County (IL)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Belleville, with the one closest to Belleville listed first.
    • Lake Summerset
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Summerset have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Summerset
      • Lake Summerset is located in Winnebago County (IL)
    • Durand
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)

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

Cemeteries Near Belleville ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Belleville.

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

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

  • St. James Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. James Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. James Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Frenchtown Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Story Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Story Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Story Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Paoli Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Paoli Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Paoli Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Exeter Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Exeter Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Exeter Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Williams Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Williams Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Williams Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Evangelical Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Swiss Reformed Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jug Prairie Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Jug Prairie Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Jug Prairie Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Oak Hall Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak Hall Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oak Hall Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • East Primrose Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the East Primrose Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the East Primrose Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (187 more) ...
    • West Primrose Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the West Primrose Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the West Primrose Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Oak Hill Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak Hill Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oak Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Highland Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Highland Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Highland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Belleville had a population of 319 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Belleville had a population of 2,514 people.

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

  • Dayton
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Montrose
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Montrose have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montrose
    • Montrose is located in Dane County
  • Basco
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Paoli
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Paoli. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paoli
    • Paoli is located in Dane County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Paoli
    • From Belleville to Paoli
  • New Glarus
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Attica
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Primrose
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Primrose have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Primrose
    • Primrose is located in Dane County
  • Verona
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Verona have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verona
    • Verona is located in Dane County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,539 people
  • Monticello
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Oregon
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oregon have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oregon
    • Oregon is located in Dane County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,731 people
  • Mount Vernon
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Vernon have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Vernon
    • Mount Vernon is located in Dane County
  • Rutland
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rutland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutland
    • Rutland is located in Dane County
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Albany
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Albany have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albany
      • Albany is located in Green County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 977 people
    • Union
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Union. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
      • Union is located in Rock County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Union
      • From Belleville to Union
    • Lakeview
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lakeview have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview
      • Lakeview is located in Dane County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Belleville ...

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 232 newspapers that have been published in the area around Belleville.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Belleville. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Belleville and those printed in the larger area surrounding Belleville.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<4> of Belleville.

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 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 Belleville:

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>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.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 from Point A (ie- Belleville) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Belleville. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.8597, Longitude: -89.5334    
<5>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.
<6>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 Belleville, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.