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 Benton (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 Benton. 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 and doctors 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.
Benton is located in Lafayette 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 Lafayette County: Jo Daviess (IL), Stephenson (IL), Grant, Green & Iowa.
Below are the counties that are near Benton. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Benton:
- Lafayette County (The home county of Benton)
- The following are listed by their distance from Benton, with the one closest to Benton listed first.
- Etna
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Etna is located in Lafayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etna
- New Diggings
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- New Diggings is located in Lafayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Diggings
- Elk Grove
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Elk Grove is located in Lafayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Grove
- White Oak
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- White Oak is located in Lafayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Oak
- Fort Gratiot ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Fort Gratiot is located in Lafayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Gratiot
- Former name for Fort Gratiot:
- Gratiot Grove
- Shullsburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Shullsburg is located in Lafayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shullsburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,192 people
- Belmont
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Belmont is located in Lafayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
- Population from the 2020 Census: 974 people
- Darlington
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Darlington is located in Lafayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darlington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,317 people
- Calamine
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Calamine is located in Lafayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calamine
- Gratiot
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Gratiot is located in Lafayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gratiot
- Population from the 2020 Census: 225 people
- Wiota
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Wiota is located in Lafayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wiota
- South Wayne
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- South Wayne is located in Lafayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Wayne
- Population from the 2020 Census: 472 people
- Grant County
- The following are listed by their distance from Benton, with the one closest to Benton listed first.
- Cuba City
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Cuba City is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,047 people
- Hazel Green
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Hazel Green is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazel Green
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,219 people
- Jamestown
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Jamestown is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
- Dickeyville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Dickeyville is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickeyville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,020 people
- Platteville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Platteville is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Platteville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 11,650 people
- Rutledge
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Rutledge is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutledge
- Sinnipee ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Sinnipee is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sinnipee
- Tennyson
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Tennyson is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tennyson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 339 people
- Potosi
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Potosi is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Potosi
- Population from the 2020 Census: 668 people
- Livingston
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Livingston is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Livingston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 632 people
- Annaton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Annaton is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Annaton
- Lancaster
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Lancaster is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lancaster
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,700 people
- Green County
- The following are listed by their distance from Benton, with the one closest to Benton listed first.
- Browntown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Browntown is located in Green County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browntown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 272 people
- Cadiz
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Cadiz is located in Green County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cadiz
- Iowa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Benton, with the one closest to Benton listed first.
- Rewey
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Rewey is located in Iowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rewey
- Population from the 2020 Census: 283 people
- Mineral Point
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Mineral Point is located in Iowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral Point
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,454 people
- Linden
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Linden is located in Iowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linden
- Population from the 2020 Census: 523 people
- Cobb
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Cobb is located in Iowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobb
- Population from the 2020 Census: 455 people
- Edmund
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Edmund is located in Iowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmund
- Centreville ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Centreville is located in Iowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centreville
- Former name for Centreville:
- Dry Bone
- Dodgeville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Dodgeville is located in Iowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodgeville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,677 people
- Hollandale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Hollandale is located in Iowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollandale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 273 people
- Clayton County (IA)
- North Buena Vista
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- North Buena Vista is located in Clayton County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Buena Vista
- Population from the 2020 Census: 120 people
- Dubuque County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Benton, with the one closest to Benton listed first.
- Wilkins
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Wilkins is located in Dubuque County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilkins
- Cattese
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Cattese is located in Dubuque County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cattese
- Massey
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Massey is located in Dubuque County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massey
- Dubuque
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Rockdale
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Rockdale is located in Dubuque County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockdale
- Sageville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Sageville is located in Dubuque County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sageville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 100 people
- Key West
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Key West is located in Dubuque County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Key West
- Asbury
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Asbury is located in Dubuque County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asbury
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,841 people
- Durango
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Sherrill
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Centralia
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Centralia is located in Dubuque County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centralia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 128 people
- Old Balltown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Old Balltown is located in Dubuque County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Balltown
- Jackson County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Benton, with the one closest to Benton listed first.
- Saint Donatus
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Smiths
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Smiths is located in Jackson County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smiths
- North Bellevue
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- North Bellevue is located in Jackson County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Bellevue
- Bellevue
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- La Motte
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Cottonville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Cottonville is located in Jackson County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottonville
- Green Island
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Green Island is located in Jackson County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Island
- Springbrook
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Andrew
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Garry Owen
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Garry Owen is located in Jackson County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garry Owen
- Carroll County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Benton, with the one closest to Benton listed first.
- Blackhawk
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Blackhawk is located in Carroll County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackhawk
- Arnold
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Arnold is located in Carroll County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnold
- Marcus
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Marcus is located in Carroll County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcus
- Jo Daviess County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Benton, with the one closest to Benton listed first.
- Scales Mound
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Menominee
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Menominee is located in Jo Daviess County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Menominee
- Population from the 2020 Census: 241 people
- Galena
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Galena is located in Jo Daviess County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galena
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,151 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Galena <1>
- Bremen
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Bremen is located in Jo Daviess County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bremen
- Galena Junction
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Galena Junction is located in Jo Daviess County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galena Junction
- East Dubuque
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Apple River
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Aiken
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Aiken is located in Jo Daviess County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aiken
- Elizabeth
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Warren
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Warren is located in Jo Daviess County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warren
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,300 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Warren <1>
- Hanover
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Nora
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Nora is located in Jo Daviess County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nora
- Population from the 2020 Census: 116 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nora <1>
- Stephenson County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Benton, with the one closest to Benton listed first.
- Winslow
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Kent
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Benton, see our County-by-County Page for Benton.
Cemeteries Near Benton ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Benton.
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 Benton - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Benton covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Benton, with the one closest to Benton listed first.
- Leslie Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Masonic Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Shawnee Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Council Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Old Elk Grove Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Grant Hill Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- White Oak Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- St. Peters Catholic Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Smelser Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- St. Matthew Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- St. Joseph Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Continue List (244 more) ...
- St. Clara Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- St. Joseph Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Miners Chapel Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Benton had a population of 414 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Benton had a population of 966 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Benton, with the one closest to Benton listed first.
- Lead Mine
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Lead Mine is located in Lafayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lead Mine
- Strawbridge
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Strawbridge is located in Lafayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strawbridge
- Etna
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Etna is located in Lafayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etna
- Hazel Green
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Hazel Green is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazel Green
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,219 people
- New Diggings
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- New Diggings is located in Lafayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Diggings
- Cuba City
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Cuba City is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,047 people
- Council Hill
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Council Hill is located in Jo Daviess County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Council Hill
- Elmo
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Elmo is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmo
- Meekers Grove
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Meekers Grove is located in Lafayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meekers Grove
- Millbrig ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Millbrig is located in Jo Daviess County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millbrig
- White Oak
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- White Oak is located in Lafayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Oak
- Elk Grove
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Elk Grove is located in Lafayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Grove
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Georgetown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Georgetown is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgetown
- Shullsburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Shullsburg is located in Lafayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shullsburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,192 people
- Sinsinawa
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Sinsinawa is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sinsinawa
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Benton. See our List of 1890's Communities around Benton.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Benton ...
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 179 newspapers that have been published in the area around Benton.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Benton. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Benton and those printed in the larger area surrounding Benton.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<4> of Benton.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Benton:
- Websites specific to Wisconsin
- Pages specific to Lafayette County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Grant County
- Green County
- Iowa County
- Clayton County
- Dubuque County
- Jackson County
- Carroll County
- Jo Daviess County
- Stephenson 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 Benton, 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- Benton) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |