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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 Big Falls (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 Big Falls. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.

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 north 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.

Big Falls is located in Waupaca 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 Waupaca County: Marathon, Outagamie, Portage, Shawano, Waushara & Winnebago.

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

  • Waupaca County     (The home county of Big Falls)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Falls, with the one closest to Big Falls listed first.
    • Granite City ‑ Historic
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Granite City is located in Waupaca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granite City
    • Marion
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Marion is located in Waupaca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marion
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,167 people
    • Iola
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Iola is located in Waupaca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iola
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,190 people
    • Ogdensburg
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Ogdensburg is located in Waupaca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogdensburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 175 people
    • Manawa
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Manawa is located in Waupaca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manawa
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,269 people
    • Scandinavia
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Scandinavia is located in Waupaca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scandinavia
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 349 people
    • Clintonville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Clintonville is located in Waupaca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clintonville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,353 people
    • Little Wolf ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Little Wolf is located in Waupaca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Wolf
    • Embarrass
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Embarrass is located in Waupaca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Embarrass
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 375 people
    • Baldwins Mill
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Baldwins Mill is located in Waupaca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baldwins Mill
    • Ostrander
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Ostrander is located in Waupaca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ostrander
    • Sheridan
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Sheridan is located in Waupaca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheridan
    • Waupaca
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Waupaca is located in Waupaca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waupaca
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,857 people
  • Langlade County
    • Phlox
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Phlox is located in Langlade County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phlox
  • Marathon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Falls, with the one closest to Big Falls listed first.
    • Galloway
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Galloway is located in Marathon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galloway
    • Elderon
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Elderon is located in Marathon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elderon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 213 people
    • Norrie
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Norrie is located in Marathon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norrie
    • Pike Lake
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Pike Lake is located in Marathon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pike Lake
    • Hatley
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Hatley is located in Marathon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 603 people
    • Ringle
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Ringle is located in Marathon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ringle
    • Ashley
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Ashley is located in Marathon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashley
  • Menominee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Falls, with the one closest to Big Falls listed first.
    • Neopit
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Neopit is located in Menominee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neopit
    • Keshena
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Keshena is located in Menominee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keshena
    • Zoar
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Zoar is located in Menominee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zoar
    • Legend Lake
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Legend Lake is located in Menominee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Legend Lake
  • Outagamie County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Falls, with the one closest to Big Falls listed first.
    • Bear Creek
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Bear Creek is located in Outagamie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Creek
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 439 people
    • Leeman
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Leeman is located in Outagamie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leeman
    • Shiocton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Shiocton is located in Outagamie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiocton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 914 people
    • Nichols
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Nichols is located in Outagamie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nichols
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 283 people
    • Hortonville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Hortonville is located in Outagamie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hortonville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,976 people
    • Black Creek
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Black Creek is located in Outagamie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Creek
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,309 people
    • Medina
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Medina is located in Outagamie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medina
  • Portage County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Falls, with the one closest to Big Falls listed first.
    • Alban
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Alban is located in Portage County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alban
    • Garfield
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Garfield is located in Portage County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garfield
    • Rosholt
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Rosholt is located in Portage County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosholt
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 481 people
    • Nelsonville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Nelsonville is located in Portage County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nelsonville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 151 people
    • Amherst
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Amherst is located in Portage County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amherst
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,082 people
    • Amherst Junction
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Amherst Junction is located in Portage County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amherst Junction
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 392 people
    • Lake Emily ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Lake Emily is located in Portage County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Emily
    • Polonia
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Polonia is located in Portage County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polonia
    • Custer
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Custer is located in Portage County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Custer
    • Ellis
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Ellis is located in Portage County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellis
    • Arnott
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Arnott is located in Portage County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnott
    • Torun
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Torun is located in Portage County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Torun
    • Blaine
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Blaine is located in Portage County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blaine
  • Shawano County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Falls, with the one closest to Big Falls listed first.
    • Split Rock
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Split Rock is located in Shawano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Split Rock
    • Tigerton
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Tigerton is located in Shawano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tigerton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 702 people
    • Leopolis
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Leopolis is located in Shawano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leopolis
    • Pella
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Pella is located in Shawano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pella
    • Bowler
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Bowler is located in Shawano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowler
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 286 people
    • Wittenberg
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Wittenberg is located in Shawano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wittenberg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 986 people
    • Belle Plaine
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Belle Plaine is located in Shawano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Plaine
    • Almon
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Almon is located in Shawano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almon
    • Regina
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Regina is located in Shawano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Regina
    • Gresham
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Gresham is located in Shawano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gresham
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 563 people
    • Eland
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Eland is located in Shawano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 205 people
    • Shawano
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Shawano is located in Shawano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawano
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,885 people
    • Birnamwood
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Birnamwood is located in Shawano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birnamwood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 772 people
  • Waushara County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Falls, with the one closest to Big Falls listed first.
    • West Bloomfield
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • West Bloomfield is located in Waushara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Bloomfield
    • Saxeville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Saxeville is located in Waushara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saxeville
  • Winnebago County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Falls, with the one closest to Big Falls listed first.
    • Orihula
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Orihula is located in Winnebago County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orihula
    • Zittau
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Zittau is located in Winnebago County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zittau

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

Cemeteries Near Big Falls ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Big Falls.

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 Big Falls - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Big Falls covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Big Falls Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • St. Johns Trinity Lutheran Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Johns Trinity Lutheran Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Johns Trinity Lutheran Cemetery is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<1> to the west of Marion.
    • The St. Johns Trinity Lutheran Cemetery has also been known as:
    • St. Johns Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #88986 <2>
  • Hitterdahl Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Roseland Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Greenleaf Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Danish Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Marble Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • St. John's Lutheran Church Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Iola Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Lola Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Union Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (172 more) ...
    • Salem Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Zion Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Northland Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)

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 in 1895, Big Falls had a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Big Falls had a population of 69 people.

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

  • Hunting
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Hunting is located in Shawano County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunting
  • Split Rock
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Split Rock is located in Shawano County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Split Rock
  • Marion
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Marion is located in Waupaca County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marion
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,167 people
  • Tigerton
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Tigerton is located in Shawano County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tigerton
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 702 people
  • Marble ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Marble is located in Waupaca County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marble
  • Northland
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Northland is located in Waupaca County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northland
  • Iola
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Iola is located in Waupaca County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iola
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,190 people
  • Symco
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Symco is located in Waupaca County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Symco
  • Buckbee
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Buckbee is located in Waupaca County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckbee
  • Caroline
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Caroline is located in Shawano County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caroline
  • Peru
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Peru is located in Portage County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peru
  • Ogdensburg
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Ogdensburg is located in Waupaca County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogdensburg
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 175 people
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Manawa
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Manawa is located in Waupaca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manawa
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,269 people
    • Nicholson
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Nicholson is located in Waupaca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicholson
    • Scandinavia
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Scandinavia is located in Waupaca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scandinavia
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 349 people

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

Newspapers Published in Big Falls ...

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 114 newspapers that have been published in the area around Big Falls.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Big Falls, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<1>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Big Falls.

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 websites either 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 Big Falls:

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Big Falls) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Big Falls, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.