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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 Flats (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 Flats. 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 Big Flats ...

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 occur.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Big Flats: Big Flts.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Big Flats. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Big Flats.

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.

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 and doctors 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.

Big Flats is located in Adams 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 Adams County: Columbia, Juneau, Marquette, Portage, Sauk, Waushara & Wood.

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

  • Adams County     (The home county of Big Flats)
  • Jackson County
  • Juneau County
  • Marquette County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Flats, with the one closest to Big Flats listed first.
    • Westfield
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Westfield is located in Marquette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,268 people
    • Oxford
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Packwaukee
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Monroe County
  • Portage County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Flats, with the one closest to Big Flats listed first.
    • Almond
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Blaine
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Plover
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Plover is located in Portage County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plover
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,252 people
    • Whiting
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Whiting is located in Portage County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiting
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,704 people
    • Arnott
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Stevens Point
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • Park Ridge
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Park Ridge is located in Portage County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park Ridge
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 496 people
  • Waushara County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Flats, with the one closest to Big Flats listed first.
    • Hancock
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Hancock is located in Waushara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hancock
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 402 people
    • Coloma
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Coloma is located in Waushara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coloma
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 444 people
    • Plainfield
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Plainfield is located in Waushara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 832 people
    • Wautoma
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Wautoma is located in Waushara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wautoma
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,114 people
    • Wild Rose
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Silver Lake
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Silver Lake is located in Waushara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Lake
    • Mount Morris
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Wood County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Flats, with the one closest to Big Flats listed first.
    • Nekoosa
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Port Edwards
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Grand Rapids
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Lake Wazeecha
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Lake Wazeecha is located in Wood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Wazeecha
    • Wisconsin Rapids
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Biron
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Biron is located in Wood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Biron
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 761 people
    • Eight Corners
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Rudolph
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Rudolph is located in Wood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rudolph
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 411 people
    • Vesper
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Pittsville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Pittsville is located in Wood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittsville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 820 people

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

Cemeteries Near Big Flats ...

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

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 Flats - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Niebull Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Cottonville Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Edwardson Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • East Arkdale Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Indian Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Holliday Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Spring Branch Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Monroe Center Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • West Arkdale Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • South Arkdale Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Strongs Prairie Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • St. Leos Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (141 more) ...
    • Mt. Repose Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Coloma - Leola Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Green Hill Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)

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.<1>

While we didn't find Big Flats in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Big Flats.

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

  • Roche a Cri ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Roche a Cri is located in Adams County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roche a Cri
  • Arkdale
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Monroe Center
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Monroe Center is located in Adams County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe Center
  • Strongs Prairie
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Friendship
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Friendship is located in Adams County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 676 people
  • New Rome ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Pilot Knob ‑ Historic
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Pilot Knob is located in Adams County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilot Knob
  • Adams Center ‑ Historic
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Adams Center is located in Adams County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adams Center
  • Hancock
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Hancock is located in Waushara County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hancock
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 402 people
  • Coloma
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Coloma is located in Waushara County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coloma
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 444 people
  • Grand Marsh
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Grand Marsh is located in Adams County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Marsh
  • Sprague
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Port Edwards
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Quincy ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Plainfield
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Plainfield is located in Waushara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 832 people

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

Newspapers Published in Big Flats ...

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 72 newspapers that have been published in the area around Big Flats.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Big Flats, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Big Flats.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Big Flats:

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Flats, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<2>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- Big Flats) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.