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 Spring (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 Spring. 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 Spring ...
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 have occurred.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Big Spring: Big Spg. (or less commonly used: Big Spng. or Big Sprng.)
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 northwest 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 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 Spring is located in Adams 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 Adams County: Columbia, Juneau, Marquette, Portage, Sauk, Waushara & Wood.
Below are the counties that are near Big Spring. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Big Spring:
- Adams County (The home county of Big Spring)
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Spring, with the one closest to Big Spring listed first.
- Plainville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Plainville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainville
- Plainville is located in Adams County
- Easton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easton
- Easton is located in Adams County
- Adams
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adams
- Adams is located in Adams County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,905 people
- Quincy ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quincy
- Quincy is located in Adams County
- Friendship
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Friendship have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship
- Friendship is located in Adams County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 676 people
- Arkdale
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arkdale
- Arkdale is located in Adams County
- Columbia County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Spring, with the one closest to Big Spring listed first.
- Wisconsin Dells
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wisconsin Dells
- Wisconsin Dells is located in Columbia County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,061 people
- Portage
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portage
- Portage is located in Columbia County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,381 people
- Durwards Glen ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durwards Glen
- Durwards Glen is located in Columbia County
- Pardeeville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pardeeville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pardeeville
- Pardeeville is located in Columbia County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,053 people
- Lake Wisconsin
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Wisconsin have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Wisconsin
- Lake Wisconsin is located in Columbia County
- Wyocena
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyocena
- Wyocena is located in Columbia County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 727 people
- Former names for Wyocena:
- Duck Creek
- Wiocena
- Harmony Grove
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmony Grove
- Harmony Grove is located in Columbia County
- Okee
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Okee
- Okee is located in Columbia County
- Poynette
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poynette
- Poynette is located in Columbia County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,508 people
- Lodi
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lodi
- Lodi is located in Columbia County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,109 people
- Rio
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast) - Arlington
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington
- Arlington is located in Columbia County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 818 people
- Dane County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Spring, with the one closest to Big Spring listed first.
- Dane
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south) - Morrisonville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrisonville
- Morrisonville is located in Dane County
- Green Lake County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Spring, with the one closest to Big Spring listed first.
- Kingston
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingston
- Kingston is located in Green Lake County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 319 people
- Marquette
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east) - Princeton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Juneau County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Spring, with the one closest to Big Spring listed first.
- Lyndon Station
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lyndon Station have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyndon Station
- Lyndon Station is located in Juneau County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 485 people
- Lemonweir
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lemonweir
- Lemonweir is located in Juneau County
- Mauston
(23 miles [37 km] to the west) - New Lisbon
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Lisbon
- New Lisbon is located in Juneau County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,547 people
- Wonewoc
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Marquette County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Spring, with the one closest to Big Spring listed first.
- Douglas Center
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Douglas Center. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douglas Center
- Douglas Center is located in Marquette County
- Oxford
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxford
- Oxford is located in Marquette County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 604 people
- Endeavor
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east) - Packwaukee
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Packwaukee
- Packwaukee is located in Marquette County
- Glen Oak
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Oak
- Glen Oak is located in Marquette County
- Westfield
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast) - Montello
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast) - Germania
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast) - Neshkoro
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Richland County
- Cazenovia
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cazenovia
- Cazenovia is located in Richland County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 310 people
- Cazenovia
- Sauk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Spring, with the one closest to Big Spring listed first.
- Lake Delton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Delton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Delton
- Lake Delton is located in Sauk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,986 people
- Baraboo
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baraboo
- Baraboo is located in Sauk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,121 people
- West Baraboo
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Baraboo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Baraboo
- West Baraboo is located in Sauk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,416 people
- North Freedom
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Freedom have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Freedom
- North Freedom is located in Sauk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 690 people
- Rock Springs
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rock Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Springs
- Rock Springs is located in Sauk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 361 people
- Merrimac
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south) - Moon Valley
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moon Valley
- Moon Valley is located in Sauk County
- Reedsburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest) - Denzer
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denzer
- Denzer is located in Sauk County
- Loganville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Loganville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loganville
- Loganville is located in Sauk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 297 people
- La Valle
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Valle
- La Valle is located in Sauk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 360 people
- Ironton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Waushara County
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Big Spring, see our County-by-County Page for Big Spring.
Cemeteries Near Big Spring ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Big Spring.
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 Big Spring covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Big Spring, with the one closest to Big Spring listed first.
- Briggsville Protestant Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Briggsville Protestant Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1959651 <3>
- Greenwood Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Greenwood Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #88053 <3>
- Newport Lutheran Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Newport Lutheran Church Cemetery
- The Newport Lutheran Church Cemetery has also been known as:
- Newport Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery
- Newport Norwegian Lutheran Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2130958 <3>
- Cummings Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cummings Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #87763 <3>
- Calvary Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Calvary Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #87667 <3>
- Spring Grove Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Spring Grove Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #89303 <3>
- Hillcrest Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hillcrest Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #88141 <3>
- St. Paul Lutheran Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Paul Lutheran Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Paul Lutheran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- St. Paul Norwegian Lutheran Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Paul Norwegian Lutheran Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2201446 <3>
- Lakeview Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lakeview Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lakeview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- St. Michaels Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Michaels Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #89132 <3>
- Oxford Village Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oxford Village Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Oxford Village Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the northeast of Oxford.
- The Oxford Village Cemetery has also been known as:
- Oxford Cemetery
- Village Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1967858 <3>
- Continue List (215 more) ...
- Indian Baptist Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Indian Baptist Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Indian Baptist Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)- 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.
- Lake Delton Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lake Delton Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Lake Delton Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located less than 2 miles<4> to the east of Lake Delton.
- The Lake Delton Cemetery has also been known as:
- Wisconsin Dells Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1787579 <3>
- Indian Baptist Cemetery
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.<5>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Big Spring had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Big Spring, with the one closest to Big Spring listed first.
- Briggsville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Briggsville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briggsville
- Briggsville is located in Marquette County
- Dell Prairie ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dell Prairie have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dell Prairie
- Dell Prairie is located in Adams County
- Douglas Center
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Douglas Center. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douglas Center
- Douglas Center is located in Marquette County
- Oxford
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxford
- Oxford is located in Marquette County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 604 people
- Plainville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Plainville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainville
- Plainville is located in Adams County
- Packwaukee
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Packwaukee
- Packwaukee is located in Marquette County
- Portage
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portage
- Portage is located in Columbia County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,381 people
- Lyndon Station
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lyndon Station have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyndon Station
- Lyndon Station is located in Juneau County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 485 people
- New Chester ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Chester have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Chester
- New Chester is located in Adams County
- Baraboo
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baraboo
- Baraboo is located in Sauk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,121 people
- Easton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easton
- Easton is located in Adams County
- Grand Marsh
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grand Marsh have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Marsh
- Grand Marsh is located in Adams County
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- White Creek
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for White Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Creek
- White Creek is located in Adams County
- Dekorra
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast) - Montello
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- White Creek
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Big Spring. See our List of 1890's Communities around Big Spring.
Newspapers Published in Big Spring ...
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 121 newspapers that have been published in the area around Big Spring.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Big Spring, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Big Spring.
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 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 Big Spring:
- Websites specific to Wisconsin
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Website for the //www.wisconsinhistory.org/
- Pages specific to Adams County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Columbia County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Dane County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Green Lake County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Juneau County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Marquette County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Richland County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Sauk County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Waushara County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Columbia County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Wisconsin
- Cemetery Junction: Cemeteries of Wisconsin
- Cyndi's List
- Cemeteries of Wisconsin
- Cemeteries of Adams County
- FamilySearch.org: Cemeteries of Wisconsin
- Find-A-Grave: Home Page
- Interment.net
- Cemeteries of Wisconsin
- Cemeteries of Adams County
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Big Spring. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Adams County: www.co.adams.wi.us/
The official website for State of Wisconsin: https://www.wisconsin.gov/
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> | 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. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Big Spring) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Big Spring. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.6694, Longitude: -89.6437 In this case, the coordinates for Big Spring have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <5> | 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 Spring, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |