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 Birch (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 Birch. 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 hospitals 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.
Birch is located in Ashland 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 Ashland County: Bayfield, Iron, Price & Sawyer.
Below are the counties that are near Birch. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Birch:
- Ashland County (The home county of Birch)
- The following are listed by their distance from Birch, with the one closest to Birch listed first.
- Odanah
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Odanah is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Odanah
- High Bridge
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- High Bridge is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Bridge
- Marengo
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Marengo is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marengo
- White River
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- White River is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White River
- White City
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- White City is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
- Mellen
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Mellen is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mellen
- Population from the 2020 Census: 686 people
- Tannery Town
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Tannery Town is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tannery Town
- Ashland
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Ashland is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,766 people
- La Pointe
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- La Pointe is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Pointe
- Glidden
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Glidden is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glidden
- Bayfield County
- The following are listed by their distance from Birch, with the one closest to Birch listed first.
- Washburn
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Washburn is located in Bayfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washburn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,049 people
- Bayfield
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Bayfield is located in Bayfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 474 people
- Benoit
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Benoit is located in Bayfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benoit
- Mason
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Mason is located in Bayfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason
- Population from the 2020 Census: 99 people
- Moquah
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Moquah is located in Bayfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moquah
- Sutherland
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Sutherland is located in Bayfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sutherland
- Iron County
- The following are listed by their distance from Birch, with the one closest to Birch listed first.
- Cedar
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Cedar is located in Iron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar
- Montreal
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Montreal is located in Iron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montreal
- Population from the 2020 Census: 752 people
- Gile
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Gile is located in Iron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gile
- Hurley
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Hurley is located in Iron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hurley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,424 people
- Gogebic County (MI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Birch, with the one closest to Birch listed first.
- North Ironwood
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- North Ironwood is located in Gogebic County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Ironwood
- Hillcrest
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Hillcrest is located in Gogebic County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillcrest
- Ironwood
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Yale
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Yale is located in Gogebic County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yale
- Bessemer
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Ramsay
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Ramsay is located in Gogebic County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ramsay
- Connorville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Connorville is located in Gogebic County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Connorville
- Thomaston
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Thomaston is located in Gogebic County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomaston
- Wakefield
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Birch, see our County-by-County Page for Birch.
Cemeteries Near Birch ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Birch.
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 Birch - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Birch covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Birch, with the one closest to Birch listed first.
- Edgewood Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Lake View Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Odanah Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Historic Indian Burial Grounds
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Calvary Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Greenwood Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Hillside Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Mt. Hope Cemetery
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- St. Agnes Cemetery
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- B'nai Israel Cemetery
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Maple Grove Cemetery
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (18 more) ...
- Greenwood Cemetery
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- La Pointe Cemetery
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Calvary Cemetery
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
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.<2>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Birch had railroad service and no post office.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Birch, with the one closest to Birch listed first.
- Sedgwick
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Sedgwick is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedgwick
- Odanah
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Odanah is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Odanah
- High Bridge
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- High Bridge is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Bridge
- Marengo
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Marengo is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marengo
- White River
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- White River is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White River
- Mellen
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Mellen is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mellen
- Population from the 2020 Census: 686 people
- Ashland
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Ashland is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,766 people
- Sanborn
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Sanborn is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sanborn
- Washburn
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Washburn is located in Bayfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washburn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,049 people
- Ashland Junction
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Ashland Junction is located in Bayfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland Junction
- Hurley
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Hurley is located in Iron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hurley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,424 people
- La Pointe
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- La Pointe is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Pointe
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Ironwood
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Morse
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Morse is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morse
- Jessieville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Jessieville is located in Gogebic County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jessieville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Birch. See our List of 1890's Communities around Birch.
Newspapers Published in Birch ...
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 80 newspapers that have been published in the area around Birch.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Birch, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Birch.
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 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 Birch:
- Websites specific to Wisconsin
- Pages specific to Ashland County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bayfield County
- Iron County
- Gogebic 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> | 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 Birch, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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- Birch) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |