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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 Birnamwood (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 Birnamwood. 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 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.

Birnamwood is primarily located in Shawano County. A portion of Birnamwood extends into Marathon 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 Shawano County: Brown, Langlade, Marathon, Menominee, Oconto, Outagamie, Portage & Waupaca.

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

  • Shawano County     (The home county of Birnamwood)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Birnamwood, with the one closest to Birnamwood listed first.
    • Eland
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Aniwa
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Aniwa is located in Shawano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aniwa
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 252 people
    • Wittenberg
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Regina
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Mattoon
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Mattoon is located in Shawano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mattoon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 412 people
    • Almon
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Bowler
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Bowler is located in Shawano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowler
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 286 people
    • Tigerton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Split Rock
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Gresham
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Leopolis
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Middle Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Middle Village is located in Shawano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middle Village
  • Langlade County
  • Lincoln County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Birnamwood, with the one closest to Birnamwood listed first.
    • Dutch Corners ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Gleason
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Merrill
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Merrill is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrill
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,990 people
    • Dudley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Marathon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Birnamwood, with the one closest to Birnamwood listed first.
    • Norrie
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Norrie is located in Marathon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norrie
    • Hatley
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Elderon
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Elderon is located in Marathon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elderon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 213 people
    • Pike Lake
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Ringle
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Sunset
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Glandon
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Galloway
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Nutterville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Weston
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Weston is located in Marathon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weston
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 15,165 people
    • Schofield
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Schofield is located in Marathon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schofield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,153 people
    • Kronenwetter
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
  • Menominee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Birnamwood, with the one closest to Birnamwood listed first.
    • Zoar
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Neopit
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Neopit is located in Menominee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neopit
    • Keshena
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Legend Lake
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Legend Lake is located in Menominee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Legend Lake
  • Portage County
  • Waupaca County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Birnamwood, with the one closest to Birnamwood listed first.
    • Big Falls
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Big Falls is located in Waupaca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Falls
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 69 people
    • Granite City ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Granite City is located in Waupaca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granite City
    • Marion
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Iola
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Iola is located in Waupaca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iola
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,190 people
    • Embarrass
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Embarrass is located in Waupaca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Embarrass
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 375 people

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

Cemeteries Near Birnamwood ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Birnamwood.

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

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

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

  • Forest Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • St. Philomene Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Hillcrest Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Francis Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Eland Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Bethany Lutheran Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethany Lutheran Cemetery
    • The Bethany Lutheran Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Bethany Cemetery
  • St. Boniface Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Leiskau Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • St. Pauls Lutheran Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Pauls Lutheran Cemetery
    • The St. Pauls Lutheran Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Old St. Paulus Cemetery
    • St. Pauls Cemetery
  • Holy Family Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Woodlawn Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Rolling Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (101 more) ...
    • Forest Home Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Holy Family Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Riverside Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside Cemetery
      • The Riverside Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Evangelical Lutheran 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.<1>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Birnamwood had a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Birnamwood had a population of 772 people.

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

  • Norrie
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Norrie is located in Marathon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norrie
  • Eland
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Aniwa
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Aniwa is located in Shawano County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aniwa
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 252 people
  • Hatley
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Wittenberg
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Hogarty
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Hogarty is located in Marathon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hogarty
  • Elmhurst
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Elmhurst is located in Langlade County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmhurst
  • Regina
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Pike Lake
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Elderon
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Elderon is located in Marathon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elderon
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 213 people
  • Whitcomb
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Whitcomb is located in Shawano County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitcomb
  • Phlox
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (18 more) ...
    • Bevent
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Bevent is located in Marathon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bevent
    • Antigo
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Callon
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Callon is located in Marathon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Callon

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Birnamwood ...

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 69 newspapers that have been published in the area around Birnamwood.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Birnamwood. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Birnamwood and those printed in the larger area surrounding Birnamwood.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<2> of Birnamwood.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Birnamwood:

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 Birnamwood, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<2>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 from Point A (ie- Birnamwood) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.