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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 Black Earth (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 Black Earth. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Black Earth is located in Dane 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 Dane County: Columbia, Dodge, Green, Iowa, Jefferson, Rock & Sauk.

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

  • Dane County     (The home county of Black Earth)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Black Earth, with the one closest to Black Earth listed first.
    • Mazomanie
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Mazomanie is located in Dane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mazomanie
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,715 people
    • Cross Plains
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Cross Plains is located in Dane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross Plains
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,280 people
    • Marxville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Elvers
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Martinsville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Mount Horeb
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Mount Horeb is located in Dane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Horeb
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,563 people
    • Klevenville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Blue Mounds
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Blue Mounds is located in Dane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Mounds
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 990 people
    • Ashton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Ashton Corners
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Middleton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Middleton is located in Dane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middleton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 20,195 people
    • Pheasant Branch
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Pheasant Branch is located in Dane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pheasant Branch
  • Columbia County
  • Green County
  • Iowa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Black Earth, with the one closest to Black Earth listed first.
    • Cassell
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Arena
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Barneveld
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Barneveld is located in Iowa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barneveld
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,252 people
    • Hyde
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Helena
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Ridgeway
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Ridgeway is located in Iowa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeway
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 635 people
    • Pleasant Ridge
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Hollandale
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Moscow
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Dodgeville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Dodgeville is located in Iowa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodgeville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,677 people
    • Edmund
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Avoca
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Avoca is located in Iowa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avoca
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 620 people
  • Lafayette County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Black Earth, with the one closest to Black Earth listed first.
    • Blanchardville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Argyle
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Argyle is located in Lafayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argyle
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 809 people
  • Richland County
  • Sauk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Black Earth, with the one closest to Black Earth listed first.
    • Sauk City
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Sauk City is located in Sauk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sauk City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,498 people
    • Prairie du Sac village
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Witwen
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Denzer
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Moon Valley
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Spring Green
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Spring Green is located in Sauk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Green
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,630 people
    • Merrimac
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Merrimac is located in Sauk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrimac
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 441 people
    • Leland
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Plain
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Plain is located in Sauk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plain
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 765 people
    • Baraboo
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • North Freedom
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • North Freedom is located in Sauk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Freedom
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 690 people
    • West Baraboo
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • West Baraboo is located in Sauk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Baraboo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,416 people

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

Cemeteries Near Black Earth ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Black Earth.

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 Black Earth - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

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 Black Earth had a population of 355 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Black Earth had a population of 1,422 people.

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

  • Mazomanie
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Mazomanie is located in Dane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mazomanie
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,715 people
  • Elvers
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Cross Plains
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Cross Plains is located in Dane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross Plains
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,280 people
  • Marxville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Pine Bluff
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Pine Bluff is located in Dane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Bluff
  • Blue Mounds
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Blue Mounds is located in Dane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Mounds
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 990 people
  • Mount Horeb
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Mount Horeb is located in Dane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Horeb
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,563 people
  • Klevenville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Roxbury
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Roxbury is located in Dane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roxbury
  • Cassell
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Arena
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Springfield Corners
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Springfield Corners is located in Dane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springfield Corners
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Sauk City
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Sauk City is located in Sauk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sauk City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,498 people
    • Riley
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Riley is located in Dane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riley
    • West Middleton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • West Middleton is located in Dane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Middleton

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Black Earth ...

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 208 newspapers that have been published in the area around Black Earth.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Black Earth. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Black Earth and those printed in the larger area surrounding Black Earth.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<3> of Black Earth.

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 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 Black Earth:

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<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 Black Earth, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Black Earth) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.