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 Blue River (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 Blue River. 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 Blue River ...
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 Blue River: Blue Riv.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Blue River. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Blue River.
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 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.
Blue River is located in Grant 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 Grant County: Clayton (IA), Dubuque (IA), Jo Daviess (IL), Crawford, Iowa, Lafayette & Richland.
Below are the counties that are near Blue River. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Blue River:
- Grant County (The home county of Blue River)
- The following are listed by their distance from Blue River, with the one closest to Blue River listed first.
- Muscoda
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Muscoda is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muscoda
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,236 people
- Boscobel
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Boscobel is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boscobel
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,134 people
- Woodman
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Woodman is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 129 people
- Fennimore
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Fennimore is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fennimore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,469 people
- Preston
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Preston is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Preston
- Werley
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Werley is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Werley
- Montfort
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Montfort is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montfort
- Population from the 2020 Census: 675 people
- Mount Ida
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Ida is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Ida
- Stitzer
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Stitzer is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stitzer
- Annaton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Annaton is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Annaton
- Livingston
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Livingston is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Livingston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 632 people
- Millville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Millville is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millville
- Crawford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blue River, with the one closest to Blue River listed first.
- Boydtown
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Boydtown is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boydtown
- Bell Center
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Bell Center is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell Center
- Population from the 2020 Census: 114 people
- Petersburg
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Petersburg is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersburg
- Steuben
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Steuben is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steuben
- Population from the 2020 Census: 121 people
- Gays Mills
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Gays Mills is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gays Mills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 504 people
- Soldiers Grove
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Soldiers Grove is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soldiers Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 535 people
- Wauzeka
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Wauzeka is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wauzeka
- Population from the 2020 Census: 733 people
- Mount Sterling
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Sterling is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Sterling
- Population from the 2020 Census: 196 people
- Towerville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Towerville is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Towerville
- Eastman
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Eastman is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 404 people
- Rising Sun
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Rising Sun is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rising Sun
- Bridgeport
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Bridgeport is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeport
- Iowa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blue River, with the one closest to Blue River listed first.
- Avoca
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Avoca is located in Iowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avoca
- Population from the 2020 Census: 620 people
- Centreville ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Centreville is located in Iowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centreville
- Former name for Centreville:
- Dry Bone
- Highland
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Highland is located in Iowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 826 people
- Cobb
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Cobb is located in Iowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobb
- Population from the 2020 Census: 455 people
- Edmund
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Edmund is located in Iowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmund
- Linden
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Linden is located in Iowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linden
- Population from the 2020 Census: 523 people
- Rewey
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Rewey is located in Iowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rewey
- Population from the 2020 Census: 283 people
- Pleasant Ridge
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Pleasant Ridge is located in Iowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Ridge
- Helena
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Helena is located in Iowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helena
- Dodgeville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Dodgeville is located in Iowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodgeville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,677 people
- Mineral Point
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Mineral Point is located in Iowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral Point
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,454 people
- Hyde
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Hyde is located in Iowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hyde
- Richland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blue River, with the one closest to Blue River listed first.
- Westport
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Westport is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westport
- Balmoral
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Balmoral is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balmoral
- Boaz
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Boaz is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boaz
- Population from the 2020 Census: 148 people
- Richland Center
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Richland Center is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richland Center
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,949 people
- Sextonville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Sextonville is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sextonville
- Sabin
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Sabin is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sabin
- Aubrey
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Aubrey is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aubrey
- Gillingham
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Gillingham is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gillingham
- Lone Rock
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Lone Rock is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Rock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 835 people
- Ithaca
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Ithaca is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ithaca
- Bear Valley
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Bear Valley is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Valley
- Neptune
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Neptune is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neptune
- Sauk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blue River, with the one closest to Blue River listed first.
- Spring Green
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Spring Green is located in Sauk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Green
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,630 people
- Sandusky
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Sandusky is located in Sauk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandusky
- Plain
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Plain is located in Sauk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plain
- Population from the 2020 Census: 765 people
- Lime Ridge
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Lime Ridge is located in Sauk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lime Ridge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 163 people
- Vernon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blue River, with the one closest to Blue River listed first.
- Readstown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Readstown is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Readstown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 414 people
- Liberty
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Liberty is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
- Fargo
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Fargo is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fargo
- Liberty Pole
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Liberty Pole is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Pole
- La Farge
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- La Farge is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Farge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 763 people
- West Prairie
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- West Prairie is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Prairie
- White City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- White City is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
- Viroqua
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Viroqua is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Viroqua
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,394 people
- Allamakee County (IA)
- Harpers Ferry
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Blue River, see our County-by-County Page for Blue River.
Cemeteries Near Blue River ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Blue River.
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 Blue River - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Blue River covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Blue River, with the one closest to Blue River listed first.
- Blue River Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Coumbe Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Greenwood Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Sand Prairie Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Beulah Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Newburn Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Haskins Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Pipal Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Dawson Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Basswood Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Methodist Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- West Fork Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (221 more) ...
- Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery is located 4 miles [6.4 km]<2> to the southwest of Boaz.
- The Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery has also been known as:
- Maple Ridge Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2350091 <3>
- Wayne Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Tavera Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 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.<4>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Blue River had a population of 36 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Blue River had a population of 418 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Blue River, with the one closest to Blue River listed first.
- Byrds Creek
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Byrds Creek is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byrds Creek
- Westport
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Westport is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westport
- Excelsior
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Excelsior is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Excelsior
- Muscoda
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Muscoda is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muscoda
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,236 people
- Balmoral
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Balmoral is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balmoral
- Basswood
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Basswood is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Basswood
- Boscobel
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Boscobel is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boscobel
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,134 people
- Homer
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Homer is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homer
- Orion
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Orion is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orion
- Five Points
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Five Points is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Points
- Boaz
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Boaz is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boaz
- Population from the 2020 Census: 148 people
- Boydtown
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Boydtown is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boydtown
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Avoca
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Avoca is located in Iowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avoca
- Population from the 2020 Census: 620 people
- Woodman
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Woodman is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 129 people
- Centreville ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Centreville is located in Iowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centreville
- Former name for Centreville:
- Dry Bone
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Blue River. See our List of 1890's Communities around Blue River.
Newspapers Published in Blue River ...
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 153 newspapers that have been published in the area around Blue River.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Blue River, 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 Blue River.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start 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 Blue River:
- Websites specific to Wisconsin
- Pages specific to Grant County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Crawford County
- Iowa County
- Richland County
- Sauk County
- Vernon County
- Allamakee 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> | 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- Blue River) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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> | 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 Blue River, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |