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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 Bowers (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 Bowers. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Bowers is located in Walworth 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 Walworth County: Boone (IL), McHenry (IL), Jefferson, Kenosha, Racine, Rock & Waukesha.

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

  • Walworth County     (The home county of Bowers)
  • Jefferson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bowers, with the one closest to Bowers listed first.
    • Palmyra
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Palmyra is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmyra
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,746 people
    • Hebron
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Hebron is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hebron
    • Cold Spring
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Rome
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Rome is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rome
    • Sullivan
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Sullivan is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sullivan
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 666 people
    • Fort Atkinson
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Helenville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Concord
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Concord is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
    • Farmington
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Jefferson
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Jefferson is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,037 people
    • Lake Koshkonong
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Lake Koshkonong is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Koshkonong
    • Carcajou
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Kenosha County
  • Milwaukee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bowers, with the one closest to Bowers listed first.
    • Union Church
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Saint Martins
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Franklin
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Franklin is located in Milwaukee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 35,925 people
    • Hales Corners
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Hales Corners is located in Milwaukee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hales Corners
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,553 people
    • Greendale
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Greendale is located in Milwaukee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greendale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 14,127 people
    • Greenfield
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Racine County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bowers, with the one closest to Bowers listed first.
    • Honey Creek
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Burlington
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Burlington is located in Racine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlington
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,898 people
    • Bohners Lake
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Bohners Lake is located in Racine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bohners Lake
    • Browns Lake
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Browns Lake is located in Racine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browns Lake
    • Rochester
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Waterford
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Waterford is located in Racine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,618 people
    • Caldwell
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Eagle Lake
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Eagle Lake is located in Racine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Lake
    • Wind Lake
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Union Grove
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Union Grove is located in Racine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Grove
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,266 people
    • Yorkville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Yorkville is located in Racine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorkville
    • Kneeland
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
  • Rock County
  • Waukesha County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bowers, with the one closest to Bowers listed first.
    • Eagleville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Eagle
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Mukwonago
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Mukwonago is located in Waukesha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mukwonago
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,107 people
    • North Prairie
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • North Prairie is located in Waukesha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Prairie
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,236 people
    • Big Bend
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Big Bend is located in Waukesha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Bend
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,487 people
    • Vernon
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Vernon is located in Waukesha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vernon
    • Genesee
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Genesee is located in Waukesha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Genesee
    • Genesee Depot
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Ottawa
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Wales
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Wales is located in Waukesha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wales
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,651 people
    • Muskego
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Muskego is located in Waukesha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muskego
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 25,317 people
    • Dousman
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Dousman is located in Waukesha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dousman
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,317 people
  • Boone County (IL)
  • Lake County (IL)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bowers, with the one closest to Bowers listed first.
    • Channel Lake
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Channel Lake is located in Lake County (IL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Channel Lake
    • Lake Catherine
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Lake Catherine is located in Lake County (IL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Catherine
    • Fox Lake
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Antioch
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Antioch is located in Lake County (IL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antioch
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 14,174 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Antioch <1>
    • Fox Lake Hills
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Fox Lake Hills is located in Lake County (IL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox Lake Hills
    • Ingleside
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Lake Villa
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Monaville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Long Lake
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Long Lake is located in Lake County (IL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Lake
    • Round Lake Heights
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Fossland
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Lindenhurst
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Lindenhurst is located in Lake County (IL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lindenhurst
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 14,117 people
      • Lindenhurst has also been known as:
      • Lindenhurst village
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lindenhurst <1>
  • McHenry County (IL)

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

Cemeteries Near Bowers ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bowers.

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

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

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

  • Hickory Grove Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Union Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • North Geneva Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • White Oak Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Hudson Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Potters Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Hazel Ridge Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Dunbar Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Oak Hill Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • St. Joseph Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • German Settlement Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Westville Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (279 more) ...

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.<3>

While we didn't find Bowers in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Bowers.

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

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

Newspapers Published in Bowers ...

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 93 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bowers.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bowers, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bowers.

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 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 Bowers:

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>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.
<3>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 Bowers, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Bowers) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.