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 Comstock (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 Comstock. 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 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.
Comstock is located in Barron 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 Barron County: Burnett, Chippewa, Dunn, Polk, Rusk, Saint Croix, Sawyer & Washburn.
Below are the counties that are near Comstock. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Comstock:
- Barron County (The home county of Comstock)
- The following are listed by their distance from Comstock, with the one closest to Comstock listed first.
- Cumberland
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Cumberland is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,097 people
- Almena
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Almena is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almena
- Population from the 2020 Census: 638 people
- Turtle Lake
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Turtle Lake is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turtle Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 990 people
- Poskin
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Poskin is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poskin
- Twin Town
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Twin Town is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Town
- Barron
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Barron is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barron
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,235 people
- Hillsdale
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Hillsdale is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
- Cameron
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Cameron is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cameron
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,798 people
- Rice Lake
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Rice Lake is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rice Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,498 people
- Haugen
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Haugen is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haugen
- Population from the 2020 Census: 270 people
- Prairie Farm
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Prairie Farm is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Farm
- Population from the 2020 Census: 434 people
- Dallas
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Dallas is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dallas
- Population from the 2020 Census: 344 people
- Chetek
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Chetek is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chetek
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,094 people
- Burnett County
- The following are listed by their distance from Comstock, with the one closest to Comstock listed first.
- Bashaw
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Bashaw is located in Burnett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bashaw
- Hertel
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Hertel is located in Burnett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hertel
- Siren
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Siren is located in Burnett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siren
- Population from the 2020 Census: 780 people
- Webster
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Webster is located in Burnett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
- Population from the 2020 Census: 620 people
- Dunn County
- The following are listed by their distance from Comstock, with the one closest to Comstock listed first.
- Ridgeland
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Ridgeland is located in Dunn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 276 people
- Boyceville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Boyceville is located in Dunn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyceville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,124 people
- Downing
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Downing is located in Dunn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downing
- Population from the 2020 Census: 262 people
- Polk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Comstock, with the one closest to Comstock listed first.
- Clayton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Clayton is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clayton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 541 people
- Bunyan
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Bunyan is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunyan
- Clam Falls
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Clam Falls is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clam Falls
- Volga ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Volga is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Volga
- Amery
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Amery is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amery
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,799 people
- Clear Lake
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Clear Lake is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,099 people
- Balsam Lake
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Balsam Lake is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balsam Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 978 people
- Deronda
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Deronda is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deronda
- Luck
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Luck is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luck
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,051 people
- Milltown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Milltown is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milltown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 875 people
- Frederic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Frederic is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frederic
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,080 people
- Centuria
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Centuria is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centuria
- Population from the 2020 Census: 905 people
- Atlas
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Atlas is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atlas
- Rusk County
- Strickland
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Strickland is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strickland
- Saint Croix County
- The following are listed by their distance from Comstock, with the one closest to Comstock listed first.
- Deer Park
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Deer Park is located in Saint Croix County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 212 people
- Glenwood City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Glenwood City is located in Saint Croix County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,214 people
- Star Prairie
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Star Prairie is located in Saint Croix County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star Prairie
- Population from the 2020 Census: 549 people
- Washburn County
- The following are listed by their distance from Comstock, with the one closest to Comstock listed first.
- Shell Lake
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Shell Lake is located in Washburn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shell Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,318 people
- Nobleton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Nobleton is located in Washburn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nobleton
- Spooner
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Spooner is located in Washburn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spooner
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,553 people
- Madge
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Madge is located in Washburn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madge
- Birchwood
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Birchwood is located in Washburn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birchwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 426 people
- Chisago County (MN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Comstock, with the one closest to Comstock listed first.
- Taylors Falls
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Franconia
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Franconia is located in Chisago County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franconia
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Comstock, see our County-by-County Page for Comstock.
Cemeteries Near Comstock ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Comstock.
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 Comstock - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Comstock covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Comstock, with the one closest to Comstock listed first.
- Comstock Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Zion Lutheran Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Bethany Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Lake View Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Ebenezer Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- St. Anthony Abbot Catholic Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Lake Side Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- St. Matthew Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- St. Lukes Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Mt. Hope Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- St. Ann Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (115 more) ...
- Poskin Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- East Cumberland Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Bethany Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Comstock had a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Comstock, with the one closest to Comstock listed first.
- Almena
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Almena is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almena
- Population from the 2020 Census: 638 people
- Cumberland
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Cumberland is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,097 people
- Turtle Lake
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Turtle Lake is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turtle Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 990 people
- Joel
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Joel is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joel
- Clayton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Clayton is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clayton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 541 people
- Barronett
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Barronett is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barronett
- Richardson
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Richardson is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richardson
- Barron
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Barron is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barron
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,235 people
- Bunyan
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Bunyan is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunyan
- Hillsdale
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Hillsdale is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
- Cameron
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Cameron is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cameron
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,798 people
- Rice Lake
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Rice Lake is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rice Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,498 people
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Haugen
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Haugen is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haugen
- Population from the 2020 Census: 270 people
- Volga ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Volga is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Volga
- Prairie Farm
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Prairie Farm is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Farm
- Population from the 2020 Census: 434 people
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Comstock. See our List of 1890's Communities around Comstock.
Newspapers Published in Comstock ...
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 78 newspapers that have been published in the area around Comstock.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Comstock, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Comstock.
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 Comstock:
- Websites specific to Wisconsin
- Pages specific to Barron County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Burnett County
- Dunn County
- Polk County
- Rusk County
- Saint Croix County
- Washburn County
- Chisago 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> | 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 Comstock, 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' (or 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- Comstock) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |