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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 Dorchester (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 Dorchester. 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 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.

Dorchester is primarily located in Clark County. A portion of Dorchester extends into Marathon County.

To see how the shape of Wisconsin's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Clark County: Chippewa, Eau Claire, Jackson, Marathon, Taylor & Wood.

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

  • Clark County     (The home county of Dorchester)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dorchester, with the one closest to Dorchester listed first.
    • Abbotsford
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Abbotsford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbotsford
      • Abbotsford is located in Clark County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,225 people
    • Curtiss
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curtiss
      • Curtiss is located in Clark County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 211 people
    • Colby
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Colby have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colby
      • Colby is located in Clark County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,941 people
    • Atwood
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atwood
      • Atwood is located in Clark County
    • Owen
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Owen
      • Owen is located in Clark County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 925 people
    • Riplinger
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riplinger
      • Riplinger is located in Clark County
    • Withee
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Withee
      • Withee is located in Clark County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 472 people
    • Spokeville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spokeville
      • Spokeville is located in Clark County
    • Greenwood
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
      • Greenwood is located in Clark County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 995 people
    • Loyal
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Loyal have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loyal
      • Loyal is located in Clark County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,229 people
    • Reseburg
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reseburg
      • Reseburg is located in Clark County
    • Thorp
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thorp have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorp
      • Thorp is located in Clark County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,604 people
    • Chili
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chili
      • Chili is located in Clark County
  • Chippewa County
    • Stanley
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stanley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanley
      • Stanley is located in Chippewa County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,705 people
  • Marathon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dorchester, with the one closest to Dorchester listed first.
    • Milan
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milan
      • Milan is located in Marathon County
    • Unity
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Unity have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unity
      • Unity is located in Marathon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 329 people
    • Athens
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athens
      • Athens is located in Marathon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,079 people
    • Poniatowski
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poniatowski
      • Poniatowski is located in Marathon County
    • Spencer
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spencer
      • Spencer is located in Marathon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,865 people
    • Wien
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wien
      • Wien is located in Marathon County
    • Edgar
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgar
      • Edgar is located in Marathon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,434 people
    • Fenwood
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fenwood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fenwood
      • Fenwood is located in Marathon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 156 people
    • Stratford
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stratford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stratford
      • Stratford is located in Marathon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,571 people
    • McMillan
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McMillan have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McMillan
      • McMillan is located in Marathon County
    • Rib Falls
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rib Falls
      • Rib Falls is located in Marathon County
    • Hamburg
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamburg
      • Hamburg is located in Marathon County
    • Rozellville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rozellville
      • Rozellville is located in Marathon County
  • Taylor County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dorchester, with the one closest to Dorchester listed first.
    • Stetsonville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stetsonville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stetsonville
      • Stetsonville is located in Taylor County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 518 people
    • Medford
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medford
      • Medford is located in Taylor County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,267 people
    • Lublin
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lublin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lublin
      • Lublin is located in Taylor County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 113 people
    • Rib Lake
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rib Lake
      • Rib Lake is located in Taylor County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 861 people
    • Hughey ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hughey have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hughey
      • Hughey is located in Taylor County
    • Gilman
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilman
      • Gilman is located in Taylor County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 390 people
    • Polley
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polley
      • Polley is located in Taylor County
  • Wood County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dorchester, with the one closest to Dorchester listed first.
    • Marshfield
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshfield
      • Marshfield is located in Wood County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 18,414 people
    • Bakerville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bakerville
      • Bakerville is located in Wood County
    • Hewitt
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hewitt
      • Hewitt is located in Wood County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 777 people
    • Lindsey
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lindsey
      • Lindsey is located in Wood County
    • Auburndale
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Auburndale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auburndale
      • Auburndale is located in Wood County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 658 people

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Dorchester ...

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 50 newspapers that have been published in the area around Dorchester.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Dorchester. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Dorchester and those printed in the larger area surrounding Dorchester.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<2> of Dorchester.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful websites 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 Dorchester:

Cemeteries Near Dorchester ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Dorchester.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

  • North Memorial Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the North Memorial Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the North Memorial Cemetery
  • Abbotsford Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Abbotsford Public Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Abbotsford Public Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Abbotsford Public Cemetery
  • Holton Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Holton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Holton Cemetery
  • Stetsonville Public Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Stetsonville Public Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Stetsonville Public Cemetery
  • Zion Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Zion Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Zion Cemetery
  • Pine Hill Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pine Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pine Hill Cemetery
  • Sacred Heart Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sacred Heart Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sacred Heart Cemetery
  • Curtiss Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Curtiss Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Curtiss Cemetery
  • Colby Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Colby Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Colby Cemetery
  • Pilgrim Rest Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pilgrim Rest Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pilgrim Rest Cemetery
  • Bethlehem Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bethlehem Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bethlehem Cemetery
  • Continue List   (112 more) ...
    • St. Thomas Catholic Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Thomas Catholic Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<2> to the south of Milan.
      • The St. Thomas Catholic Cemetery has also been known as:
      • St. Thomas Cemetery
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Thomas Catholic Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #89215 <3>
    • Little Black Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Little Black Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Little Black Cemetery
    • St. Paul Lutheran Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)

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 Dorchester had a population of 350 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Dorchester had a population of 864 people.

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

  • Abbotsford
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Abbotsford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbotsford
    • Abbotsford is located in Clark County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,225 people
  • Curtiss
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curtiss
    • Curtiss is located in Clark County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 211 people
  • Stetsonville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stetsonville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stetsonville
    • Stetsonville is located in Taylor County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 518 people
  • Colby
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Colby have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colby
    • Colby is located in Clark County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,941 people
  • Milan
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milan
    • Milan is located in Marathon County
  • Little Black
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Little Black have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Black
    • Little Black is located in Taylor County
  • Cherokee
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cherokee have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherokee
    • Cherokee is located in Marathon County
  • Corinth
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Corinth have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corinth
    • Corinth is located in Marathon County
  • Medford
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medford
    • Medford is located in Taylor County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,267 people
  • Unity
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Unity have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unity
    • Unity is located in Marathon County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 329 people
  • Wuertsburg
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wuertsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wuertsburg
    • Wuertsburg is located in Marathon County
  • Athens
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athens
    • Athens is located in Marathon County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,079 people
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Withee
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Withee
      • Withee is located in Clark County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 472 people
    • Longwood
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Longwood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longwood
      • Longwood is located in Clark County
    • Whittlesey
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Whittlesey have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whittlesey
      • Whittlesey is located in Taylor County

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

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Dorchester. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Clark County: www.co.clark.wi.us/

The official website for State of Wisconsin: https://www.wisconsin.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<2>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Dorchester) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Dorchester. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.0022, Longitude: -90.3335       In this case, the coordinates for Dorchester have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Dorchester, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024