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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 Ella (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 Ella. 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 northwest 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 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 west 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.

Ella is located in Pepin 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 Pepin County: Goodhue (MN), Wabasha (MN), Buffalo, Dunn, Eau Claire & Pierce.

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

  • Pepin County     (The home county of Ella)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ella, with the one closest to Ella listed first.
    • Arkansaw
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Barry Corner
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Durand
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Lund
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Pepin
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Lakeport
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Stockholm
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Stockholm is located in Pepin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stockholm
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 64 people
  • Buffalo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ella, with the one closest to Ella listed first.
    • Maxville
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Savoy ‑ Historic
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Savoy is located in Buffalo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savoy
    • Nelson
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Nelson is located in Buffalo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nelson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 343 people
    • Springdale ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Springdale is located in Buffalo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springdale
    • Alma
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Gilmanton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Mondovi
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Lookout
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Buffalo
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Buffalo is located in Buffalo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo
    • Anchorage ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Anchorage is located in Buffalo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anchorage
    • Buffalo City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Montana
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
  • Dunn County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ella, with the one closest to Ella listed first.
    • Eau Galle
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Dunnville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Meridean
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Rock Falls
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Falls City
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Falls City is located in Dunn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls City
    • Menomonie
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Knapp
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Elk Mound
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Elk Mound is located in Dunn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Mound
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 884 people
  • Eau Claire County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ella, with the one closest to Ella listed first.
    • Lufkin
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Shawtown
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Pierce County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ella, with the one closest to Ella listed first.
    • Plum City
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Plum City is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plum City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 603 people
    • Maiden Rock
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Waverly
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Elmwood
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Olivet
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Bay City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • El Paso
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Spring Valley
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Hager City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Hager City is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hager City
    • Ellsworth
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Ellsworth is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellsworth
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,272 people
    • Moeville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Martell
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Saint Croix County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ella, with the one closest to Ella listed first.
    • Wilson
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Hersey
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • Woodville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Trempealeau County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ella, with the one closest to Ella listed first.
    • Eleva
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Russell
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Goodhue County (MN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ella, with the one closest to Ella listed first.
    • Frontenac
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Red Wing
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Bellechester
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Bellechester is located in Goodhue County (MN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellechester
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 177 people
    • Goodhue
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Goodhue is located in Goodhue County (MN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodhue
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,164 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Goodhue <1>
  • Olmsted County (MN)
  • Wabasha County (MN)
  • Winona County (MN)

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

Cemeteries Near Ella ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ella.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Ella, with the one closest to Ella 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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Ella had a population of 62 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Savoy ‑ Historic
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Savoy is located in Buffalo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savoy
  • Misha Mokwa
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Misha Mokwa is located in Buffalo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Misha Mokwa
  • Porcupine
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Porcupine is located in Pepin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porcupine
  • Arkansaw
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Trevino
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Trevino is located in Buffalo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trevino
  • Durand
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Lund
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Pepin
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Nelson
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Nelson is located in Buffalo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nelson
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 343 people
  • Urne
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Urne is located in Buffalo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Urne
  • Plum City
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Plum City is located in Pierce County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plum City
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 603 people
  • Eau Galle
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Wabasha
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Wabasha is located in Wabasha County (MN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wabasha
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,467 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wabasha <1>
    • Exile
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Exile is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exile
    • Lake City
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Ella ...

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 64 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ella.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ella, 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 Ella.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Ella:

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 drawn from Point A (ie- Ella) 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 Ella, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.