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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 Ellis (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 Ellis. 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.

Ellis is located in Portage 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 Portage County: Adams, Marathon, Shawano, Waupaca, Waushara & Wood.

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

  • Portage County     (The home county of Ellis)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ellis, with the one closest to Ellis listed first.
    • Polonia
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Torun
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Custer
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Park Ridge
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Park Ridge is located in Portage County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park Ridge
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 496 people
    • Stevens Point
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Garfield
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Rosholt
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Rosholt is located in Portage County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosholt
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 481 people
    • Alban
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Arnott
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Lake Emily ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Nelsonville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Whiting
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Whiting is located in Portage County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiting
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,704 people
  • Adams County
  • Marathon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ellis, with the one closest to Ellis listed first.
    • Ashley
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Galloway
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Pike Lake
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Elderon
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Elderon is located in Marathon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elderon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 213 people
    • Mosinee
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Mosinee is located in Marathon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mosinee
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,195 people
    • Evergreen
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Evergreen is located in Marathon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen
    • Kronenwetter
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Ringle
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Moon
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Hatley
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Weston
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Weston is located in Marathon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weston
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 15,165 people
    • Norrie
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Norrie is located in Marathon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norrie
  • Shawano County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ellis, with the one closest to Ellis listed first.
    • Split Rock
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Tigerton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Wittenberg
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Eland
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Birnamwood
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Bowler
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Bowler is located in Shawano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowler
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 286 people
    • Regina
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Waupaca County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ellis, with the one closest to Ellis listed first.
    • Iola
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Iola is located in Waupaca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iola
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,190 people
    • Scandinavia
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Scandinavia is located in Waupaca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scandinavia
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 349 people
    • Cobb Town
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Cobb Town is located in Waupaca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobb Town
    • Sheridan
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Big Falls
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Big Falls is located in Waupaca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Falls
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 69 people
    • Granite City ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Granite City is located in Waupaca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granite City
    • Ogdensburg
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Ogdensburg is located in Waupaca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogdensburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 175 people
    • King
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Rural
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Waupaca
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Waupaca is located in Waupaca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waupaca
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,857 people
    • Manawa
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Manawa is located in Waupaca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manawa
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,269 people
    • Baldwins Mill
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Waushara County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ellis, with the one closest to Ellis listed first.
    • Plainfield
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Plainfield is located in Waushara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 832 people
    • Wild Rose
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Hancock
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Hancock is located in Waushara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hancock
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 402 people
  • Wood County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ellis, with the one closest to Ellis listed first.
    • Biron
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Biron is located in Wood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Biron
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 761 people
    • Rudolph
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Rudolph is located in Wood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rudolph
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 411 people
    • Lake Wazeecha
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Lake Wazeecha is located in Wood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Wazeecha
    • Milladore
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Grand Rapids
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Wisconsin Rapids
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Blenker
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Sherry
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Eight Corners
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Port Edwards
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Vesper
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Arpin
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Arpin is located in Wood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arpin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 305 people

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

Cemeteries Near Ellis ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ellis.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Ellis, with the one closest to Ellis 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.<2>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Ellis had a population of 147 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Polonia
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Stockton
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Stockton is located in Portage County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stockton
  • Custer
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Stevens Point
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Garfield
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Shantytown
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Shantytown is located in Marathon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shantytown
  • Arnott
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Fancher
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Fancher is located in Portage County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fancher
  • Lake Emily ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Nelsonville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Alban
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Amherst Junction
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Amherst Junction is located in Portage County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amherst Junction
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 392 people
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Peru
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Peru is located in Portage County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peru
    • New Hope
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • New Hope is located in Portage County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hope
    • Amherst
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Ellis ...

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 103 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ellis.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ellis, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Ellis.

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 professional and volunteer 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 Ellis:

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>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 Ellis, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Ellis) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.