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

Etna is located in Lafayette 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 Lafayette County: Jo Daviess (IL), Stephenson (IL), Grant, Green & Iowa.

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

  • Lafayette County     (The home county of Etna)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Etna, with the one closest to Etna listed first.
    • New Diggings
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Benton
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Benton is located in Lafayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 966 people
    • Fort Gratiot ‑ Historic
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Shullsburg
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Shullsburg is located in Lafayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shullsburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,192 people
    • White Oak
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Elk Grove
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Belmont
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Darlington
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Darlington is located in Lafayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darlington
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,317 people
    • Calamine
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Gratiot
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Wiota
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • South Wayne
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • South Wayne is located in Lafayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Wayne
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 472 people
  • Grant County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Etna, with the one closest to Etna listed first.
    • Cuba City
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Cuba City is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,047 people
    • Hazel Green
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Hazel Green is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazel Green
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,219 people
    • Jamestown
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Platteville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Platteville is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Platteville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,650 people
    • Dickeyville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Dickeyville is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickeyville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,020 people
    • Rutledge
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Sinnipee ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Tennyson
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Tennyson is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tennyson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 339 people
    • Potosi
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Livingston
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Livingston is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Livingston
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 632 people
    • Annaton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Lancaster
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Green County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Etna, with the one closest to Etna listed first.
    • Browntown
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Cadiz
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
  • Iowa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Etna, with the one closest to Etna listed first.
    • Rewey
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Mineral Point
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Linden
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Linden is located in Iowa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linden
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 523 people
    • Cobb
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Edmund
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Dodgeville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Dodgeville is located in Iowa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodgeville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,677 people
    • Hollandale
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Moscow
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Dubuque County (IA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Etna, with the one closest to Etna listed first.
    • Wilkins
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Massey
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Cattese
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Dubuque
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Key West
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Rockdale
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Sageville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Sageville is located in Dubuque County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sageville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 100 people
    • Asbury
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Asbury is located in Dubuque County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asbury
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,841 people
    • Durango
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Sherrill
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Zwingle
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Centralia
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Centralia is located in Dubuque County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centralia
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 128 people
  • Jackson County (IA)
  • Carroll County (IL)
  • Jo Daviess County (IL)
  • Stephenson County (IL)

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

Cemeteries Near Etna ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Etna.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Etna, with the one closest to Etna 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.<3>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Etna had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Lead Mine
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Lead Mine is located in Lafayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lead Mine
  • New Diggings
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Benton
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Benton is located in Lafayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 966 people
  • Strawbridge
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Strawbridge is located in Lafayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strawbridge
  • White Oak
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Shullsburg
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Shullsburg is located in Lafayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shullsburg
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,192 people
  • Hazel Green
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Hazel Green is located in Grant County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazel Green
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,219 people
  • Council Hill
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Council Hill is located in Jo Daviess County (IL)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Council Hill
  • Meekers Grove
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Meekers Grove is located in Lafayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meekers Grove
  • Cuba City
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Cuba City is located in Grant County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba City
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,047 people
  • Millbrig ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Millbrig is located in Jo Daviess County (IL)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millbrig
  • Scales Mound
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Elk Grove
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Elmo
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Elmo is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmo
    • Georgetown
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Georgetown is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgetown

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

Newspapers Published in Etna ...

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 159 newspapers that have been published in the area around Etna.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Etna, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Etna.

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 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 Etna:

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 Etna, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Etna) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.