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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 Fence (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 Fence. 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 hospitals 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.

Fence is located in Florence 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 Florence County: Dickinson (MI), Iron (MI), Forest & Marinette.

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

  • Florence County     (The home county of Fence)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fence, with the one closest to Fence listed first.
    • Fern ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Fern. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fern
      • Fern is located in Florence County
    • Commonwealth
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Commonwealth. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Commonwealth
      • Commonwealth is located in Florence County
    • Florence
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
      • Florence is located in Florence County
    • Aurora
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurora
      • Aurora is located in Florence County
    • Spread Eagle
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Spread Eagle. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spread Eagle
      • Spread Eagle is located in Florence County
    • Tipler
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tipler
      • Tipler is located in Florence County
  • Forest County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fence, with the one closest to Fence listed first.
    • Laona
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laona
      • Laona is located in Forest County
    • Padus
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Padus
      • Padus is located in Forest County
    • Nelma
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nelma
      • Nelma is located in Forest County
    • Crandon
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crandon
      • Crandon is located in Forest County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,780 people
    • Hiles
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hiles have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hiles
      • Hiles is located in Forest County
    • Atkins
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Atkins. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atkins
      • Atkins is located in Forest County
  • Marinette County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fence, with the one closest to Fence listed first.
    • Dunbar
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunbar
      • Dunbar is located in Marinette County
    • Niagara
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Niagara have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Niagara
      • Niagara is located in Marinette County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,535 people
    • Pembine
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pembine
      • Pembine is located in Marinette County
    • Athelstane
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athelstane
      • Athelstane is located in Marinette County
    • Cedarville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarville
      • Cedarville is located in Marinette County
  • Oconto County
    • Townsend
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Townsend
      • Townsend is located in Oconto County
  • Dickinson County (MI)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fence, with the one closest to Fence listed first.
    • Kingsford
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kingsford have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsford
      • Kingsford is located in Dickinson County (MI)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,923 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kingsford <3>
    • Iron Mountain
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Quinnesec
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Norway
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Norway have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norway
      • Norway is located in Dickinson County (MI)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,714 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Norway <3>
    • Vulcan
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vulcan have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vulcan
      • Vulcan is located in Dickinson County (MI)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vulcan <3>
    • Sagola
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Loretto
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Iron County (MI)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fence, with the one closest to Fence listed first.
    • Stager
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Stager. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stager
      • Stager is located in Iron County (MI)
    • Pentoga
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pentoga
      • Pentoga is located in Iron County (MI)
    • Mastodon
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Mastodon. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mastodon
      • Mastodon is located in Iron County (MI)
    • Alpha
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpha
      • Alpha is located in Iron County (MI)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alpha <3>
    • Clinch ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Clinch. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinch
      • Clinch is located in Iron County (MI)
    • Gaastra
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gaastra have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gaastra
      • Gaastra is located in Iron County (MI)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 324 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gaastra <3>
    • Chicagon
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Chicagon. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chicagon
      • Chicagon is located in Iron County (MI)
    • Crystal Falls
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Caspian
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Bates Junction
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bates Junction. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bates Junction
      • Bates Junction is located in Iron County (MI)
    • Stambaugh
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stambaugh have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stambaugh
      • Stambaugh is located in Iron County (MI)
    • Iron River
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Iron River have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron River
      • Iron River is located in Iron County (MI)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,827 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Iron River <3>

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

Cemeteries Near Fence ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Fence.

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 Fence covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Hillside Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hillside Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hillside Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pine Hill Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pine Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pine Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Glenwood Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Glenwood Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Glenwood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Homestead - Aurora Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Long Lake Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Long Lake Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Long Lake Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Forest Home Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Forest Home Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Forest Home Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Marys Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Marys Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Woodlawn Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Woodlawn Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Woodlawn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Laona Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Laona Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Laona Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Iron Mtn. Cemetery Park
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
  • Martin Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Martin Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Martin Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Dickinson County Memorial Gardens Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dickinson County Memorial Gardens Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dickinson County Memorial Gardens Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (27 more) ...
    • Indian Burial Ground
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Indian Burial Ground
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Indian Burial Ground have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • St. Anthony Cemetery
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Anthony Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Anthony Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Quinnesec Cemetery
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Quinnesec Cemetery
      • The Quinnesec Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Breitung Twp. Cemetery
      • Kingsford - Quinnesec Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #840 <4>

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.<5>

While we didn't find Fence in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Fence.

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

  • Armstrong Creek
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Armstrong Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armstrong Creek
    • Armstrong Creek is located in Forest County
  • Cavour
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cavour have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cavour
    • Cavour is located in Forest County
  • Dunbar
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunbar
    • Dunbar is located in Marinette County
  • Commonwealth
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Commonwealth. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Commonwealth
    • Commonwealth is located in Florence County
  • Florence
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
    • Florence is located in Florence County
  • Ridgetop
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ridgetop have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgetop
    • Ridgetop is located in Florence County
  • Spread Eagle
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Spread Eagle. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spread Eagle
    • Spread Eagle is located in Florence County
  • Pulp
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pulp have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pulp
    • Pulp is located in Florence County
  • Stager
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Stager. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stager
    • Stager is located in Iron County (MI)
  • Iron Mountain
    (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
  • Mastodon
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Mastodon. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mastodon
    • Mastodon is located in Iron County (MI)
  • Quinnesec
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Merriman
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Merriman have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merriman
      • Merriman is located in Dickinson County (MI)
    • Panola
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Panola have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panola
      • Panola is located in Iron County (MI)
    • Pembine
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pembine
      • Pembine is located in Marinette County

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

Newspapers Published in Fence ...

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 39 newspapers that have been published in the area around Fence.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Fence, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Fence.

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 Fence:

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

The official website for Florence County: www.florencewisconsin.com/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<2>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.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>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.
<5>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 Fence, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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- Fence) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Fence. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.7444, Longitude: -88.4243       In this case, the coordinates for Fence have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025