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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 Gratiot (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 Gratiot. 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.

Gratiot 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 Gratiot. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Gratiot:

  • Lafayette County     (The home county of Gratiot)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gratiot, with the one closest to Gratiot listed first.
    • Wiota
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • South Wayne
      (7 miles [11.3 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
    • Darlington
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Darlington is located in Lafayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darlington
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,317 people
    • Woodford
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Fort Gratiot ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Shullsburg
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Shullsburg is located in Lafayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shullsburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,192 people
    • Argyle
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Argyle is located in Lafayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argyle
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 809 people
    • Calamine
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • White Oak
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Etna
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • New Diggings
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Blanchardville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Grant County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gratiot, with the one closest to Gratiot listed first.
    • Cuba City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • 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
      (21 miles [33.8 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
    • Platteville
      (25 miles [40.2 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
    • Jamestown
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Dickeyville
      (29 miles [46.7 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
    • Livingston
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Livingston is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Livingston
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 632 people
  • Green County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gratiot, with the one closest to Gratiot listed first.
    • Browntown
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Cadiz
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Monroe
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Monroe is located in Green County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,426 people
    • Twin Grove
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Monticello
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • New Glarus
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Mineral Point
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Mineral Point is located in Green County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral Point
    • Attica
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Iowa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gratiot, with the one closest to Gratiot listed first.
    • Moscow
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Hollandale
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Mineral Point
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Linden
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Linden is located in Iowa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linden
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 523 people
    • Rewey
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Dodgeville
      (27 miles [43.5 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
    • Ridgeway
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Ridgeway is located in Iowa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeway
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 635 people
    • Edmund
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Barneveld
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Barneveld is located in Iowa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barneveld
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,252 people
  • Dubuque County (IA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gratiot, with the one closest to Gratiot listed first.
    • Wilkins
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Massey
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Jackson County (IA)
  • Carroll County (IL)
  • Jo Daviess County (IL)
  • Stephenson County (IL)

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

Cemeteries Near Gratiot ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Gratiot.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Gratiot, with the one closest to Gratiot 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 Gratiot had a population of 167 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Gratiot had a population of 225 people.

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

  • Dunbarton
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Dunbarton is located in Lafayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunbarton
  • Warren
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Warren is located in Jo Daviess County (IL)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warren
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,300 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Warren <1>
  • Apple River
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • South Wayne
    (7 miles [11.3 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
  • Darlington
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Darlington is located in Lafayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darlington
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,317 people
  • Lamont
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Lamont is located in Lafayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamont
  • Nora
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Nora is located in Jo Daviess County (IL)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nora
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 116 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nora <1>
  • Woodford
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Shullsburg
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Shullsburg is located in Lafayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shullsburg
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,192 people
  • Browntown
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Argyle
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Argyle is located in Lafayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argyle
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 809 people
  • Martintown
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Martintown is located in Green County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martintown
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Fayette
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Fayette is located in Lafayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayette
    • White Oak
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Scales Mound
      (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 Gratiot. See our List of 1890's Communities around Gratiot.

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Gratiot ...

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 46 newspapers that have been published in the area around Gratiot.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Gratiot. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Gratiot and those printed in the larger area surrounding Gratiot.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3> of Gratiot.

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 Gratiot:

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