RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Wisconsin >> Vernon County >> Hillsboro >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Hillsboro (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 Hillsboro. 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 and hospitals 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.

Hillsboro is located in Vernon 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 Vernon County: Allamakee (IA), Houston (MN), Crawford, Juneau, La Crosse, Monroe, Richland & Sauk.

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

  • Vernon County     (The home county of Hillsboro)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hillsboro, with the one closest to Hillsboro listed first.
    • Trippville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Mount Tabor
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • White City
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • White City is located in Vernon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
    • Ontario
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Ontario is located in Vernon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ontario
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 561 people
    • La Farge
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Liberty
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Liberty is located in Vernon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
    • Newry
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Readstown
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Readstown is located in Vernon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Readstown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 414 people
    • Westby
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Viroqua
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Viroqua is located in Vernon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Viroqua
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,394 people
    • Liberty Pole
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Adams County
  • Columbia County
  • Crawford County
    • Soldiers Grove
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Soldiers Grove is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soldiers Grove
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 535 people
  • Juneau County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hillsboro, with the one closest to Hillsboro listed first.
    • Union Center
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Wonewoc
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Wonewoc is located in Juneau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wonewoc
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 789 people
    • Elroy
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Elroy is located in Juneau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elroy
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,306 people
    • Hustler
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Mauston
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Mauston is located in Juneau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mauston
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,358 people
    • New Lisbon
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Lemonweir
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Camp Douglas
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Lyndon Station
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Lyndon Station is located in Juneau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyndon Station
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 485 people
    • Necedah
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Monroe County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hillsboro, with the one closest to Hillsboro listed first.
    • Kendall
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Kendall is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kendall
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 472 people
    • Oil City
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Oil City is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oil City
    • Wilton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Wilton is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 498 people
    • Clifton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Norwalk
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Oakdale
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Cashton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Cashton is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cashton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,111 people
    • Melvina
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Tomah
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Tomah is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tomah
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,363 people
    • Shennington
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Wyeville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Wyeville is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyeville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 141 people
    • Tunnel City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Tunnel City is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunnel City
    • Valley Junction
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
  • Richland County
  • Sauk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hillsboro, with the one closest to Hillsboro listed first.
    • La Valle
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Ironton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Ironton is located in Sauk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 251 people
    • Lime Ridge
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Reedsburg
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Reedsburg is located in Sauk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reedsburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,500 people
    • Sandusky
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Loganville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Rock Springs
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Rock Springs is located in Sauk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Springs
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 361 people
    • Lake Delton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • North Freedom
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • North Freedom is located in Sauk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Freedom
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 690 people
    • Leland
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Plain
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Plain is located in Sauk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plain
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 765 people

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

Cemeteries Near Hillsboro ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Hillsboro.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Hillsboro, with the one closest to Hillsboro 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 Hillsboro had a population of 461 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Hillsboro had a population of 1,387 people.

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

  • Union Center
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Trippville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Valton
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Valton is located in Sauk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valton
  • Mount Tabor
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Elroy
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Elroy is located in Juneau County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elroy
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,306 people
  • Yuba
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Yuba is located in Richland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yuba
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 69 people
  • Kendall
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Kendall is located in Monroe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kendall
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 472 people
  • Valley
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Valley is located in Vernon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley
  • Henrietta ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Henrietta is located in Richland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henrietta
  • West Lima
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • West Lima is located in Richland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Lima
  • Cazenovia
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • La Valle
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Bloom City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Hub City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Hub City is located in Richland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hub City
    • Ironton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Ironton is located in Sauk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 251 people

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Hillsboro ...

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 133 newspapers that have been published in the area around Hillsboro.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

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

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 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 Hillsboro:

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 Hillsboro, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Hillsboro) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.