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 Homer (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 Homer. 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.
Homer is located in Grant 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 Grant County: Clayton (IA), Dubuque (IA), Jo Daviess (IL), Crawford, Iowa, Lafayette & Richland.
Below are the counties that are near Homer. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Homer:
- Grant County (The home county of Homer)
- The following are listed by their distance from Homer, with the one closest to Homer listed first.
- Boscobel
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest) - Blue River
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blue River have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue River
- Blue River is located in Grant County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 418 people
- Fennimore
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fennimore
- Fennimore is located in Grant County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,469 people
- Preston
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast) - Woodman
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west) - Stitzer
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stitzer
- Stitzer is located in Grant County
- Mount Ida
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest) - Muscoda
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast) - Annaton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Annaton
- Annaton is located in Grant County
- Montfort
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montfort
- Montfort is located in Grant County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 675 people
- Mount Hope
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Hope have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hope
- Mount Hope is located in Grant County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 216 people
- Livingston
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Livingston have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Livingston
- Livingston is located in Grant County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 632 people
- Millville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millville
- Millville is located in Grant County
- Crawford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Homer, with the one closest to Homer listed first.
- Boydtown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boydtown
- Boydtown is located in Crawford County
- Steuben
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steuben
- Steuben is located in Crawford County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 121 people
- Wauzeka
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west) - Bell Center
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bell Center. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell Center
- Bell Center is located in Crawford County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 114 people
- Petersburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersburg
- Petersburg is located in Crawford County
- Gays Mills
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gays Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gays Mills
- Gays Mills is located in Crawford County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 504 people
- Eastman
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west) - Soldiers Grove
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Soldiers Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soldiers Grove
- Soldiers Grove is located in Crawford County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 535 people
- Mount Sterling
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Sterling have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Sterling
- Mount Sterling is located in Crawford County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 196 people
- Bridgeport
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeport
- Bridgeport is located in Crawford County
- Towerville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Towerville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Towerville
- Towerville is located in Crawford County
- Prairie du Chien
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie du Chien
- Prairie du Chien is located in Crawford County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,531 people
- Rising Sun
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rising Sun. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rising Sun
- Rising Sun is located in Crawford County
- Iowa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Homer, with the one closest to Homer listed first.
- Centreville ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Centreville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centreville
- Centreville is located in Iowa County
- Former name for Centreville:
- Dry Bone
- Highland
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east) - Avoca
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast) - Cobb
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast) - Edmund
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmund
- Edmund is located in Iowa County
- Linden
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast) - Rewey
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rewey
- Rewey is located in Iowa County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 283 people
- Dodgeville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dodgeville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodgeville
- Dodgeville is located in Iowa County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,677 people
- Mineral Point
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral Point
- Mineral Point is located in Iowa County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,454 people
- Pleasant Ridge
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Ridge
- Pleasant Ridge is located in Iowa County
- Helena
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helena
- Helena is located in Iowa County
- Lafayette County
- The following are listed by their distance from Homer, with the one closest to Homer listed first.
- Belmont
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
- Belmont is located in Lafayette County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 974 people
- Elk Grove
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Richland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Homer, with the one closest to Homer listed first.
- Westport
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north) - Balmoral
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast) - Boaz
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north) - Richland Center
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richland Center
- Richland Center is located in Richland County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,949 people
- Sextonville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sextonville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sextonville
- Sextonville is located in Richland County
- Lone Rock
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east) - Aubrey
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aubrey
- Aubrey is located in Richland County
- Sabin
(23 miles [37 km] to the north) - Ithaca
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast) - Gillingham
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gillingham
- Gillingham is located in Richland County
- Bear Valley
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bear Valley. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Valley
- Bear Valley is located in Richland County
- Neptune
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neptune
- Neptune is located in Richland County
- Bloom City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloom City
- Bloom City is located in Richland County
- Sauk County
- Spring Green
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Green have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Green
- Spring Green is located in Sauk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,630 people
- Spring Green
- Vernon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Homer, with the one closest to Homer listed first.
- Readstown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north) - Liberty
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north) - Fargo
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Allamakee County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Homer, with the one closest to Homer listed first.
- Harpers Ferry
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harpers Ferry
- Harpers Ferry is located in Allamakee County (IA)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 326 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Harpers Ferry <3>
- Waukon Junction
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waukon Junction
- Waukon Junction is located in Allamakee County (IA)
- Clayton County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Homer, with the one closest to Homer listed first.
- Marquette
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marquette
- Marquette is located in Clayton County (IA)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 448 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marquette <3>
- McGregor
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McGregor have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGregor
- McGregor is located in Clayton County (IA)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 826 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for McGregor <3>
- Clayton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clayton
- Clayton is located in Clayton County (IA)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 39 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Homer, see our County-by-County Page for Homer.
Cemeteries Near Homer ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Homer.
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 Homer covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Homer, with the one closest to Homer listed first.
- German Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the German Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the German Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Beulah Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Beulah Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Beulah Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Bethel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bethel Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bethel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Switzer Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Switzer Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Switzer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Brechler Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Brechler Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Brechler Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Crown Hill Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Crown Hill Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Crown Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- St. Johns Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Johns Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Johns Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Pipal Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pipal Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pipal Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Prairie Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Prairie Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #88775 <4>
- St. Marys Catholic Church Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Marys Catholic Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2129747 <4>
- Blue River Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Blue River Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Blue River Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Wayne Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wayne Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wayne Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Continue List (212 more) ...
- Coumbe Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Coumbe Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Coumbe Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Sand Prairie Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sand Prairie Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sand Prairie Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Steele Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Steele Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Steele Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Coumbe Cemetery
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Homer had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Homer, with the one closest to Homer listed first.
- Boscobel
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest) - Fennimore
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fennimore
- Fennimore is located in Grant County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,469 people
- Lancaster Junction
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lancaster Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lancaster Junction
- Lancaster Junction is located in Grant County
- Blue River
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blue River have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue River
- Blue River is located in Grant County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 418 people
- Werley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest) - Preston
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast) - Westport
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north) - Byrds Creek
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Byrds Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byrds Creek
- Byrds Creek is located in Richland County
- Boydtown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boydtown
- Boydtown is located in Crawford County
- Woodman
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west) - Mount Ida
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest) - Stitzer
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stitzer
- Stitzer is located in Grant County
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Centreville ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Centreville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centreville
- Centreville is located in Iowa County
- Former name for Centreville:
- Dry Bone
- Excelsior
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north) - Muscoda
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Centreville ‑ Historic
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Homer. See our List of 1890's Communities around Homer.
Newspapers Published in Homer ...
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 154 newspapers that have been published in the area around Homer.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Homer, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Homer.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Homer:
- Websites specific to Wisconsin
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Website for the //www.wisconsinhistory.org/
- Pages specific to Grant County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Crawford County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Iowa County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Lafayette County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Richland County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Sauk County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Vernon County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Allamakee County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Clayton County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Crawford County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Wisconsin
- Cemetery Junction: Cemeteries of Wisconsin
- Cyndi's List
- Cemeteries of Wisconsin
- Cemeteries of Grant County
- FamilySearch.org: Cemeteries of Wisconsin
- Find-A-Grave: Home Page
- Interment.net
- Cemeteries of Wisconsin
- Cemeteries of Grant County
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Homer. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Grant County: www.grantcounty.org/
The official website for State of Wisconsin: https://www.wisconsin.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <2> | 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. |
| <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 Homer, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <6> | 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 from Point A (ie- Homer) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Homer. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.0853, Longitude: -90.6168 In this case, the coordinates for Homer have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |