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 Island Lake (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 Island Lake. 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.
Name Variations for Island Lake ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Island Lake: Island Lk.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Island Lake. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Island Lake.
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.
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 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.
Island Lake is located in Rusk 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 Rusk County: Barron, Chippewa, Price, Sawyer, Taylor & Washburn.
Below are the counties that are near Island Lake. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Island Lake:
- Rusk County (The home county of Island Lake)
- The following are listed by their distance from Island Lake, with the one closest to Island Lake listed first.
- Weyerhaeuser
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Weyerhaeuser is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weyerhaeuser
- Population from the 2020 Census: 210 people
- Apollonia
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Apollonia is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apollonia
- Bruce
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Bruce is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruce
- Population from the 2020 Census: 688 people
- Strickland
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Strickland is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strickland
- Port Arthur
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Port Arthur is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Arthur
- Conrath
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Conrath is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conrath
- Population from the 2020 Census: 90 people
- Ladysmith
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Ladysmith is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ladysmith
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,054 people
- Sheldon
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Sheldon is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheldon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 210 people
- Tony
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Tony is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tony
- Population from the 2020 Census: 100 people
- Glen Flora
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Glen Flora is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Flora
- Population from the 2020 Census: 85 people
- Ingram
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Ingram is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingram
- Population from the 2020 Census: 70 people
- Barron County
- The following are listed by their distance from Island Lake, with the one closest to Island Lake listed first.
- Chetek
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Chetek is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chetek
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,094 people
- Cameron
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Cameron is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cameron
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,798 people
- Rice Lake
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Rice Lake is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rice Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,498 people
- Dallas
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Dallas is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dallas
- Population from the 2020 Census: 344 people
- Hillsdale
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Hillsdale is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
- Barron
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Barron is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barron
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,235 people
- Haugen
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Haugen is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haugen
- Population from the 2020 Census: 270 people
- Poskin
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Poskin is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poskin
- Prairie Farm
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Prairie Farm is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Farm
- Population from the 2020 Census: 434 people
- Chippewa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Island Lake, with the one closest to Island Lake listed first.
- New Auburn
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- New Auburn is located in Chippewa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Auburn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 576 people
- Cornell
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Cornell is located in Chippewa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,400 people
- Bloomer
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Bloomer is located in Chippewa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomer
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,508 people
- Estella
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Estella is located in Chippewa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estella
- Population from the 2020 Census: 452 people
- Eagleton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Eagleton is located in Chippewa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagleton
- Drywood
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Drywood is located in Chippewa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drywood
- Chippewa Falls
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Chippewa Falls is located in Chippewa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chippewa Falls
- Population from the 2020 Census: 14,407 people
- Irvine
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Irvine is located in Chippewa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irvine
- Lake Wissota
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Lake Wissota is located in Chippewa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Wissota
- Cadott
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Cadott is located in Chippewa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cadott
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,411 people
- Albertville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Albertville is located in Chippewa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albertville
- Lake Hallie
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Lake Hallie is located in Chippewa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Hallie
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,779 people
- Boyd
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Boyd is located in Chippewa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyd
- Population from the 2020 Census: 528 people
- Dunn County
- The following are listed by their distance from Island Lake, with the one closest to Island Lake listed first.
- Ridgeland
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Ridgeland is located in Dunn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 276 people
- Colfax
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Colfax is located in Dunn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colfax
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,151 people
- Sawyer County
- Exeland
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Exeland is located in Sawyer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exeland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 190 people
- Taylor County
- The following are listed by their distance from Island Lake, with the one closest to Island Lake listed first.
- Jump River
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Jump River is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jump River
- Gilman
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Gilman is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 390 people
- Polley
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Polley is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polley
- Washburn County
- The following are listed by their distance from Island Lake, with the one closest to Island Lake listed first.
- Birchwood
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Birchwood is located in Washburn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birchwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 426 people
- Nobleton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Nobleton is located in Washburn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nobleton
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Island Lake, see our County-by-County Page for Island Lake.
Cemeteries Near Island Lake ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Island Lake.
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 Island Lake - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Island Lake covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Island Lake, with the one closest to Island Lake listed first.
- Island Lake Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Mud Lake Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Twin Lakes Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Weyerhauser Protestant Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- St.s Peter & Paul Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Tillinghast Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- St. Francis Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Apollonia Catholic Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Apollonia Protestant Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Polish Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Rufledt Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Assumption Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (109 more) ...
- Johnson Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Duncan Creek Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bruce Protestant Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
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>
While we didn't find Island Lake in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Island Lake.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Island Lake, with the one closest to Island Lake listed first.
- Lehigh
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Lehigh is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lehigh
- Chetek
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Chetek is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chetek
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,094 people
- Canton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Canton is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canton
- Estella
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Estella is located in Chippewa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estella
- Population from the 2020 Census: 452 people
- Eagleton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Eagleton is located in Chippewa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagleton
- Sand Creek
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Sand Creek is located in Dunn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Creek
- Eagle Point
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Eagle Point is located in Chippewa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Point
- Cameron
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Cameron is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cameron
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,798 people
- Drywood
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Drywood is located in Chippewa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drywood
- Rice Lake
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Rice Lake is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rice Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,498 people
- Dallas
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Dallas is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dallas
- Population from the 2020 Census: 344 people
- Huron
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Huron is located in Chippewa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huron
- Continue List (10 more) ...
- Hillsdale
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Hillsdale is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
- Barron
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Barron is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barron
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,235 people
- Chippewa Falls
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Chippewa Falls is located in Chippewa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chippewa Falls
- Population from the 2020 Census: 14,407 people
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Island Lake. See our List of 1890's Communities around Island Lake.
Newspapers Published in Island Lake ...
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 62 newspapers that have been published in the area around Island Lake.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Island Lake, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Island Lake.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Island Lake:
- Websites specific to Wisconsin
- Pages specific to Rusk County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Barron County
- Chippewa County
- Dunn County
- Sawyer County
- Taylor County
- Washburn County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Wisconsin
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 Island Lake, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Island Lake) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |