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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 Johnstown (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 Johnstown. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Johnstown is located in Rock 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 Rock County: Boone (IL), Winnebago (IL), Dane, Green, Jefferson & Walworth.

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

  • Rock County     (The home county of Johnstown)
  • Dane County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Johnstown, with the one closest to Johnstown listed first.
    • Edgerton Beach Park
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Albion
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Hanerville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Rockdale
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Rockdale is located in Dane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockdale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 216 people
    • Cambridge
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Cambridge is located in Dane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambridge
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,538 people
    • Dunkirk
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Stoughton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Stoughton is located in Dane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoughton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,218 people
    • Deerfield
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Stone
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Door Creek
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Brooklyn
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Brooklyn is located in Dane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklyn
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,484 people
  • Green County
    • Brodhead
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Brodhead is located in Green County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brodhead
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,204 people
  • Jefferson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Johnstown, with the one closest to Johnstown listed first.
    • Cold Spring
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Lake Koshkonong
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Lake Koshkonong is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Koshkonong
    • Carcajou
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Fort Atkinson
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Hebron
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Hebron is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hebron
    • Palmyra
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Palmyra is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmyra
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,746 people
    • Jefferson
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Jefferson is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,037 people
    • Rome
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Rome is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rome
    • Helenville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Lake Ripley
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Sullivan
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Sullivan is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sullivan
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 666 people
    • Farmington
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
  • Kenosha County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Johnstown, with the one closest to Johnstown listed first.
    • Powers Lake
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Powers Lake is located in Kenosha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powers Lake
    • Slades Corners
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Twin Lakes
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Racine County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Johnstown, with the one closest to Johnstown listed first.
    • Honey Creek
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Burlington
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Burlington is located in Racine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlington
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,898 people
    • Bohners Lake
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Bohners Lake is located in Racine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bohners Lake
    • Caldwell
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Browns Lake
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Browns Lake is located in Racine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browns Lake
    • Rochester
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Waterford
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Waterford is located in Racine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,618 people
  • Walworth County
  • Waukesha County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Johnstown, with the one closest to Johnstown listed first.
    • Eagle
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Eagleville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Mukwonago
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Mukwonago is located in Waukesha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mukwonago
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,107 people
    • North Prairie
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • North Prairie is located in Waukesha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Prairie
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,236 people
    • Ottawa
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Dousman
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Dousman is located in Waukesha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dousman
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,317 people
    • Genesee Depot
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Genesee
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Genesee is located in Waukesha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Genesee
    • Summit
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Waterville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Summit Center
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Wales
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Wales is located in Waukesha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wales
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,651 people
  • Boone County (IL)
  • McHenry County (IL)
  • Winnebago County (IL)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Johnstown, with the one closest to Johnstown listed first.
    • South Beloit
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Rockton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Roscoe
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Argyle
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Argyle is located in Winnebago County (IL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argyle
    • Loves Park
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Machesney Park
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Shirland
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Sturbridge Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Sturbridge Village is located in Winnebago County (IL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sturbridge Village

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

Cemeteries Near Johnstown ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Johnstown.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Johnstown, with the one closest to Johnstown 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.<3>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Johnstown had a population of 138 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

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

Newspapers Published in Johnstown ...

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 85 newspapers that have been published in the area around Johnstown.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Johnstown, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Johnstown.

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 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 Johnstown:

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>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 Johnstown, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Johnstown) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.