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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 Lancaster (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 Lancaster. 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 Lancaster ...

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.

In past government published Postal Guides, Lancaster was referred to as Lancaster Courthouse.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Lancaster. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Lancaster.

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.

For more information about how community names might have been affected by the Board of Geographic Names (BGN), see our page about Placename Rules.

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.

Lancaster is located in Grant County and is the County Seat.

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 Grant County: Clayton (IA), Dubuque (IA), Jo Daviess (IL), Crawford, Iowa, Lafayette & Richland.

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

  • Grant County     (The home county of Lancaster)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lancaster, with the one closest to Lancaster listed first.
    • Stitzer
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Mount Ida
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Fennimore
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Annaton
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Beetown
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Potosi
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Tennyson
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Tennyson is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tennyson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 339 people
    • Mount Hope
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Mount Hope is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hope
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 216 people
    • Bloomington
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Bloomington is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomington
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 702 people
    • Werley
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Werley is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Werley
    • Preston
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • North Andover
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Livingston
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Livingston is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Livingston
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 632 people
  • Crawford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lancaster, with the one closest to Lancaster listed first.
    • Boydtown
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Wauzeka
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Wauzeka is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wauzeka
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 733 people
    • Bridgeport
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Steuben
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Prairie du Chien
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Eastman
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Eastman is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastman
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 404 people
    • Petersburg
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Charme
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Charme is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charme
  • Iowa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lancaster, with the one closest to Lancaster listed first.
    • Rewey
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Centreville ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Cobb
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Highland
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Linden
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Linden is located in Iowa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linden
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 523 people
    • Edmund
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Mineral Point
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Dodgeville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Dodgeville is located in Iowa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodgeville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,677 people
    • Avoca
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Avoca is located in Iowa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avoca
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 620 people
  • Lafayette County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lancaster, with the one closest to Lancaster listed first.
    • Belmont
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Elk Grove
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Benton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Benton is located in Lafayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 966 people
    • Etna
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Calamine
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • New Diggings
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Shullsburg
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Shullsburg is located in Lafayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shullsburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,192 people
  • Richland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lancaster, with the one closest to Lancaster listed first.
    • Westport
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Westport is located in Richland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westport
    • Balmoral
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Clayton County (IA)
  • Delaware County (IA)
  • Dubuque County (IA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lancaster, with the one closest to Lancaster listed first.
    • Waupeton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Balltown
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Old Balltown
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Sherrill
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Durango
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Sageville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Sageville is located in Dubuque County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sageville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 100 people
    • Rickardsville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Rickardsville is located in Dubuque County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rickardsville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 179 people
    • Asbury
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Asbury is located in Dubuque County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asbury
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,841 people
    • Holy Cross
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Holy Cross is located in Dubuque County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holy Cross
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 370 people
    • Dubuque
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Luxemburg
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Luxemburg is located in Dubuque County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luxemburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 247 people
    • Graf
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Graf is located in Dubuque County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graf
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 81 people
    • Bankston
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Bankston is located in Dubuque County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bankston
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 27 people
  • Jo Daviess County (IL)

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

Cemeteries Near Lancaster ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Lancaster.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Lancaster, with the one closest to Lancaster 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 Lancaster had a population of 1,543 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Lancaster had a population of 3,700 people.

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

  • Hurricane
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Hurricane is located in Grant County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hurricane
  • Ellenboro
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Ellenboro is located in Grant County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellenboro
  • Stitzer
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Mount Ida
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Rockville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Rockville is located in Grant County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockville
  • Beetown
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • British Hollow
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • British Hollow is located in Grant County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for British Hollow
  • Annaton
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Fennimore
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Burton
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Burton is located in Grant County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burton
  • Potosi
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Lancaster Junction
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Lancaster Junction is located in Grant County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lancaster Junction
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Mount Hope
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Mount Hope is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hope
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 216 people
    • Werley
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Werley is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Werley
    • Preston
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Lancaster ...

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 158 newspapers that have been published in the area around Lancaster.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Lancaster. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Lancaster and those printed in the larger area surrounding Lancaster.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<4> of Lancaster.

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 Lancaster:

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