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










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
Wisconsin

The Commemorative Quarter for Wisconsin





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 Manitowoc (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 Manitowoc. 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 Manitowoc ...

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 have occurred.

Another variation: Manitouwoc.

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 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.

Manitowoc is located in Manitowoc County and is the County Seat.

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 Manitowoc County: Brown, Calumet, Kewaunee & Sheboygan.

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

  • Manitowoc County     (The home county of Manitowoc)
  • Brown County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Manitowoc, with the one closest to Manitowoc listed first.
    • Wayside
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Denmark
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Fontenoy
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Lark
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Morrison
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Morrison have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrison
      • Morrison is located in Brown County
    • Glenmore
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Glenmore. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenmore
      • Glenmore is located in Brown County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Glenmore
      • From Manitowoc to Glenmore
    • Poland
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Askeaton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Pine Grove
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Greenleaf
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Bellevue
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Bellevue Town
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bellevue Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellevue Town
      • Bellevue Town is located in Brown County
  • Calumet County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Manitowoc, with the one closest to Manitowoc listed first.
    • Brillion
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brillion have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brillion
      • Brillion is located in Calumet County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,079 people
    • Potter
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Potter have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Potter
      • Potter is located in Calumet County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 236 people
    • New Holstein
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Holstein have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Holstein
      • New Holstein is located in Calumet County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,105 people
    • Hayton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Hilbert
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hilbert have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilbert
      • Hilbert is located in Calumet County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,081 people
    • Chilton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Forest Junction
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Brant
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Brant. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brant
      • Brant is located in Calumet County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Brant
      • From Manitowoc to Brant
    • Saint John
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Dundas
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
  • Kewaunee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Manitowoc, with the one closest to Manitowoc listed first.
    • Bolt
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Curran
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Curran. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curran
      • Curran is located in Kewaunee County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Curran
      • From Manitowoc to Curran
    • Stangelville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Krok
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Krok. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Krok
      • Krok is located in Kewaunee County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Krok
      • From Manitowoc to Krok
    • Pilsen
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Ellisville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ellisville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellisville
      • Ellisville is located in Kewaunee County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Ellisville
      • From Manitowoc to Ellisville
    • Kewaunee
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
  • Sheboygan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Manitowoc, with the one closest to Manitowoc listed first.
    • Howards Grove
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Howards Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howards Grove
      • Howards Grove is located in Sheboygan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,279 people
    • Sheboygan
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Johnsonville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Kohler
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Elkhart Lake
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elkhart Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhart Lake
      • Elkhart Lake is located in Sheboygan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,013 people
    • Sheboygan Falls
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Glenbeulah
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Glenbeulah have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenbeulah
      • Glenbeulah is located in Sheboygan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 467 people
    • Ourtown
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Plymouth
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Manitowoc ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Manitowoc.

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 Manitowoc covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Manitowoc, with the one closest to Manitowoc 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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Manitowoc had a population of 7,710 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Manitowoc had a population of 32,359 people.

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

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Manitowoc ...

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 94 newspapers that have been published in the area around Manitowoc.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Manitowoc. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Manitowoc and those printed in the larger area surrounding Manitowoc.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<4> of Manitowoc.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Manitowoc:

The official website for Manitowoc: www.manitowoc.org/

The official website for Manitowoc County: www.co.manitowoc.wi.us/

The official website for State of Wisconsin: https://www.wisconsin.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>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.
<3>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.
<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- Manitowoc) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Manitowoc. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.0907, Longitude: -87.6605    
<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 Manitowoc, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

Copyright 2025
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025