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 Mellen (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 Mellen. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.
Mellen is located in Ashland 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 Ashland County: Bayfield, Iron, Price & Sawyer.
Below are the counties that are near Mellen. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Mellen:
- Ashland County (The home county of Mellen)
- The following are listed by their distance from Mellen, with the one closest to Mellen listed first.
- White City
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- White City is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
- Tannery Town
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Tannery Town is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tannery Town
- High Bridge
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- High Bridge is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Bridge
- Marengo
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Marengo is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marengo
- Glidden
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Glidden is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glidden
- White River
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- White River is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White River
- Odanah
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Odanah is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Odanah
- Ashland
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Ashland is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,766 people
- Butternut
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Butternut is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butternut
- Population from the 2020 Census: 351 people
- Bayfield County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mellen, with the one closest to Mellen listed first.
- Mason
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Mason is located in Bayfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason
- Population from the 2020 Census: 99 people
- Benoit
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Benoit is located in Bayfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benoit
- Sutherland
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Sutherland is located in Bayfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sutherland
- Moquah
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Moquah is located in Bayfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moquah
- Washburn
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Washburn is located in Bayfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washburn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,049 people
- Delta
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Delta is located in Bayfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delta
- Iron County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mellen, with the one closest to Mellen listed first.
- Cedar
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Cedar is located in Iron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar
- Montreal
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Montreal is located in Iron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montreal
- Population from the 2020 Census: 752 people
- Gile
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Gile is located in Iron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gile
- Hurley
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Hurley is located in Iron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hurley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,424 people
- Price County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mellen, with the one closest to Mellen listed first.
- Lake
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Lake is located in Price County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake
- Estimated population in 2015: 1,106 people
- Kennedy
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Kennedy is located in Price County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kennedy
- Park Falls
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Park Falls is located in Price County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park Falls
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,192 people
- Gogebic County (MI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Mellen, with the one closest to Mellen listed first.
- Ironwood
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Hillcrest
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Hillcrest is located in Gogebic County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillcrest
- North Ironwood
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- North Ironwood is located in Gogebic County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Ironwood
- Bessemer
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Yale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Yale is located in Gogebic County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yale
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Mellen, see our County-by-County Page for Mellen.
Cemeteries Near Mellen ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Mellen.
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 Mellen - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Mellen covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Mellen, with the one closest to Mellen listed first.
- Cayuga Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Morse Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Maple Grove Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Calvary Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Greenwood Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Mt. Hope Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Edgewood Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Moe Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Birch Lake Church Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Wildwood Cemetery
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Hillside Cemetery
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Lake View Cemetery
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Odanah Cemetery
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Mt. Hope Cemetery
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
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 in 1895, Mellen had a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Mellen had a population of 686 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Mellen, with the one closest to Mellen listed first.
- High Bridge
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- High Bridge is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Bridge
- Morse
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Morse is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morse
- Sedgwick
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Sedgwick is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedgwick
- Marengo
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Marengo is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marengo
- Glidden
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Glidden is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glidden
- Sanborn
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Sanborn is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sanborn
- Birch
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Birch is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birch
- White River
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- White River is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White River
- Odanah
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Odanah is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Odanah
- Mason
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Mason is located in Bayfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason
- Population from the 2020 Census: 99 people
- Ashland
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Ashland is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,766 people
- Butternut
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Butternut is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butternut
- Population from the 2020 Census: 351 people
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Ashland Junction
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Ashland Junction is located in Bayfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland Junction
- Benoit
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Benoit is located in Bayfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benoit
- Hurley
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Hurley is located in Iron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hurley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,424 people
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Mellen. See our List of 1890's Communities around Mellen.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Mellen ...
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 75 newspapers that have been published in the area around Mellen.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Mellen. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Mellen and those printed in the larger area surrounding Mellen.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4> of Mellen.
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 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 Mellen:
- Websites specific to Wisconsin
- Pages specific to Ashland County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bayfield County
- Iron County
- Price County
- Gogebic County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Wisconsin
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 Mellen, 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- Mellen) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |