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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 Melvina (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 Melvina. 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 northeast 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 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 east 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.

Melvina is located in Monroe 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 Monroe County: Jackson, Juneau, La Crosse & Vernon.

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

  • Monroe County     (The home county of Melvina)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Melvina, with the one closest to Melvina listed first.
    • Cashton
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Cashton is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cashton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,111 people
    • Norwalk
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Sparta
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Oil City
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Oil City is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oil City
    • Angelo
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Wilton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Wilton is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 498 people
    • Tunnel City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Tunnel City is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunnel City
    • Tomah
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Tomah is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tomah
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,363 people
    • Kendall
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Kendall is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kendall
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 472 people
    • Clifton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Oakdale
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Valley Junction
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Wyeville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Wyeville is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyeville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 141 people
  • Crawford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Melvina, with the one closest to Melvina listed first.
    • Towerville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Rising Sun
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Soldiers Grove
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Soldiers Grove is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soldiers Grove
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 535 people
  • Jackson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Melvina, with the one closest to Melvina listed first.
    • Melrose
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • North Bend
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Millston
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
  • Juneau County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Melvina, with the one closest to Melvina listed first.
    • Elroy
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Elroy is located in Juneau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elroy
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,306 people
    • Hustler
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Camp Douglas
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Union Center
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Wonewoc
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Wonewoc is located in Juneau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wonewoc
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 789 people
    • New Lisbon
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • La Crosse County
  • Richland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Melvina, with the one closest to Melvina listed first.
    • Viola
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Yuba
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Yuba is located in Richland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yuba
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 69 people
    • Bloom City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Sabin
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Woodstock
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Gillingham
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Vernon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Melvina, with the one closest to Melvina listed first.
    • Newry
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Westby
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Ontario
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Ontario is located in Vernon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ontario
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 561 people
    • Coon Valley
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Viroqua
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Viroqua is located in Vernon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Viroqua
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,394 people
    • La Farge
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Mount Tabor
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Chaseburg
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Trippville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Liberty
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Liberty is located in Vernon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
    • White City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • White City is located in Vernon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
    • Newton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Liberty Pole
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
  • Houston County (MN)
  • Winona County (MN)
    • Dakota
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Dakota is located in Winona County (MN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dakota
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 307 people

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

Cemeteries Near Melvina ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Melvina.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Melvina, with the one closest to Melvina listed first.

  • Union Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Sacred Heart Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Pine Hollow Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Rest Haven Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Moen Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Clinton Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Leon Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Farmers Valley Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Home Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • St. Jacobs Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Catholic Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Pilgrims Home Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (202 more) ...
    • Summit Ridge Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • St. Patricks Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Bad Axe Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)

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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Melvina had a population of 88 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Melvina had a population of 109 people.

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

  • Cashton
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Cashton is located in Monroe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cashton
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,111 people
  • Saint Marys
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Saint Marys is located in Monroe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Marys
  • Leon
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Leon is located in Monroe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leon
  • Newry
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Norwalk
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Middle Ridge
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Sparta
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Westby
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Ontario
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Ontario is located in Vernon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ontario
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 561 people
  • Oil City
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Oil City is located in Monroe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oil City
  • Rockland
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Bloomingdale
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Bloomingdale is located in Vernon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomingdale
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in Melvina ...

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 149 newspapers that have been published in the area around Melvina.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Melvina, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Melvina.

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 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 Melvina:

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>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- Melvina) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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>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 Melvina, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.