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 North Star (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 North Star. 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 North Star ...
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 occur.
For example, a typical abbreviation for North Star: N. Star
You might be interested in other communities that are also named North Star. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for North Star.
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 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 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.
North Star is located in Portage 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 Portage County: Adams, Marathon, Shawano, Waupaca, Waushara & Wood.
Below are the counties that are near North Star. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to North Star:
- Portage County (The home county of North Star)
- The following are listed by their distance from North Star, with the one closest to North Star listed first.
- Ellis
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Ellis is located in Portage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellis
- Polonia
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Polonia is located in Portage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polonia
- Torun
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Torun is located in Portage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Torun
- Rosholt
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Rosholt is located in Portage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosholt
- Population from the 2020 Census: 481 people
- Alban
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Alban is located in Portage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alban
- Custer
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Custer is located in Portage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Custer
- Garfield
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Garfield is located in Portage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garfield
- Park Ridge
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Park Ridge is located in Portage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park Ridge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 496 people
- Stevens Point
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Stevens Point is located in Portage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stevens Point
- Population from the 2020 Census: 25,949 people
- Lake Emily ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Lake Emily is located in Portage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Emily
- Nelsonville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Nelsonville is located in Portage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nelsonville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 151 people
- Arnott
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Arnott is located in Portage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnott
- Amherst Junction
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Amherst Junction is located in Portage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amherst Junction
- Population from the 2020 Census: 392 people
- Marathon County
- The following are listed by their distance from North Star, with the one closest to North Star listed first.
- Galloway
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Galloway is located in Marathon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galloway
- Ashley
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Ashley is located in Marathon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashley
- Pike Lake
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Pike Lake is located in Marathon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pike Lake
- Elderon
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Elderon is located in Marathon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elderon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 213 people
- Mosinee
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Mosinee is located in Marathon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mosinee
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,195 people
- Hatley
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Hatley is located in Marathon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 603 people
- Ringle
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Ringle is located in Marathon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ringle
- Evergreen
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Evergreen is located in Marathon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen
- Kronenwetter
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Kronenwetter is located in Marathon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kronenwetter
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,143 people
- Weston
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Weston is located in Marathon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 15,165 people
- Norrie
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Norrie is located in Marathon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norrie
- Moon
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Moon is located in Marathon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moon
- Rothschild
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Rothschild is located in Marathon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rothschild
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,256 people
- Shawano County
- The following are listed by their distance from North Star, with the one closest to North Star listed first.
- Tigerton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Tigerton is located in Shawano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tigerton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 702 people
- Wittenberg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Wittenberg is located in Shawano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wittenberg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 986 people
- Split Rock
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Split Rock is located in Shawano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Split Rock
- Eland
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Eland is located in Shawano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 205 people
- Birnamwood
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Birnamwood is located in Shawano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birnamwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 772 people
- Bowler
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Bowler is located in Shawano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowler
- Population from the 2020 Census: 286 people
- Regina
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Regina is located in Shawano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Regina
- Aniwa
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Aniwa is located in Shawano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aniwa
- Population from the 2020 Census: 252 people
- Almon
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Almon is located in Shawano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almon
- Leopolis
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Leopolis is located in Shawano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leopolis
- Waupaca County
- The following are listed by their distance from North Star, with the one closest to North Star listed first.
- Iola
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Iola is located in Waupaca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iola
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,190 people
- Scandinavia
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Scandinavia is located in Waupaca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scandinavia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 349 people
- Sheridan
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Sheridan is located in Waupaca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheridan
- Big Falls
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Big Falls is located in Waupaca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Falls
- Population from the 2020 Census: 69 people
- Cobb Town
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Cobb Town is located in Waupaca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobb Town
- Granite City ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Granite City is located in Waupaca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granite City
- Ogdensburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Ogdensburg is located in Waupaca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogdensburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 175 people
- King
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- King is located in Waupaca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for King
- Rural
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Rural is located in Waupaca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rural
- Waupaca
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Waupaca is located in Waupaca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waupaca
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,857 people
- Marion
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Marion is located in Waupaca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marion
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,167 people
- Manawa
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Manawa is located in Waupaca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manawa
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,269 people
- Baldwins Mill
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Baldwins Mill is located in Waupaca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baldwins Mill
- Waushara County
- Plainfield
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Plainfield is located in Waushara County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 832 people
- Wood County
- The following are listed by their distance from North Star, with the one closest to North Star listed first.
- Rudolph
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Rudolph is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rudolph
- Population from the 2020 Census: 411 people
- Biron
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Biron is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Biron
- Population from the 2020 Census: 761 people
- Milladore
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Milladore is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milladore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 258 people
- Grand Rapids
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Grand Rapids is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Rapids
- Lake Wazeecha
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Lake Wazeecha is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Wazeecha
- Blenker
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Blenker is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blenker
- Sherry
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Sherry is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherry
- Wisconsin Rapids
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Wisconsin Rapids is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wisconsin Rapids
- Population from the 2020 Census: 17,555 people
- Eight Corners
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Eight Corners is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eight Corners
- Port Edwards
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Port Edwards is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Edwards
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,752 people
- Vesper
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Vesper is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vesper
- Population from the 2020 Census: 539 people
- Auburndale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Auburndale is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auburndale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 658 people
- Arpin
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Arpin is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arpin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 305 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to North Star, see our County-by-County Page for North Star.
Cemeteries Near North Star ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of North Star.
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 North Star - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for North Star covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from North Star, with the one closest to North Star listed first.
- St. Adalbert Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Guardian Angel Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- St. Josephs Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- St. Stephens Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Lutheran Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- McDill Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Nelsonville Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- St. Peters Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Union Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Forest Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- St. Mary of Mt. Carmel Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Northland Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Continue List (139 more) ...
- Peacefull Rest Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Our Saviors Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Plover Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
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.<2>
While we didn't find North Star in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of North Star.
These communities are listed based on their distance from North Star, with the one closest to North Star listed first.
- Ellis
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Ellis is located in Portage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellis
- Polonia
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Polonia is located in Portage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polonia
- Shantytown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Shantytown is located in Marathon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shantytown
- Alban
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Alban is located in Portage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alban
- Stockton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Stockton is located in Portage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stockton
- Custer
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Custer is located in Portage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Custer
- Garfield
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Garfield is located in Portage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garfield
- Stevens Point
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Stevens Point is located in Portage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stevens Point
- Population from the 2020 Census: 25,949 people
- Peru
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Peru is located in Portage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peru
- Fancher
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Fancher is located in Portage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fancher
- Lake Emily ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Lake Emily is located in Portage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Emily
- Nelsonville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Nelsonville is located in Portage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nelsonville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 151 people
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Northland
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Northland is located in Waupaca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northland
- Bevent
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Bevent is located in Marathon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bevent
- Arnott
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Arnott is located in Portage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnott
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around North Star. See our List of 1890's Communities around North Star.
Newspapers Published in North Star ...
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 89 newspapers that have been published in the area around North Star.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of North Star, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for North Star.
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 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 North Star:
- Websites specific to Wisconsin
- Pages specific to Portage County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Marathon County
- Shawano County
- Waupaca County
- Waushara County
- Wood County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Wisconsin
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <2> | 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 North Star, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- North Star) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |