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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 Oakdale (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 Oakdale. 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 doctors and 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.

Oakdale 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 Oakdale. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Oakdale:

  • Monroe County     (The home county of Oakdale)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oakdale, with the one closest to Oakdale listed first.
    • Wyeville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Wyeville is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyeville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 141 people
    • Shennington
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Clifton
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Valley Junction
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Tomah
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Tomah is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tomah
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,363 people
    • Tunnel City
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Tunnel City is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunnel City
    • Kendall
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Kendall is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kendall
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 472 people
    • Wilton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Wilton is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 498 people
    • Warrens
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Warrens is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warrens
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 346 people
    • Norwalk
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Oil City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Oil City is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oil City
    • Angelo
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
  • Adams County
  • Crawford County
    • Lynxville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Lynxville is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynxville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 125 people
  • Jackson County
  • Juneau County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oakdale, with the one closest to Oakdale listed first.
    • Camp Douglas
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Hustler
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • New Lisbon
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Mather
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Necedah
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Elroy
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Elroy is located in Juneau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elroy
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,306 people
    • Sprague
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Mauston
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Mauston is located in Juneau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mauston
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,358 people
    • Union Center
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Lemonweir
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • New Miner
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Wonewoc
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Wonewoc is located in Juneau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wonewoc
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 789 people
  • La Crosse County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oakdale, with the one closest to Oakdale listed first.
    • Rockland
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Bangor
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Bangor is located in La Crosse County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bangor
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,442 people
    • Middle Ridge
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Richland County
    • Yuba
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Yuba is located in Richland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yuba
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 69 people
  • Sauk County
  • Vernon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oakdale, with the one closest to Oakdale listed first.
    • Trippville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Mount Tabor
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Ontario
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Ontario is located in Vernon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ontario
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 561 people
    • Hillsboro
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • White City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • White City is located in Vernon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
    • Newry
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • La Farge
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Oakdale ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Oakdale.

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

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

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

  • Oakdale Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Sorenson Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • St. Peters Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Camp Douglas Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • St. James Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Wood Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Clifton Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Oak Grove Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Mt. Vernon Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Dorset Ridge Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (149 more) ...
    • Ranney Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Boyonton Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Worden - Burroughs Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 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.<1>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Oakdale had a population of 63 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Oakdale had a population of 290 people.

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

  • Wyeville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Wyeville is located in Monroe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyeville
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 141 people
  • Clifton
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Camp Douglas
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Valley Junction
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Tomah
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Tomah is located in Monroe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tomah
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,363 people
  • Hustler
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Tunnel City
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Tunnel City is located in Monroe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunnel City
  • Cloverdale
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Cloverdale is located in Juneau County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverdale
  • Kendall
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Kendall is located in Monroe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kendall
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 472 people
  • New Lisbon
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Norway Ridge
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Norway Ridge is located in Monroe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norway Ridge
  • Kirby
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Kirby is located in Monroe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirby
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Mather
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Warrens
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Warrens is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warrens
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 346 people
    • Norwalk
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Oakdale ...

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 82 newspapers that have been published in the area around Oakdale.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Oakdale, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Oakdale.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start 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 Oakdale:

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Oakdale, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<2>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Oakdale) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.