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 Otsego (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 Otsego. 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 and doctors 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.
Otsego is located in Columbia County.
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 Columbia County: Adams, Dane, Dodge, Green Lake, Juneau, Marquette & Sauk.
Below are the counties that are near Otsego. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Otsego:
- Columbia County (The home county of Otsego)
- The following are listed by their distance from Otsego, with the one closest to Otsego listed first.
- Doylestown
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doylestown
- Doylestown is located in Columbia County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 299 people
- Englewood
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Englewood
- Englewood is located in Columbia County
- Rio
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest) - Fall River
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fall River
- Fall River is located in Columbia County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,757 people
- Columbus
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbus
- Columbus is located in Columbia County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,117 people
- Keyeser
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest) - Cambria
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north) - Wyocena
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyocena
- Wyocena is located in Columbia County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 727 people
- Former names for Wyocena:
- Duck Creek
- Wiocena
- North Leeds
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Leeds have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Leeds
- North Leeds is located in Columbia County
- Pardeeville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pardeeville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pardeeville
- Pardeeville is located in Columbia County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,053 people
- Arlington
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington
- Arlington is located in Columbia County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 818 people
- Poynette
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west) - Friesland
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Dane County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otsego, with the one closest to Otsego listed first.
- North Bristol
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Bristol have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Bristol
- North Bristol is located in Dane County
- DeForest
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for DeForest
- DeForest is located in Dane County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,915 people
- Morrisonville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrisonville
- Morrisonville is located in Dane County
- Sun Prairie
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sun Prairie have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sun Prairie
- Sun Prairie is located in Dane County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 35,119 people
- Windsor
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsor
- Windsor is located in Dane County
- Marshall
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshall
- Marshall is located in Dane County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,016 people
- Pierceville
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pierceville
- Pierceville is located in Dane County
- Burke
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south) - Dane
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest) - Waunakee
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest) - Cottage Grove
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottage Grove
- Cottage Grove is located in Dane County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,158 people
- Darwin ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest) - Mendota
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Dodge County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otsego, with the one closest to Otsego listed first.
- Randolph
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast) - Astico
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Astico
- Astico is located in Dodge County
- Fox Lake
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast) - Beaver Dam
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beaver Dam have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Dam
- Beaver Dam is located in Dodge County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 16,303 people
- Lowell
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east) - Reeseville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reeseville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeseville
- Reeseville is located in Dodge County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 673 people
- Burnett
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnett
- Burnett is located in Dodge County
- Clyman
(23 miles [37 km] to the east) - Juneau
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Juneau
- Juneau is located in Dodge County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,532 people
- Atwater
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atwater
- Atwater is located in Dodge County
- Horicon
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east) - Waupun
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast) - Hustisford
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hustisford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hustisford
- Hustisford is located in Dodge County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,060 people
- Fond du Lac County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otsego, with the one closest to Otsego listed first.
- Fairwater
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairwater
- Fairwater is located in Fond du Lac County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 352 people
- Brandon
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandon
- Brandon is located in Fond du Lac County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 845 people
- Green Lake County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otsego, with the one closest to Otsego listed first.
- Kingston
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingston
- Kingston is located in Green Lake County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 319 people
- Markesan
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north) - Marquette
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otsego, with the one closest to Otsego listed first.
- Waterloo
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast) - Grellton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grellton
- Grellton is located in Jefferson County
- Lake Mills
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Mills
- Lake Mills is located in Jefferson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,014 people
- Watertown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watertown
- Watertown is located in Jefferson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 23,370 people
- Lake Ripley
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Ripley
- Lake Ripley is located in Jefferson County
- Johnson Creek
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnson Creek
- Johnson Creek is located in Jefferson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,065 people
- Marquette County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otsego, with the one closest to Otsego listed first.
- Glen Oak
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Oak
- Glen Oak is located in Marquette County
- Endeavor
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest) - Montello
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north) - Douglas Center
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Douglas Center have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douglas Center
- Douglas Center is located in Marquette County
- Packwaukee
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Packwaukee
- Packwaukee is located in Marquette County
- Sauk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otsego, with the one closest to Otsego listed first.
- Merrimac
(23 miles [37 km] to the west) - Moon Valley
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moon Valley
- Moon Valley is located in Sauk County
- Baraboo
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baraboo
- Baraboo is located in Sauk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,121 people
- Prairie du Sac village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie du Sac village
- Prairie du Sac village is located in Sauk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,426 people
- Sauk City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west) - West Baraboo
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Baraboo have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Baraboo
- West Baraboo is located in Sauk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,416 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Otsego, see our County-by-County Page for Otsego.
Newspapers Published in Otsego ...
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 177 newspapers that have been published in the area around Otsego.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Otsego, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Otsego.
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 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 Otsego:
- Websites specific to Wisconsin
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Website for the //www.wisconsinhistory.org/
- Pages specific to Columbia County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Dane County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Dodge County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Fond du Lac County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Green Lake County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Jefferson County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Marquette County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Sauk County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Dane County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Wisconsin
- Cemetery Junction: Cemeteries of Wisconsin
- Cyndi's List
- Cemeteries of Wisconsin
- Cemeteries of Columbia County
- FamilySearch.org: Cemeteries of Wisconsin
- Find-A-Grave: Home Page
- Interment.net
- Cemeteries of Wisconsin
- Cemeteries of Columbia County
Cemeteries Near Otsego ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Otsego.
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 Otsego covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Otsego, with the one closest to Otsego listed first.
- Otsego Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)- To give a relative sense of its location, the Otsego Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Otsego.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Otsego Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1028628 <3>
- Doylestown Village Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Doylestown Village Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2564420 <3>
- St. Patricks Catholic Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Patricks Catholic Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2133274 <3>
- St. Johns Lutheran Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)- The St. Johns Lutheran Cemetery has also been known as:
- St. John's Evanglical Lutheran Cemetery
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Johns Lutheran Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1967694 <3>
- Fountain Prairie Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- To give a relative sense of its location, the Fountain Prairie Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<2> to the northeast of Englewood.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fountain Prairie Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #87970 <3>
- St. Stephen's Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- The St. Stephen's Cemetery has also been known as:
- St. Stephen Cemetery
- St. Stephen's Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Stephen's Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2129745 <3>
- Bonnet Prairie Lutheran Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- The Bonnet Prairie Lutheran Cemetery has also been known as:
- Bonnet Prairie Cemetery
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bonnet Prairie Lutheran Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #87618 <3>
- St. Joseph Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Joseph Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Joseph Cemetery
- St. Joseph's Catholic Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Joseph's Catholic Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #89022 <3>
- Hampden Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hampden Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #88097 <3>
- Ohio Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ohio Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2133564 <3>
- Fall River Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fall River Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #87922 <3>
- Continue List (255 more) ...
- Lowville Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lowville Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #88372 <3>
- Leeds Center Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)- The Leeds Center Cemetery has also been known as:
- Leeds Cemetery
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Leeds Center Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #88322 <3>
- Spring Prairie Lutheran Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)- The Spring Prairie Lutheran Cemetery has also been known as:
- Spring Prairie Cemetery
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Spring Prairie Lutheran Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2133271 <3>
- Lowville Cemetery
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 Otsego had a population of 176 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Otsego, with the one closest to Otsego listed first.
- Doylestown
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doylestown
- Doylestown is located in Columbia County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 299 people
- Rio
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest) - Fall River
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fall River
- Fall River is located in Columbia County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,757 people
- Lowville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west) - Keyeser
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest) - Columbus
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbus
- Columbus is located in Columbia County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,117 people
- North Leeds
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Leeds have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Leeds
- North Leeds is located in Columbia County
- North Bristol
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Bristol have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Bristol
- North Bristol is located in Dane County
- East Bristol
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Bristol have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Bristol
- East Bristol is located in Dane County
- Lost Lake
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast) - Cambria
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north) - Wyocena
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyocena
- Wyocena is located in Columbia County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 727 people
- Former names for Wyocena:
- Duck Creek
- Wiocena
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Leeds
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest) - Arlington
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington
- Arlington is located in Columbia County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 818 people
- Pardeeville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pardeeville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pardeeville
- Pardeeville is located in Columbia County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,053 people
- Leeds
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Otsego. See our List of 1890's Communities around Otsego.
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Otsego. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Columbia County: www.co.columbia.wi.us/
The official website for State of Wisconsin: https://www.wisconsin.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <2> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Otsego) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Otsego. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.4039, Longitude: -89.1664 |
| <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 Otsego, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |