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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 Pelican Lake (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 Pelican Lake. 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 Pelican Lake ...

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 have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Pelican Lake: Pelican Lk.

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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors 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.

Pelican Lake is located in Oneida 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 Oneida County: Forest, Langlade, Lincoln, Price & Vilas.

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

  • Oneida County     (The home county of Pelican Lake)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pelican Lake, with the one closest to Pelican Lake listed first.
    • Jennings
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Monico
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Gagen
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Gagen. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gagen
      • Gagen is located in Oneida County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Gagen
      • From Pelican Lake to Gagen
    • Rhinelander
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Sugar Camp
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Newbold
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Newbold have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newbold
      • Newbold is located in Oneida County
    • Harshaw
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Forest County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pelican Lake, with the one closest to Pelican Lake listed first.
    • Mole Lake
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Crandon
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Atkins
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Atkins. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atkins
      • Atkins is located in Forest County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Atkins
      • From Pelican Lake to Atkins
    • Hiles
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hiles have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hiles
      • Hiles is located in Forest County
    • Laona
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Padus
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
  • Langlade County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pelican Lake, with the one closest to Pelican Lake listed first.
    • Elcho
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Post Lake
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Kempster
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Kempster. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kempster
      • Kempster is located in Langlade County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Kempster
      • From Pelican Lake to Kempster
    • Deerbrook
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Freeman
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Freeman. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman
      • Freeman is located in Langlade County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Freeman
      • From Pelican Lake to Freeman
    • Lily
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lily. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lily
      • Lily is located in Langlade County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Lily
      • From Pelican Lake to Lily
    • Bryant
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bryant. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryant
      • Bryant is located in Langlade County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Bryant
      • From Pelican Lake to Bryant
    • Antigo
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • White Lake
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for White Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Lake
      • White Lake is located in Langlade County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 353 people
  • Lincoln County
  • Oconto County
  • Vilas County

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

Cemeteries Near Pelican Lake ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Pelican Lake.

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 Pelican Lake covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Enterprise Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Enterprise Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Enterprise Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Forest Home Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Forest Home Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Forest Home Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Elcho Community Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Marys Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Marys Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Wolfgram Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wolfgram Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wolfgram Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Nashville Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Nashville Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Nashville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lakeside Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lakeside Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lakeside Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Crandon Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Parrish Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Parrish Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Parrish Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pearson Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Northland Memorial Park
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Northland Memorial Park
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Northland Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Summit Town Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (48 more) ...
    • Crandon Lakeside Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Forest Home Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Forest Home Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Forest Home Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Argonne Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Argonne Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Argonne Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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 in 1895, Pelican Lake had railroad service and no post office.

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

  • Elcho
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Post Lake
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Summit Lake
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Summit Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit Lake
    • Summit Lake is located in Langlade County
  • Malvern
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Malvern have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malvern
    • Malvern is located in Oneida County
  • Koepenick
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Koepenick have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Koepenick
    • Koepenick is located in Langlade County
  • Jeffris
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jeffris have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeffris
    • Jeffris is located in Lincoln County
  • Crandon
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Atkins
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Atkins. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atkins
    • Atkins is located in Forest County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Atkins
    • From Pelican Lake to Atkins
  • Kempster
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Kempster. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kempster
    • Kempster is located in Langlade County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Kempster
    • From Pelican Lake to Kempster
  • Rhinelander
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Dudley
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
  • Deerbrook
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Lily
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lily. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lily
      • Lily is located in Langlade County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Lily
      • From Pelican Lake to Lily
    • Bryant
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bryant. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryant
      • Bryant is located in Langlade County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Bryant
      • From Pelican Lake to Bryant
    • Newbold
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Newbold have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newbold
      • Newbold is located in Oneida County

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

Newspapers Published in Pelican Lake ...

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 48 newspapers that have been published in the area around Pelican Lake.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Pelican Lake, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Pelican Lake.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to 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 Pelican Lake:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Pelican Lake. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Oneida County: www.co.oneida.wi.gov/

The official website for State of Wisconsin: https://www.wisconsin.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<2>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.
<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 Pelican Lake, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Pelican Lake) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Pelican Lake. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.4993, Longitude: -89.1668    









 

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In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025