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 Porters (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 Porters. 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 southeast 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 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 east 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.
Porters is located in Rock 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 Rock County: Boone (IL), Winnebago (IL), Dane, Green, Jefferson & Walworth.
Below are the counties that are near Porters. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Porters:
- Rock County (The home county of Porters)
- The following are listed by their distance from Porters, with the one closest to Porters listed first.
- Shopiere
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Shopiere is located in Rock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shopiere
- Garden Village
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Garden Village is located in Rock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Village
- Beloit
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Beloit is located in Rock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beloit
- Population from the 2020 Census: 36,637 people
- Tiffany
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Tiffany is located in Rock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tiffany
- Clinton
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Clinton is located in Rock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,119 people
- Avalon
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Avalon is located in Rock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avalon
- Emerald Grove
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Emerald Grove is located in Rock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerald Grove
- Janesville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Janesville is located in Rock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Janesville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 64,664 people
- Hanover
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Hanover is located in Rock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanover
- Johnstown Center
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Johnstown Center is located in Rock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnstown Center
- Newark
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Newark is located in Rock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newark
- Johnstown
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Johnstown is located in Rock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnstown
- Dane County
- The following are listed by their distance from Porters, with the one closest to Porters listed first.
- Edgerton Beach Park
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Edgerton Beach Park is located in Dane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgerton Beach Park
- Albion
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Albion is located in Dane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albion
- Hanerville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Hanerville is located in Dane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanerville
- Dunkirk
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Dunkirk is located in Dane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunkirk
- Stone
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Stone is located in Dane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone
- Rockdale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Rockdale is located in Dane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockdale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 216 people
- Brooklyn
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Brooklyn is located in Dane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklyn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,484 people
- Stoughton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Stoughton is located in Dane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoughton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 13,218 people
- Green County
- The following are listed by their distance from Porters, with the one closest to Porters listed first.
- Brodhead
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Brodhead is located in Green County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brodhead
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,204 people
- Albany
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Albany is located in Green County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albany
- Population from the 2020 Census: 977 people
- Mineral Point
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Mineral Point is located in Green County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral Point
- Twin Grove
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Twin Grove is located in Green County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Grove
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Porters, with the one closest to Porters listed first.
- Carcajou
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Carcajou is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carcajou
- Cold Spring
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Cold Spring is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cold Spring
- Lake Koshkonong
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Lake Koshkonong is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Koshkonong
- Fort Atkinson
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Fort Atkinson is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Atkinson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,372 people
- Hebron
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Hebron is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hebron
- Palmyra
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Palmyra is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmyra
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,746 people
- Walworth County
- The following are listed by their distance from Porters, with the one closest to Porters listed first.
- Allens Grove
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Allens Grove is located in Walworth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allens Grove
- Sharon
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Sharon is located in Walworth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,546 people
- Darien
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Darien is located in Walworth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darien
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,591 people
- Richmond
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Richmond is located in Walworth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmond
- Delavan Lake
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Delavan Lake is located in Walworth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delavan Lake
- Delavan
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Delavan is located in Walworth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delavan
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,240 people
- Big Foot Prairie
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Big Foot Prairie is located in Walworth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Foot Prairie
- Walworth
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Walworth is located in Walworth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walworth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,827 people
- Fontana-on-Geneva Lake
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Fontana-on-Geneva Lake is located in Walworth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fontana-on-Geneva Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,743 people
- Williams Bay
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Williams Bay is located in Walworth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williams Bay
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,657 people
- Heart Prairie
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Heart Prairie is located in Walworth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heart Prairie
- Elkhorn
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Elkhorn is located in Walworth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhorn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,020 people
- Boone County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Porters, with the one closest to Porters listed first.
- Caledonia
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Timberlane
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Timberlane is located in Boone County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timberlane
- Population from the 2020 Census: 934 people
- Poplar Grove
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Capron
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Russellville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Russellville is located in Boone County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russellville
- Belvidere
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Garden Prairie
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Irene
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Irene is located in Boone County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irene
- Herbert
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Herbert is located in Boone County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herbert
- DeKalb County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Porters, with the one closest to Porters listed first.
- Fairdale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Fairdale is located in DeKalb County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairdale
- Kirkland
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- McHenry County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Porters, with the one closest to Porters listed first.
- Big Foot Prairie
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Big Foot Prairie is located in McHenry County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Foot Prairie
- Harvard
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Alden
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Marengo
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Hebron
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Union
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Woodstock
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Greenwood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Greenwood is located in McHenry County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 224 people
- Ogle County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Porters, with the one closest to Porters listed first.
- Monroe Center
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Davis Junction
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Stephenson County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Porters, with the one closest to Porters listed first.
- Davis
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Davis is located in Stephenson County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davis
- Population from the 2020 Census: 616 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Davis <1>
- Rock City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Rock City is located in Stephenson County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 279 people
- Rock Grove
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Rock Grove is located in Stephenson County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Grove
- Ridott
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Dakota
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Winnebago County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Porters, with the one closest to Porters listed first.
- South Beloit
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Rockton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Roscoe
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Roscoe is located in Winnebago County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roscoe
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,406 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Roscoe <1>
- Argyle
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Argyle is located in Winnebago County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argyle
- Loves Park
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Machesney Park
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Shirland
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Sturbridge Village
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Sturbridge Village is located in Winnebago County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sturbridge Village
- Wempletown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Wempletown is located in Winnebago County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wempletown
- Rockford
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Cherry Valley
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Durand
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Durand is located in Winnebago County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durand
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,387 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Durand <1>
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Porters, see our County-by-County Page for Porters.
Cemeteries Near Porters ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Porters.
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 Porters - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Porters covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Porters, with the one closest to Porters listed first.
- Eastlawn Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Tabor Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Turtle Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Mt. Thabor Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Oakwood Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Calvary Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Pinnacle Hill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Clinton Corners Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Floral Lawns Memorial Gardens
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Forest Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Bamblett Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Oak Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (233 more) ...
- Clinton Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- East Jefferson Prairie Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Baldwin Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
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.<3>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Porters had railroad service and no post office.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Porters, with the one closest to Porters listed first.
- Beloit
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Beloit is located in Rock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beloit
- Population from the 2020 Census: 36,637 people
- Shopiere
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Shopiere is located in Rock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shopiere
- Tiffany
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Tiffany is located in Rock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tiffany
- Clinton
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Clinton is located in Rock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,119 people
- Rockton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Afton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Afton is located in Rock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Afton
- Roscoe
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Roscoe is located in Winnebago County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roscoe
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,406 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Roscoe <1>
- Hunter
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Hunter is located in Boone County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunter
- Blaine
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Blaine is located in Boone County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blaine
- Emerald Grove
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Emerald Grove is located in Rock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerald Grove
- Allens Grove
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Allens Grove is located in Walworth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allens Grove
- Janesville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Janesville is located in Rock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Janesville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 64,664 people
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Argyle
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Argyle is located in Winnebago County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argyle
- Caledonia
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Sharon
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Sharon is located in Walworth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,546 people
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Porters. See our List of 1890's Communities around Porters.
Newspapers Published in Porters ...
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 108 newspapers that have been published in the area around Porters.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Porters, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Porters.
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 Porters:
- Websites specific to Wisconsin
- Pages specific to Rock County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Dane County
- Green County
- Jefferson County
- Walworth County
- Boone County
- DeKalb County
- McHenry County
- Ogle County
- Stephenson County
- Winnebago County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Wisconsin
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> | 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. |
| <3> | 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 Porters, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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- Porters) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |