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 Portland (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 Portland. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most 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.
Portland is primarily located in Jefferson County. A portion of Portland extends into Dodge 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 Jefferson County: Dane, Dodge, Rock, Walworth & Waukesha.
Below are the counties that are near Portland. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Portland:
- Jefferson County (The home county of Portland)
- The following are listed by their distance from Portland, with the one closest to Portland listed first.
- Waterloo
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Waterloo is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterloo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,322 people
- Lake Mills
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Lake Mills is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Mills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,014 people
- Milford
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Milford is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milford
- Grellton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Grellton is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grellton
- Watertown
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Watertown is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watertown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 23,370 people
- Lake Ripley
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Lake Ripley is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Ripley
- Johnson Creek
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Johnson Creek is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnson Creek
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,065 people
- Jefferson
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Jefferson is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,037 people
- Farmington
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Farmington is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmington
- Helenville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Helenville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helenville
- Ixonia
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Ixonia is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ixonia
- Fort Atkinson
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Fort Atkinson is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Atkinson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,372 people
- Columbia County
- The following are listed by their distance from Portland, with the one closest to Portland listed first.
- Columbus
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Columbus is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbus
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,117 people
- Fall River
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Fall River is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fall River
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,757 people
- Keyeser
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Keyeser is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keyeser
- Englewood
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Englewood is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Englewood
- Otsego
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Otsego is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otsego
- Doylestown
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Doylestown is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doylestown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 299 people
- North Leeds
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- North Leeds is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Leeds
- Rio
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Rio is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rio
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,047 people
- Arlington
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Arlington is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 818 people
- Cambria
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Cambria is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambria
- Population from the 2020 Census: 748 people
- Poynette
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Poynette is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poynette
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,508 people
- Wyocena
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Wyocena is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyocena
- Population from the 2020 Census: 727 people
- Former names for Wyocena:
- Duck Creek
- Wiocena
- Dane County
- The following are listed by their distance from Portland, with the one closest to Portland listed first.
- Marshall
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Marshall is located in Dane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshall
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,016 people
- Pierceville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Pierceville is located in Dane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pierceville
- East Bristol
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- East Bristol is located in Dane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Bristol
- Deerfield
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Deerfield is located in Dane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deerfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,540 people
- North Bristol
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- North Bristol is located in Dane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Bristol
- Cambridge
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Cambridge is located in Dane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambridge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,538 people
- Cottage Grove
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Cottage Grove is located in Dane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottage Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,158 people
- Sun Prairie
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Sun Prairie is located in Dane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sun Prairie
- Population from the 2020 Census: 35,119 people
- Rockdale
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Rockdale is located in Dane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockdale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 216 people
- Burke
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Burke is located in Dane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burke
- Door Creek
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Door Creek is located in Dane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Door Creek
- Hope
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Hope is located in Dane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope
- Dodge County
- The following are listed by their distance from Portland, with the one closest to Portland listed first.
- Astico
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Astico is located in Dodge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Astico
- Reeseville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Reeseville is located in Dodge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeseville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 673 people
- Lowell
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Lowell is located in Dodge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 322 people
- Clyman
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Clyman is located in Dodge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clyman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 396 people
- Beaver Dam
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Beaver Dam is located in Dodge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Dam
- Population from the 2020 Census: 16,303 people
- Juneau
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Juneau is located in Dodge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Juneau
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,532 people
- Hustisford
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Hustisford is located in Dodge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hustisford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,060 people
- Minnesota Junction
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Minnesota Junction is located in Dodge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minnesota Junction
- Ashippun
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Ashippun is located in Dodge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashippun
- Randolph
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Randolph is located in Dodge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randolph
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,738 people
- Burnett
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Burnett is located in Dodge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnett
- Horicon
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Horicon is located in Dodge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horicon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,680 people
- Rock County
- The following are listed by their distance from Portland, with the one closest to Portland listed first.
- Edgerton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Edgerton is located in Rock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgerton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,595 people
- Indianford
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Indianford is located in Rock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indianford
- Fulton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Fulton is located in Rock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulton
- Milton Junction
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Milton Junction is located in Rock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milton Junction
- Cooksville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Cooksville is located in Rock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooksville
- Lima Center
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Lima Center is located in Rock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lima Center
- Milton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Milton is located in Rock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,643 people
- Union
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Union is located in Rock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
- Walworth County
- Whitewater
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Whitewater is located in Walworth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitewater
- Population from the 2020 Census: 14,993 people
- Washington County
- Thompson
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Thompson is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompson
- Waukesha County
- The following are listed by their distance from Portland, with the one closest to Portland listed first.
- Monterey
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Monterey is located in Waukesha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monterey
- Oconomowoc
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Oconomowoc is located in Waukesha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oconomowoc
- Population from the 2020 Census: 17,160 people
- Summit
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Summit is located in Waukesha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,255 people
- Oconomowoc Lake
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Oconomowoc Lake is located in Waukesha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oconomowoc Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 606 people
- Okauchee Lake
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Okauchee Lake is located in Waukesha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Okauchee Lake
- Okauchee
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Okauchee is located in Waukesha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Okauchee
- Summit Center
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Summit Center is located in Waukesha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit Center
- Stonebank
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Stonebank is located in Waukesha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonebank
- Dousman
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Dousman is located in Waukesha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dousman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,317 people
- Nashotah
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Nashotah is located in Waukesha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nashotah
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,361 people
- Waterville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Waterville is located in Waukesha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterville
- Chenequa
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Chenequa is located in Waukesha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chenequa
- Population from the 2020 Census: 606 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Portland, see our County-by-County Page for Portland.
Cemeteries Near Portland ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Portland.
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 Portland - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Portland covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Portland, with the one closest to Portland listed first.
- Washington Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Oak Hill Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- South Road Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Island Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Moravian Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- South York Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Medina Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Neville Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- East York Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- York Center Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Newville Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Continue List (262 more) ...
- The Reformed Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Austin Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Elba Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
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 Portland in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Portland.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Portland, with the one closest to Portland listed first.
- Waterloo
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Waterloo is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterloo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,322 people
- Hubbleton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Hubbleton is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hubbleton
- Marshall
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Marshall is located in Dane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshall
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,016 people
- Deansville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Deansville is located in Dane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deansville
- Danville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Danville is located in Dodge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danville
- Pierceville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Pierceville is located in Dane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pierceville
- Columbus
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Columbus is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbus
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,117 people
- Lake Mills
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Lake Mills is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Mills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,014 people
- Milford
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Milford is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milford
- Reeseville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Reeseville is located in Dodge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeseville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 673 people
- London
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- London is located in Dane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for London
- Aztalan
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Aztalan is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aztalan
- Continue List (18 more) ...
- Richwood
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Richwood is located in Dodge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richwood
- East Bristol
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- East Bristol is located in Dane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Bristol
- Deerfield
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Deerfield is located in Dane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deerfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,540 people
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Portland. See our List of 1890's Communities around Portland.
Newspapers Published in Portland ...
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 136 newspapers that have been published in the area around Portland.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Portland, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Portland.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Portland:
- Websites specific to Wisconsin
- Pages specific to Jefferson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Columbia County
- Dane County
- Dodge County
- Rock County
- Walworth County
- Washington County
- Waukesha 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 Portland, 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' (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- Portland) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |