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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 Rising Sun (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 Rising Sun. 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 Rising Sun ...

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 occur.

Another variation: Risingsun.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Rising Sun. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Rising Sun.

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 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.

Rising Sun is located in Crawford 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 Crawford County: Allamakee (IA), Clayton (IA), Grant, Richland & Vernon.

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

  • Crawford County     (The home county of Rising Sun)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rising Sun, with the one closest to Rising Sun listed first.
    • Towerville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Freeman
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Freeman is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman
    • Mount Sterling
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Mount Sterling is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Sterling
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 196 people
    • Gays Mills
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Gays Mills is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gays Mills
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 504 people
    • Ferryville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Ferryville is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferryville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 173 people
    • Soldiers Grove
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Soldiers Grove is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soldiers Grove
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 535 people
    • Bell Center
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Petersburg
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • De Soto
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Eastman
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Eastman is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastman
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 404 people
    • Steuben
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Charme
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Charme is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charme
  • Grant County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rising Sun, with the one closest to Rising Sun listed first.
    • Woodman
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Woodman is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodman
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 129 people
    • Boscobel
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Boscobel is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boscobel
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,134 people
    • Blue River
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Blue River is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue River
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 418 people
    • Millville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Werley
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Werley is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Werley
    • Muscoda
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Muscoda is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muscoda
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,236 people
  • La Crosse County
  • Monroe County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rising Sun, with the one closest to Rising Sun listed first.
    • Cashton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Cashton is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cashton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,111 people
    • Melvina
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Oil City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Oil City is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oil City
  • Richland County
  • Vernon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rising Sun, with the one closest to Rising Sun listed first.
    • Fargo
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • West Prairie
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • West Prairie is located in Vernon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Prairie
    • Liberty Pole
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Retreat
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Purdy
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Readstown
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Readstown is located in Vernon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Readstown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 414 people
    • Viroqua
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Viroqua is located in Vernon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Viroqua
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,394 people
    • Newton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Liberty
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Liberty is located in Vernon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
    • Westby
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Genoa
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Chaseburg
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
  • Allamakee County (IA)
  • Clayton County (IA)
  • Houston County (MN)

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

Cemeteries Near Rising Sun ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rising Sun.

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 Rising Sun - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Towerville Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Fargo Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Freeman Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Eitsert Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Utica Lutheran Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Rush Creek Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Hooverson Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Kickapoo Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Fortney Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Walnut Mound Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Mt. Sterling Lutheran Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Pioneer Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (246 more) ...
    • Ferryville Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Evergreen Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Gays Mills Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Rising Sun had a population of 62 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Fargo
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Towerville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • West Prairie
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • West Prairie is located in Vernon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Prairie
  • Liberty Pole
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Folsom
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Folsom is located in Vernon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Folsom
  • Retreat
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Mount Sterling
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Mount Sterling is located in Crawford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Sterling
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 196 people
  • Ferryville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Ferryville is located in Crawford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferryville
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 173 people
  • Purdy
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Soldiers Grove
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Soldiers Grove is located in Crawford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soldiers Grove
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 535 people
  • Seneca
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Seneca is located in Crawford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seneca
  • Bell Center
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Readstown
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Readstown is located in Vernon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Readstown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 414 people
    • Viroqua
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Viroqua is located in Vernon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Viroqua
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,394 people
    • Red Mound
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Red Mound is located in Vernon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Mound

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

Newspapers Published in Rising Sun ...

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 148 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rising Sun.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Rising Sun, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Rising Sun.

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 Rising Sun:

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>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 Rising Sun, 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- Rising Sun) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.