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 Ross (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 Ross. 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 northwest 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 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 west 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.
Ross is located in Vernon 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 Vernon County: Allamakee (IA), Houston (MN), Crawford, Juneau, La Crosse, Monroe, Richland & Sauk.
Below are the counties that are near Ross. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Ross:
- Vernon County (The home county of Ross)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ross, with the one closest to Ross listed first.
- Liberty
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Liberty is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
- La Farge
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- La Farge is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Farge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 763 people
- Readstown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Readstown is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Readstown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 414 people
- Viroqua
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Viroqua is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Viroqua
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,394 people
- Liberty Pole
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Liberty Pole is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Pole
- Westby
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Westby is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westby
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,254 people
- Fargo
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Fargo is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fargo
- Newry
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Newry is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newry
- Ontario
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Ontario is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ontario
- Population from the 2020 Census: 561 people
- Purdy
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Purdy is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Purdy
- West Prairie
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- West Prairie is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Prairie
- White City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- White City is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
- Newton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Newton is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newton
- Crawford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ross, with the one closest to Ross listed first.
- Soldiers Grove
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Soldiers Grove is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soldiers Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 535 people
- Towerville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Towerville is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Towerville
- Rising Sun
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Rising Sun is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rising Sun
- Gays Mills
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Gays Mills is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gays Mills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 504 people
- Bell Center
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Bell Center is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell Center
- Population from the 2020 Census: 114 people
- Mount Sterling
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Sterling is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Sterling
- Population from the 2020 Census: 196 people
- Petersburg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Petersburg is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersburg
- Freeman
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Freeman is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman
- Ferryville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Ferryville is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferryville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 173 people
- De Soto
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- De Soto is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Soto
- Population from the 2020 Census: 278 people
- Steuben
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Steuben is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steuben
- Population from the 2020 Census: 121 people
- Boydtown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Boydtown is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boydtown
- Eastman
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Eastman is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 404 people
- Grant County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ross, with the one closest to Ross listed first.
- Blue River
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Blue River is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue River
- Population from the 2020 Census: 418 people
- Boscobel
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Boscobel is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boscobel
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,134 people
- Muscoda
(28 miles [45.1 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
- Juneau County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ross, with the one closest to Ross listed first.
- Union Center
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Union Center is located in Juneau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Center
- Population from the 2020 Census: 193 people
- Wonewoc
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Wonewoc is located in Juneau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wonewoc
- Population from the 2020 Census: 789 people
- Elroy
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Elroy is located in Juneau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elroy
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,306 people
- La Crosse County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ross, with the one closest to Ross listed first.
- Middle Ridge
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Middle Ridge is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middle Ridge
- Saint Joseph
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Joseph is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Joseph
- Shelby
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Shelby is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shelby
- Rockland
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Rockland is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 710 people
- Bangor
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Bangor is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bangor
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,442 people
- Barre Mills
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Barre Mills is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barre Mills
- West Salem
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- West Salem is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Salem
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,013 people
- Monroe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ross, with the one closest to Ross listed first.
- Cashton
(14 miles [22.5 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
- Oil City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Oil City is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oil City
- Melvina
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Melvina is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melvina
- Population from the 2020 Census: 109 people
- Norwalk
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Norwalk is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwalk
- Population from the 2020 Census: 633 people
- Wilton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Wilton is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 498 people
- Kendall
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Kendall is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kendall
- Population from the 2020 Census: 472 people
- Sparta
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Sparta is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sparta
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,800 people
- Angelo
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Angelo is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angelo
- Clifton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Clifton is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
- Richland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ross, with the one closest to Ross listed first.
- Viola
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Viola is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Viola
- Population from the 2020 Census: 665 people
- Sabin
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Sabin is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sabin
- Bloom City
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Bloom City is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloom City
- Yuba
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Yuba is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yuba
- Population from the 2020 Census: 69 people
- Woodstock
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Woodstock is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodstock
- Gillingham
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Gillingham is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gillingham
- Boaz
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Boaz is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boaz
- Population from the 2020 Census: 148 people
- Hub City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Hub City is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hub City
- Westport
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Westport is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westport
- Richland Center
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Richland Center is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richland Center
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,949 people
- Balmoral
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Balmoral is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balmoral
- Neptune
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Neptune is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neptune
- Aubrey
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Aubrey is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aubrey
- Sauk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ross, with the one closest to Ross listed first.
- Ironton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Ironton is located in Sauk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 251 people
- Lime Ridge
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Lime Ridge is located in Sauk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lime Ridge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 163 people
- Allamakee County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ross, with the one closest to Ross listed first.
- Lansing
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- New Albin
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Harpers Ferry
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Houston County (MN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ross, with the one closest to Ross listed first.
- Reno
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Reno is located in Houston County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reno
- Brownsville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Brownsville is located in Houston County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 505 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Ross, see our County-by-County Page for Ross.
Cemeteries Near Ross ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ross.
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 Ross - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Ross covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Ross, with the one closest to Ross listed first.
- Brush Hollow Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Bishop Branch Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Manning Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Lawton Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Brookville Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Berry Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Viola Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Asbury Ridge Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Zion Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- White Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Carter Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Continue List (235 more) ...
- Maiben Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Chapel Hill Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Star Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
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, Ross had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Ross, with the one closest to Ross listed first.
- Liberty
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Liberty is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
- Avalanche
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Avalanche is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avalanche
- Viola
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Viola is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Viola
- Population from the 2020 Census: 665 people
- Readstown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Readstown is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Readstown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 414 people
- La Farge
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- La Farge is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Farge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 763 people
- Viroqua
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Viroqua is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Viroqua
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,394 people
- Bloomingdale
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Bloomingdale is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomingdale
- Liberty Pole
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Liberty Pole is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Pole
- Folsom
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Folsom is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Folsom
- Sugar Grove
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Sugar Grove is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Grove
- Westby
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Westby is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westby
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,254 people
- Springville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Springville is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springville
- Continue List (19 more) ...
- Soldiers Grove
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Soldiers Grove is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soldiers Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 535 people
- Sylvan
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Sylvan is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvan
- Rockton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Rockton is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockton
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Ross. See our List of 1890's Communities around Ross.
Newspapers Published in Ross ...
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 141 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ross.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ross, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Ross.
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 helpful 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 Ross:
- Websites specific to Wisconsin
- Pages specific to Vernon County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Crawford County
- Grant County
- Juneau County
- La Crosse County
- Monroe County
- Richland County
- Sauk County
- Allamakee County
- Houston 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 Ross, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Ross) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |