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 Shelby (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 Shelby. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most 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.
Shelby is located in La Crosse 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 La Crosse County: Houston (MN), Winona (MN), Jackson, Monroe, Trempealeau & Vernon.
Below are the counties that are near Shelby. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Shelby:
- La Crosse County (The home county of Shelby)
- The following are listed by their distance from Shelby, with the one closest to Shelby listed first.
- Barre Mills
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Barre Mills is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barre Mills
- La Crosse
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- La Crosse is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Crosse
- Population from the 2020 Census: 51,163 people
- Saint Joseph
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Saint Joseph is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Joseph
- Grand Crossing
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Grand Crossing is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Crossing
- North La Crosse
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- North La Crosse is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North La Crosse
- French Island
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- French Island is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for French Island
- Onalaska
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Onalaska is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onalaska
- Population from the 2020 Census: 19,108 people
- West Salem
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- West Salem is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Salem
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,013 people
- Middle Ridge
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Middle Ridge is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middle Ridge
- Bangor
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Bangor is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bangor
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,442 people
- Midway
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Midway is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
- Holmen
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Holmen is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holmen
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,368 people
- Brice Prairie
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Brice Prairie is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brice Prairie
- Buffalo County
- The following are listed by their distance from Shelby, with the one closest to Shelby listed first.
- Marshland
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Marshland is located in Buffalo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshland
- Bluff Siding
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Bluff Siding is located in Buffalo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff Siding
- Crawford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Shelby, with the one closest to Shelby listed first.
- De Soto
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- De Soto is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Soto
- Population from the 2020 Census: 278 people
- Rising Sun
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Rising Sun is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rising Sun
- Freeman
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Freeman is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman
- Towerville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Towerville is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Towerville
- Ferryville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Ferryville is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferryville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 173 people
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Shelby, with the one closest to Shelby listed first.
- North Bend
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- North Bend is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Bend
- Melrose
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Melrose is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose
- Population from the 2020 Census: 476 people
- Monroe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Shelby, with the one closest to Shelby listed first.
- Cashton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Cashton is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cashton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,111 people
- Melvina
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Melvina is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melvina
- Population from the 2020 Census: 109 people
- Sparta
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Sparta is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sparta
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,800 people
- Angelo
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Angelo is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angelo
- Norwalk
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Norwalk is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwalk
- Population from the 2020 Census: 633 people
- Oil City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Oil City is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oil City
- Richland County
- Viola
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Viola is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Viola
- Population from the 2020 Census: 665 people
- Trempealeau County
- The following are listed by their distance from Shelby, with the one closest to Shelby listed first.
- Trempealeau
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Trempealeau is located in Trempealeau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trempealeau
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,663 people
- Galesville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Galesville is located in Trempealeau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galesville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,602 people
- Wrights Corners
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Wrights Corners is located in Trempealeau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wrights Corners
- Frenchville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Frenchville is located in Trempealeau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frenchville
- Ettrick
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Ettrick is located in Trempealeau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ettrick
- Population from the 2020 Census: 511 people
- Vernon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Shelby, with the one closest to Shelby listed first.
- Stoddard
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Stoddard is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoddard
- Population from the 2020 Census: 831 people
- Chaseburg
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Chaseburg is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chaseburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 291 people
- Coon Valley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Coon Valley is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coon Valley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 782 people
- Genoa
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Genoa is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Genoa
- Population from the 2020 Census: 260 people
- Newton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Newton is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newton
- Newry
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Newry is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newry
- Westby
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Westby is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westby
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,254 people
- Purdy
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Purdy is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Purdy
- Viroqua
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Viroqua is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Viroqua
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,394 people
- Retreat
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Retreat is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Retreat
- West Prairie
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- West Prairie is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Prairie
- Fargo
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Fargo is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fargo
- Liberty Pole
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Liberty Pole is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Pole
- Allamakee County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Shelby, with the one closest to Shelby listed first.
- New Albin
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Dorchester
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Lansing
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Fillmore County (MN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Shelby, with the one closest to Shelby listed first.
- Rushford
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- South Rushford
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- South Rushford is located in Fillmore County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Rushford
- Bratsberg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Bratsberg is located in Fillmore County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bratsberg
- Houston County (MN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Shelby, with the one closest to Shelby listed first.
- Brownsville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Brownsville is located in Houston County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 505 people
- La Crescent
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Hokah
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Reno
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Reno is located in Houston County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reno
- Caledonia
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Houston
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Money Creek
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Money Creek is located in Houston County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Money Creek
- Eitzen
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Eitzen is located in Houston County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eitzen
- Population from the 2020 Census: 248 people
- Willington Grove
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Willington Grove is located in Houston County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willington Grove
- Wilmington
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Wilmington is located in Houston County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmington
- Bee
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Bee is located in Houston County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bee
- Spring Grove
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Yucatan
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Yucatan is located in Houston County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yucatan
- Winona County (MN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Shelby, with the one closest to Shelby listed first.
- Dakota
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Dakota is located in Winona County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dakota
- Population from the 2020 Census: 307 people
- Nodine
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Nodine is located in Winona County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nodine
- Lamoille
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Lamoille is located in Winona County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamoille
- Homer
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Homer is located in Winona County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homer
- Wilson
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Wilson is located in Winona County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Shelby, see our County-by-County Page for Shelby.
Cemeteries Near Shelby ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Shelby.
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 Shelby - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Shelby covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Shelby, with the one closest to Shelby listed first.
- Mormon Coulee Memorial Park
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Kienholz Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Oehler Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Gable Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Chipmunk Coulee Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Woodlawn Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Krause Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Hellwig Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Frederick Hammer Family Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Campbell Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (225 more) ...
- Gate of Heaven Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Forest Green Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Christoph Hammer Family Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
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>
While we didn't find Shelby in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Shelby.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Shelby, with the one closest to Shelby listed first.
- Calvert
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Calvert is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvert
- Barre Mills
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Barre Mills is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barre Mills
- La Crosse
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- La Crosse is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Crosse
- Population from the 2020 Census: 51,163 people
- Medary
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Medary is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medary
- Saint Joseph
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Saint Joseph is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Joseph
- Grand Crossing
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Grand Crossing is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Crossing
- North La Crosse
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- North La Crosse is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North La Crosse
- Brownsville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Brownsville is located in Houston County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 505 people
- Stoddard
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Stoddard is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoddard
- Population from the 2020 Census: 831 people
- Chaseburg
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Chaseburg is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chaseburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 291 people
- Onalaska
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Onalaska is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onalaska
- Population from the 2020 Census: 19,108 people
- Coon Valley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Coon Valley is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coon Valley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 782 people
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- River Junction
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- River Junction is located in Houston County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Junction
- La Crescent
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- West Salem
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- West Salem is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Salem
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,013 people
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Shelby. See our List of 1890's Communities around Shelby.
Newspapers Published in Shelby ...
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 216 newspapers that have been published in the area around Shelby.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Shelby, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Shelby.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Shelby:
- Websites specific to Wisconsin
- Pages specific to La Crosse County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Buffalo County
- Crawford County
- Jackson County
- Monroe County
- Richland County
- Trempealeau County
- Vernon County
- Allamakee County
- Fillmore County
- Houston County
- Winona 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 Shelby, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Shelby) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |