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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 Shell Lake (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 Shell Lake. 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 Shell Lake ...

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 have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Shell Lake: Shell Lk.

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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals 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.

Shell Lake is located in Washburn County and is the County Seat.

To see how the shape of Wisconsin's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Washburn County: Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas, Rusk & Sawyer.

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

  • Washburn County     (The home county of Shell Lake)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shell Lake, with the one closest to Shell Lake listed first.
    • Spooner
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spooner have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spooner
      • Spooner is located in Washburn County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,553 people
    • Madge
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madge
      • Madge is located in Washburn County
    • Nobleton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nobleton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nobleton
      • Nobleton is located in Washburn County
    • Earl
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Earl
      • Earl is located in Washburn County
    • Birchwood
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Birchwood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birchwood
      • Birchwood is located in Washburn County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 426 people
    • Minong
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Minong have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minong
      • Minong is located in Washburn County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 506 people
  • Barron County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shell Lake, with the one closest to Shell Lake listed first.
    • Haugen
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Haugen have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haugen
      • Haugen is located in Barron County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 270 people
    • Cumberland
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cumberland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland
      • Cumberland is located in Barron County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,097 people
    • Rice Lake
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rice Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rice Lake
      • Rice Lake is located in Barron County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,498 people
    • Poskin
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poskin
      • Poskin is located in Barron County
    • Almena
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Almena have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almena
      • Almena is located in Barron County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 638 people
    • Barron
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barron
      • Barron is located in Barron County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,235 people
    • Cameron
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cameron have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cameron
      • Cameron is located in Barron County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,798 people
    • Twin Town
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Twin Town have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Town
      • Twin Town is located in Barron County
    • Turtle Lake
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turtle Lake
      • Turtle Lake is located in Barron County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 990 people
  • Burnett County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shell Lake, with the one closest to Shell Lake listed first.
    • Bashaw
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bashaw have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bashaw
      • Bashaw is located in Burnett County
    • Hertel
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hertel
      • Hertel is located in Burnett County
    • Webb Lake
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webb Lake
      • Webb Lake is located in Burnett County
    • Siren
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siren
      • Siren is located in Burnett County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 780 people
    • Webster
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Webster have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
      • Webster is located in Burnett County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 620 people
  • Polk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shell Lake, with the one closest to Shell Lake listed first.
    • Clam Falls
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clam Falls
      • Clam Falls is located in Polk County
    • Frederic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Frederic have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frederic
      • Frederic is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,080 people
    • Luck
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Luck have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luck
      • Luck is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,051 people
  • Rusk County
    • Strickland
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strickland
      • Strickland is located in Rusk County
  • Sawyer County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shell Lake, with the one closest to Shell Lake listed first.
    • Stone Lake
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone Lake
      • Stone Lake is located in Sawyer County
    • Reserve
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reserve
      • Reserve is located in Sawyer County
    • Hayward
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hayward have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayward
      • Hayward is located in Sawyer County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,352 people
    • Couderay
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Couderay have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Couderay
      • Couderay is located in Sawyer County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 86 people
    • Little Round Lake
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Little Round Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Round Lake
      • Little Round Lake is located in Sawyer County
    • Chief Lake
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chief Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chief Lake
      • Chief Lake is located in Sawyer County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Shell Lake ...

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 69 newspapers that have been published in the area around Shell Lake.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Shell Lake. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Shell Lake and those printed in the larger area surrounding Shell Lake.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<2> of Shell Lake.

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 Shell Lake:

Cemeteries Near Shell Lake ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Shell Lake.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

  • Shell Lake Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Shell Lake Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Shell Lake Cemetery
  • Sarona Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sarona Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sarona Cemetery
  • Clam River Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Clam River Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Clam River Cemetery
  • Lakeside Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lakeside Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lakeside Cemetery
  • Rocky Ridge Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rocky Ridge Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rocky Ridge Cemetery
  • Bohemian National Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bohemian National Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bohemian National Cemetery
  • Greendale Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Greendale Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Greendale Cemetery
  • Wiesner Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wiesner Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wiesner Cemetery
  • East Cumberland Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the East Cumberland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the East Cumberland Cemetery
  • Lake Side Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lake Side Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lake Side Cemetery
  • Big Sand Lake Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Big Sand Lake Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Big Sand Lake Cemetery
  • Rosewood Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rosewood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rosewood Cemetery
  • Continue List   (73 more) ...
    • St. Anthony Abbot Catholic Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Stanfold Lutheran Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Stanfold Lutheran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Stanfold Lutheran Cemetery
    • Nora Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Nora Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Nora Cemetery

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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Shell Lake had a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Shell Lake had a population of 1,318 people.

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

  • Spooner
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spooner have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spooner
    • Spooner is located in Washburn County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,553 people
  • Barronett
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Barronett have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barronett
    • Barronett is located in Barron County
  • Bashaw
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bashaw have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bashaw
    • Bashaw is located in Burnett County
  • Haugen
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Haugen have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haugen
    • Haugen is located in Barron County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 270 people
  • Nobleton
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nobleton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nobleton
    • Nobleton is located in Washburn County
  • Cumberland
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cumberland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland
    • Cumberland is located in Barron County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,097 people
  • Rice Lake
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rice Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rice Lake
    • Rice Lake is located in Barron County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,498 people
  • Clam Falls
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clam Falls
    • Clam Falls is located in Polk County
  • Comstock
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Comstock have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comstock
    • Comstock is located in Barron County
  • Almena
    (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Almena have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almena
    • Almena is located in Barron County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 638 people
  • Barron
    (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barron
    • Barron is located in Barron County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,235 people
  • Cameron
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cameron have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cameron
    • Cameron is located in Barron County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,798 people
  • Continue List   (9 more) ...
    • Canton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Canton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canton
      • Canton is located in Barron County
    • Minong
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Minong have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minong
      • Minong is located in Washburn County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 506 people
    • Turtle Lake
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turtle Lake
      • Turtle Lake is located in Barron County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 990 people

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

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Shell Lake. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Washburn County: www.co.washburn.wi.us/

The official website for State of Wisconsin: https://www.wisconsin.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<2>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Shell Lake) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Shell Lake. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.7386, Longitude: -91.8993       In this case, the coordinates for Shell Lake have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<3>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.
<4>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 Shell Lake, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024