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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 Spencer (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 Spencer. 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 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.

Spencer is located in Marathon County.

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 Marathon County: Clark, Langlade, Lincoln, Portage, Shawano, Taylor, Waupaca & Wood.

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

  • Marathon County     (The home county of Spencer)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Spencer, with the one closest to Spencer listed first.
    • McMillan
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for McMillan. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McMillan
      • McMillan is located in Marathon County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to McMillan
      • From Spencer to McMillan
    • Unity
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Unity have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unity
      • Unity is located in Marathon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 329 people
    • Stratford
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stratford have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stratford
      • Stratford is located in Marathon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,571 people
    • Rozellville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Fenwood
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fenwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fenwood
      • Fenwood is located in Marathon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 156 people
    • Rangeline
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Milan
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Wien
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Edgar
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Athens
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Poniatowski
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Rib Falls
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Marathon City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marathon City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marathon City
      • Marathon City is located in Marathon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,516 people
  • Clark County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Spencer, with the one closest to Spencer listed first.
    • Veefkind
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Veefkind. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Veefkind
      • Veefkind is located in Clark County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Veefkind
      • From Spencer to Veefkind
    • Riplinger
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Spokeville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Chili
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Loyal
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Loyal have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loyal
      • Loyal is located in Clark County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,229 people
    • Colby
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Colby have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colby
      • Colby is located in Clark County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,941 people
    • Atwood
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Abbotsford
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Abbotsford have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbotsford
      • Abbotsford is located in Clark County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,225 people
    • Granton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Greenwood
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Curtiss
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Dorchester
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dorchester have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorchester
      • Dorchester is located in Clark County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 864 people
    • Owen
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
  • Jackson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Spencer, with the one closest to Spencer listed first.
    • City Point
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for City Point. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for City Point
      • City Point is located in Jackson County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to City Point
      • From Spencer to City Point
    • Pray
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
  • Portage County
    • Junction City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Junction City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junction City
      • Junction City is located in Portage County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 439 people
  • Taylor County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Spencer, with the one closest to Spencer listed first.
    • Stetsonville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stetsonville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stetsonville
      • Stetsonville is located in Taylor County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 518 people
    • Medford
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Lublin
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lublin have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lublin
      • Lublin is located in Taylor County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 113 people
  • Wood County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Spencer, with the one closest to Spencer listed first.
    • Marshfield
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Bakerville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Hewitt
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Lindsey
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Auburndale
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Auburndale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auburndale
      • Auburndale is located in Wood County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 658 people
    • Arpin
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arpin have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arpin
      • Arpin is located in Wood County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 305 people
    • Blenker
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Sherry
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Pittsville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pittsville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittsville
      • Pittsville is located in Wood County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 820 people
    • Milladore
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Vesper
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Eight Corners
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Rudolph
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rudolph have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rudolph
      • Rudolph is located in Wood County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 411 people

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

Cemeteries Near Spencer ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Spencer.

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 Spencer covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • West Spencer Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the West Spencer Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the West Spencer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Coles Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Coles Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Coles Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Trinity Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Trinity Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Trinity Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Salem Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Salem Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Salem Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Veefkind Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Veefkind Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Veefkind Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Brighton Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Brighton Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Brighton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hillside City Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Johns Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Johns Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Beaver Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Beaver Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Beaver Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pine Grove Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pine Grove Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pine Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Trinity Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Trinity Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Trinity Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Anthony Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Anthony Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Anthony Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (122 more) ...
    • Loyal City Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Loyal City Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Loyal City Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Colby Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Colby Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Colby Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Pine Circle Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pine Circle Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pine Circle Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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 Spencer had a population of 526 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Spencer had a population of 1,865 people.

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

  • Veefkind
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Veefkind. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Veefkind
    • Veefkind is located in Clark County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Veefkind
    • From Spencer to Veefkind
  • McMillan
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for McMillan. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McMillan
    • McMillan is located in Marathon County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to McMillan
    • From Spencer to McMillan
  • Unity
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Unity have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unity
    • Unity is located in Marathon County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 329 people
  • Spokeville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Bakerville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Loyal
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Loyal have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loyal
    • Loyal is located in Clark County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,229 people
  • Cherokee
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cherokee have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherokee
    • Cherokee is located in Marathon County
  • Colby
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Colby have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colby
    • Colby is located in Clark County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,941 people
  • Weber
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Weber have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weber
    • Weber is located in Marathon County
  • Hewitt
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Lynn
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lynn have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynn
    • Lynn is located in Clark County
  • Lindsey
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Rozellville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Abbotsford
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Abbotsford have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbotsford
      • Abbotsford is located in Clark County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,225 people
    • Granton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Spencer ...

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 62 newspapers that have been published in the area around Spencer.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Spencer. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Spencer and those printed in the larger area surrounding Spencer.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<5> of Spencer.

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 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 Spencer:

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

The official website for Marathon County: www.co.marathon.wi.us/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<2>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.
<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 Spencer, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Spencer) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Spencer. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.7575, Longitude: -90.2981    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025