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 Sumner (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 Sumner. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.
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 south 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.
Sumner is located in Barron 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 Barron County: Burnett, Chippewa, Dunn, Polk, Rusk, Saint Croix, Sawyer & Washburn.
Below are the counties that are near Sumner. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Sumner:
- Barron County (The home county of Sumner)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sumner, with the one closest to Sumner listed first.
- Chetek
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Chetek is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chetek
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,094 people
- Cameron
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Cameron is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cameron
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,798 people
- Rice Lake
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Rice Lake is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rice Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,498 people
- Barron
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Barron is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barron
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,235 people
- Dallas
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Dallas is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dallas
- Population from the 2020 Census: 344 people
- Hillsdale
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Hillsdale is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
- Poskin
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Poskin is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poskin
- Haugen
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Haugen is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haugen
- Population from the 2020 Census: 270 people
- Prairie Farm
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Prairie Farm is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Farm
- Population from the 2020 Census: 434 people
- Almena
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Almena is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almena
- Population from the 2020 Census: 638 people
- Twin Town
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Twin Town is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Town
- Cumberland
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Cumberland is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,097 people
- Chippewa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sumner, with the one closest to Sumner listed first.
- New Auburn
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- New Auburn is located in Chippewa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Auburn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 576 people
- Bloomer
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Bloomer is located in Chippewa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomer
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,508 people
- Eagleton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Eagleton is located in Chippewa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagleton
- Cornell
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Cornell is located in Chippewa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,400 people
- Albertville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Albertville is located in Chippewa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albertville
- Estella
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Estella is located in Chippewa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estella
- Population from the 2020 Census: 452 people
- Dunn County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sumner, with the one closest to Sumner listed first.
- Ridgeland
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Ridgeland is located in Dunn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 276 people
- Wheeler
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Wheeler is located in Dunn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheeler
- Population from the 2020 Census: 353 people
- Colfax
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Colfax is located in Dunn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colfax
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,151 people
- Tainter Lake
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Tainter Lake is located in Dunn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tainter Lake
- Boyceville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Boyceville is located in Dunn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyceville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,124 people
- Polk County
- Clayton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Clayton is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clayton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 541 people
- Rusk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sumner, with the one closest to Sumner listed first.
- Strickland
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Strickland is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strickland
- Weyerhaeuser
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Weyerhaeuser is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weyerhaeuser
- Population from the 2020 Census: 210 people
- Apollonia
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Apollonia is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apollonia
- Bruce
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Bruce is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruce
- Population from the 2020 Census: 688 people
- Port Arthur
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Port Arthur is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Arthur
- Ladysmith
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Ladysmith is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ladysmith
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,054 people
- Conrath
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Conrath is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conrath
- Population from the 2020 Census: 90 people
- Sawyer County
- Exeland
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Exeland is located in Sawyer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exeland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 190 people
- Washburn County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sumner, with the one closest to Sumner listed first.
- Birchwood
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Birchwood is located in Washburn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birchwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 426 people
- Nobleton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Nobleton is located in Washburn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nobleton
- Madge
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Madge is located in Washburn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madge
- Shell Lake
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Shell Lake is located in Washburn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shell Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,318 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Sumner, see our County-by-County Page for Sumner.
Cemeteries Near Sumner ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sumner.
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 Sumner - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Sumner covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Sumner, with the one closest to Sumner listed first.
- Faaberg Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Pine Grove Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Pleasant Plain Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Lakeview Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Pioneer Rest Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Johnson Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Otterholt Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Meadows Creek Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Orchard Beach Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Assumption Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- St. Joseph Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Polish Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Continue List (111 more) ...
- Wayside Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- New Scandinavia Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Twin Lakes Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 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.<1>
While we didn't find Sumner in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Sumner.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Sumner, with the one closest to Sumner listed first.
- Canton
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Canton is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canton
- Chetek
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Chetek is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chetek
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,094 people
- Cameron
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Cameron is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cameron
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,798 people
- Lehigh
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Lehigh is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lehigh
- Rice Lake
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Rice Lake is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rice Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,498 people
- Barron
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Barron is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barron
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,235 people
- Hillsdale
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Hillsdale is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
- Dallas
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Dallas is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dallas
- Population from the 2020 Census: 344 people
- Sand Creek
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Sand Creek is located in Dunn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Creek
- Haugen
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Haugen is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haugen
- Population from the 2020 Census: 270 people
- Prairie Farm
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Prairie Farm is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Farm
- Population from the 2020 Census: 434 people
- Almena
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Almena is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almena
- Population from the 2020 Census: 638 people
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Nobleton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Nobleton is located in Washburn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nobleton
- Cumberland
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Cumberland is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,097 people
- Comstock
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Comstock is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comstock
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Sumner. See our List of 1890's Communities around Sumner.
Newspapers Published in Sumner ...
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 52 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sumner.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sumner, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sumner.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Sumner:
- Websites specific to Wisconsin
- Pages specific to Barron County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Chippewa County
- Dunn County
- Polk County
- Rusk County
- Sawyer County
- Washburn County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Wisconsin
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Sumner, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Sumner) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |