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 Thornton (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 Thornton. 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 and 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.

Thornton is located in Shawano 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 Shawano County: Brown, Langlade, Marathon, Menominee, Oconto, Outagamie, Portage & Waupaca.

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

Shawano County (The home county of Thornton)
- The following are listed by their distance from Thornton, with the one closest to Thornton listed first.
- Shawano
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  - Shawano is located in Shawano County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawano
  - Population from the 2020 Census: 8,885 people
- Gresham
  (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  - Gresham is located in Shawano County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gresham
  - Population from the 2020 Census: 563 people
- Belle Plaine
  (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  - Belle Plaine is located in Shawano County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Plaine
- Pella
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  - Pella is located in Shawano County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pella
- Leopolis
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  - Leopolis is located in Shawano County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leopolis
- Middle Village
  (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  - Middle Village is located in Shawano County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middle Village
- Lunds
  (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  - Lunds is located in Shawano County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lunds
- Cecil
  (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  - Cecil is located in Shawano County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cecil
  - Population from the 2020 Census: 548 people
- Bonduel
  (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  - Bonduel is located in Shawano County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonduel
  - Population from the 2020 Census: 1,411 people
- Slab City
  (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  - Slab City is located in Shawano County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slab City
- Bowler
  (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  - Bowler is located in Shawano County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowler
  - Population from the 2020 Census: 286 people
- Almon
  (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
  - Almon is located in Shawano County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almon
Brown County
- The following are listed by their distance from Thornton, with the one closest to Thornton listed first.
- Pulaski
  (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
  - Pulaski is located in Brown County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pulaski
  - Population from the 2020 Census: 3,766 people
- Pittsfield
  (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
  - Pittsfield is located in Brown County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittsfield
- Flintville
  (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  - Flintville is located in Brown County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flintville
Langlade County
- The following are listed by their distance from Thornton, with the one closest to Thornton listed first.
- Phlox
  (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
  - Phlox is located in Langlade County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phlox
- White Lake
  (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
  - White Lake is located in Langlade County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Lake
  - Population from the 2020 Census: 353 people
- Langlade
  (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
  - Langlade is located in Langlade County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langlade
Marathon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Thornton, with the one closest to Thornton listed first.
- Elderon
  (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
  - Elderon is located in Marathon County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elderon
  - Population from the 2020 Census: 213 people
- Galloway
  (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
  - Galloway is located in Marathon County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galloway
- Norrie
  (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
  - Norrie is located in Marathon County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norrie
Menominee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Thornton, with the one closest to Thornton listed first.
- Keshena
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  - Keshena is located in Menominee County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keshena
- Legend Lake
  (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  - Legend Lake is located in Menominee County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Legend Lake
- Neopit
  (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
  - Neopit is located in Menominee County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neopit
- Zoar
  (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
  - Zoar is located in Menominee County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zoar
Oconto County
- The following are listed by their distance from Thornton, with the one closest to Thornton listed first.
- Gillett
  (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
  - Gillett is located in Oconto County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gillett
  - Population from the 2020 Census: 1,306 people
- Krakow
  (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
  - Krakow is located in Oconto County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Krakow
- Suring
  (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
  - Suring is located in Oconto County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suring
  - Population from the 2020 Census: 524 people
- Frostville
  (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
  - Frostville is located in Oconto County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frostville
- Breed
  (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
  - Breed is located in Oconto County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Breed
- Hickory Corners
  (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
  - Hickory Corners is located in Oconto County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Corners
- Chase
  (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
  - Chase is located in Oconto County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chase
- Oconto Falls
  (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
  - Oconto Falls is located in Oconto County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oconto Falls
  - Population from the 2020 Census: 2,805 people
- Armstrong
  (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
  - Armstrong is located in Oconto County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armstrong
- Spruce
  (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
  - Spruce is located in Oconto County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spruce
- Mountain
  (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
  - Mountain is located in Oconto County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain
  - Population from the 2020 Census: 851 people
Outagamie County
- The following are listed by their distance from Thornton, with the one closest to Thornton listed first.
- Leeman
  (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
  - Leeman is located in Outagamie County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leeman
- Bear Creek
  (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
  - Bear Creek is located in Outagamie County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Creek
  - Population from the 2020 Census: 439 people
- Nichols
  (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
  - Nichols is located in Outagamie County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nichols
  - Population from the 2020 Census: 283 people
- Shiocton
  (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
  - Shiocton is located in Outagamie County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiocton
  - Population from the 2020 Census: 914 people
- Black Creek
  (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
  - Black Creek is located in Outagamie County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Creek
  - Population from the 2020 Census: 1,309 people
- Seymour
  (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
  - Seymour is located in Outagamie County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seymour
  - Population from the 2020 Census: 3,457 people
Waupaca County
- The following are listed by their distance from Thornton, with the one closest to Thornton listed first.
- Embarrass
  (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  - Embarrass is located in Waupaca County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Embarrass
  - Population from the 2020 Census: 375 people
- Clintonville
  (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  - Clintonville is located in Waupaca County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clintonville
  - Population from the 2020 Census: 4,353 people
- Marion
  (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  - Marion is located in Waupaca County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marion
  - Population from the 2020 Census: 1,167 people
- Granite City ‑ Historic
  (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
  - Granite City is located in Waupaca County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granite City
- Big Falls
  (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
  - Big Falls is located in Waupaca County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Falls
  - Population from the 2020 Census: 69 people
- Manawa
  (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
  - Manawa is located in Waupaca County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manawa
  - Population from the 2020 Census: 1,269 people
- Little Wolf ‑ Historic
  (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
  - Little Wolf is located in Waupaca County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Wolf
- New London
  (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
  - New London is located in Waupaca County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New London
  - Population from the 2020 Census: 7,065 people
- Ostrander
  (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
  - Ostrander is located in Waupaca County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ostrander
- Iola
  (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  - Iola is located in Waupaca County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iola
  - Population from the 2020 Census: 1,190 people
- Ogdensburg
  (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  - Ogdensburg is located in Waupaca County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogdensburg
  - Population from the 2020 Census: 175 people

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

Cemeteries Near Thornton ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Thornton.

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 Thornton - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

Friendship Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship Cemetery
- The Friendship Cemetery has also been known as:
- Lange Cemetery
Lake Drive Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Drive Cemetery
- The Lake Drive Cemetery has also been known as:
- Lundquist Cemetery
St. John's Lutheran Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. John's Lutheran Church Cemetery
- The St. John's Lutheran Church Cemetery has also been known as:
- St. John's Hermansfort Cemetery
- St. John's Hermansfort Cemetery
Bomke Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bomke Cemetery
- The Bomke Cemetery has also been known as:
- Belle Plaine Cemetery
Woodlawn Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodlawn Cemetery
- The Woodlawn Cemetery has also been known as:
- Shawano City Cemetery
St. Francis Solanus Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Francis Solanus Cemetery
St. Marys Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Marys Cemetery
Bethlehem Lutheran Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethlehem Lutheran Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Bethlehem Lutheran Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located less than 2 miles<1> to the south of Pella.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2185033 <2>
St. Peter Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Peter Cemetery
St. Johns Lutheran Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Johns Lutheran Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2373262 <2>
Red Springs Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Springs Cemetery
St. Michael Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Michael Cemetery
Continue List (149 more) ...
- St. Michaels Cemetery
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Michaels Cemetery
  - The St. Michaels Cemetery has also been known as:
  - St. Michaels Catholic Cemetery
  - Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #89123 <2>
- Elias Lutheran Cemetery
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elias Lutheran Cemetery
- St. Johns Lutheran Cemetery
  (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Johns Lutheran Cemetery
  - Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #88991 <2>

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 Thornton in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Thornton.

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

Shawano
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Shawano is located in Shawano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawano
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,885 people
Belle Plaine
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Belle Plaine is located in Shawano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Plaine
Gresham
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Gresham is located in Shawano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gresham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 563 people
Pella
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Pella is located in Shawano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pella
Keshena
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Keshena is located in Menominee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keshena
Leopolis
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Leopolis is located in Shawano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leopolis
Embarrass
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Embarrass is located in Waupaca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Embarrass
- Population from the 2020 Census: 375 people
Caroline
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Caroline is located in Shawano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caroline
Cecil
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Cecil is located in Shawano County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cecil
- Population from the 2020 Census: 548 people
Marion
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Marion is located in Waupaca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marion
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,167 people
Buckbee
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Buckbee is located in Waupaca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckbee
Clintonville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Clintonville is located in Waupaca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clintonville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,353 people
Continue List (13 more) ...
- Bonduel
  (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  - Bonduel is located in Shawano County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonduel
  - Population from the 2020 Census: 1,411 people
- Hunting
  (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  - Hunting is located in Shawano County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunting
- Leeman
  (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
  - Leeman is located in Outagamie County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leeman

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

Newspapers Published in Thornton ...

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 78 newspapers that have been published in the area around Thornton.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Thornton, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<1>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Thornton.

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 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 Thornton:

Websites specific to Wisconsin
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Website for the //www.wisconsinhistory.org/

Pages specific to Shawano County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails

Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Brown County
  - Jump to Cyndi's List
  - Jump to Family Search
  - Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Langlade County
  - Jump to Cyndi's List
  - Jump to Family Search
  - Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Marathon County
  - Jump to Cyndi's List
  - Jump to Family Search
  - Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Menominee County
  - Jump to Cyndi's List
  - Jump to Family Search
  - Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Oconto County
  - Jump to Cyndi's List
  - Jump to Family Search
  - Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Outagamie County
  - Jump to Cyndi's List
  - Jump to Family Search
  - Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Waupaca County
  - Jump to Cyndi's List
  - Jump to Family Search
  - Jump to Genealogy Trails

Cemetery Information and Directories for Wisconsin
- Cyndi's List
- Cemeteries of Wisconsin
- Cemeteries of Shawano County
- FamilySearch.org: Cemeteries of Wisconsin
- Find-A-Grave: Home Page
- Interment.net
- Cemeteries of Wisconsin
- Cemeteries of Shawano County

Footnotes ...

<1>	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- Thornton) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Thornton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.