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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 Wausau (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 Wausau. 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 Wausau ...

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.

In past government published Postal Guides, Wausau was referred to as Wausau Courthouse.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Wausau. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Wausau.

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.

For more information about how community names might have been affected by the Board of Geographic Names (BGN), see our page about Placename Rules.

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 southwest 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 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 west 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.

Wausau is located in Marathon County and is the County Seat.

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

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

  • Marathon County     (The home county of Wausau)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wausau, with the one closest to Wausau listed first.
    • Schofield
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Schofield is located in Marathon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schofield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,153 people
    • Rib Mountain
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Rib Mountain is located in Marathon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rib Mountain
    • Brokaw
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Brokaw is located in Marathon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brokaw
      • Estimated population in 2018: 245 people
    • Rothschild
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Rothschild is located in Marathon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rothschild
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,256 people
    • Nutterville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Weston
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Weston is located in Marathon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weston
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 15,165 people
    • Sunset
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Taegesville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Evergreen
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Evergreen is located in Marathon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen
    • Kronenwetter
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Naugart
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Marathon City
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Marathon City is located in Marathon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marathon City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,516 people
  • Langlade County
  • Lincoln County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wausau, with the one closest to Wausau listed first.
    • Merrill
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Merrill is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrill
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,990 people
    • Dutch Corners ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Gleason
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Dudley
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Irma
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
  • Portage County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wausau, with the one closest to Wausau listed first.
    • Torun
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Junction City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Junction City is located in Portage County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junction City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 439 people
    • Ellis
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Alban
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Rosholt
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Rosholt is located in Portage County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosholt
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 481 people
    • Polonia
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Park Ridge
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Park Ridge is located in Portage County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park Ridge
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 496 people
    • Stevens Point
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Shawano County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wausau, with the one closest to Wausau listed first.
    • Aniwa
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Aniwa is located in Shawano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aniwa
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 252 people
    • Birnamwood
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Eland
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Wittenberg
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Mattoon
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Mattoon is located in Shawano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mattoon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 412 people
    • Regina
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Taylor County
  • Wood County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wausau, with the one closest to Wausau listed first.
    • Milladore
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Blenker
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Auburndale
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Auburndale is located in Wood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auburndale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 658 people
    • Sherry
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Wausau ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wausau.

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

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

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

  • St. Josephs Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • St. Michaels Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Hebrew Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Pine Grove Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Mechanic Ridge Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Gate of Heaven Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Town Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Rib View Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Maple Grove Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Big Hill Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Zion Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Chiber Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (91 more) ...
    • Zion Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • St. Marys Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • St. Matthews Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 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.<1>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Wausau had a population of 9,253 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Wausau had a population of 38,511 people.

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

  • Wausau Junction
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Wausau Junction is located in Marathon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wausau Junction
  • Schofield
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Schofield is located in Marathon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schofield
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,153 people
  • Nutterville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Callon
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Callon is located in Marathon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Callon
  • Taegesville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Stettin ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Stettin is located in Marathon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stettin
  • Naugart
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Mosinee
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Mosinee is located in Marathon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mosinee
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,195 people
  • Emmerich
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Rib Falls
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Merrill
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Merrill is located in Lincoln County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrill
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,990 people
  • Halder
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Halder is located in Marathon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halder
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Hatley
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Hamburg
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Knowlton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Knowlton is located in Marathon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knowlton

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Wausau ...

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 82 newspapers that have been published in the area around Wausau.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Wausau. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Wausau and those printed in the larger area surrounding Wausau.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<2> of Wausau.

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 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 Wausau:

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 Wausau, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<2>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Wausau) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.