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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 White River (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 White River. 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 White River ...

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 White River: White Riv.

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 doctors 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.

White River is located in Ashland 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 Ashland County: Bayfield, Iron, Price & Sawyer.

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

  • Ashland County     (The home county of White River)
    • The following are listed by their distance from White River, with the one closest to White River listed first.
    • Ashland
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
      • Ashland is located in Ashland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,766 people
    • Marengo
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marengo
      • Marengo is located in Ashland County
    • Odanah
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Odanah
      • Odanah is located in Ashland County
    • High Bridge
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Bridge
      • High Bridge is located in Ashland County
    • La Pointe
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Pointe
      • La Pointe is located in Ashland County
    • Mellen
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mellen have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mellen
      • Mellen is located in Ashland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 686 people
    • Tannery Town
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tannery Town have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tannery Town
      • Tannery Town is located in Ashland County
    • White City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for White City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
      • White City is located in Ashland County
    • Glidden
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glidden
      • Glidden is located in Ashland County
  • Bayfield County
    • The following are listed by their distance from White River, with the one closest to White River listed first.
    • Washburn
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washburn
      • Washburn is located in Bayfield County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,049 people
    • Benoit
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benoit
      • Benoit is located in Bayfield County
    • Moquah
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moquah
      • Moquah is located in Bayfield County
    • Mason
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mason have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason
      • Mason is located in Bayfield County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 99 people
    • Sutherland
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sutherland
      • Sutherland is located in Bayfield County
    • Bayfield
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayfield
      • Bayfield is located in Bayfield County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 474 people
    • Delta
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delta
      • Delta is located in Bayfield County
  • Iron County
    • The following are listed by their distance from White River, with the one closest to White River listed first.
    • Cedar
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar
      • Cedar is located in Iron County
    • Montreal
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montreal
      • Montreal is located in Iron County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 752 people
    • Gile
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gile
      • Gile is located in Iron County

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

Newspapers Published in White River ...

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 46 newspapers that have been published in the area around White River.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of White River, 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 White River.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 White River:

Cemeteries Near White River ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of White River.

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

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

  • Mt. Hope Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Hope Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Hope Cemetery
  • St. Agnes Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Agnes Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Agnes Cemetery
  • B'nai Israel Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the B'nai Israel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the B'nai Israel Cemetery
  • Odanah Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Odanah Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Odanah Cemetery
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Calvary Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Calvary Cemetery
  • Woodland Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • The Woodland Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Woodlawn Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Woodland Cemetery
  • Maple Grove Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Maple Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Maple Grove Cemetery
  • St. Peters Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Peters Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Peters Cemetery
  • Mason Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mason Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mason Cemetery
  • Moe Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Moe Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Moe Cemetery
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Johns Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Johns Cemetery
  • Edgewood Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Edgewood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Edgewood Cemetery
  • Continue List   (20 more) ...
    • La Pointe Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the La Pointe Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the La Pointe Cemetery
    • Greenwood Cemetery
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Greenwood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Greenwood Cemetery
    • Pike River Cemetery
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pike River Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pike River 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.<3>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, White River had railroad service and no post office.

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

  • Ashland
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
    • Ashland is located in Ashland County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,766 people
  • Ashland Junction
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ashland Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland Junction
    • Ashland Junction is located in Bayfield County
  • Sanborn
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sanborn have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sanborn
    • Sanborn is located in Ashland County
  • Marengo
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marengo
    • Marengo is located in Ashland County
  • Odanah
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Odanah
    • Odanah is located in Ashland County
  • Washburn
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washburn
    • Washburn is located in Bayfield County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,049 people
  • Benoit
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benoit
    • Benoit is located in Bayfield County
  • High Bridge
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Bridge
    • High Bridge is located in Ashland County
  • Moquah
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moquah
    • Moquah is located in Bayfield County
  • Mason
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mason have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason
    • Mason is located in Bayfield County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 99 people
  • Sedgwick
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sedgwick have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedgwick
    • Sedgwick is located in Ashland County
  • Birch
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Birch have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birch
    • Birch is located in Ashland County
  • Continue List   (10 more) ...
    • Ino
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ino have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ino
      • Ino is located in Bayfield County
    • Mellen
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mellen have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mellen
      • Mellen is located in Ashland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 686 people
    • La Pointe
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Pointe
      • La Pointe is located in Ashland County

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

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

The official website for Ashland County: www.co.ashland.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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- White River) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in White River. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.5358, Longitude: -90.8507       In this case, the coordinates for White River have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 White River, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024