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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

So far, we found very little information about Illinoistown. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>

We've added Illinoistown to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Illinoistown, please Contact Us.

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 Illinoistown (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 Illinoistown. 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 hospitals and 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.

Although our information shows that the community of Illinoistown is historic, it would have been located within present day Placer County.

To see how the shape of California's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Placer County: El Dorado, Nevada, Sacramento, Sutter, Yuba, Carson City (NV), Douglas (NV) & Washoe (NV).

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

  • Placer County     (The home county of Illinoistown)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Illinoistown, with the one closest to Illinoistown listed first.
    • Colfax
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Chicago Park ‑ Historic
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Chicago Park. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chicago Park
      • Chicago Park is located in Placer County
    • Weimar
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Iowa Hill
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Secret Town
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Secret Town have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Secret Town
      • Secret Town is located in Placer County
    • Applegate
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Yankee Jims
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Yankee Jims have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yankee Jims
      • Yankee Jims is located in Placer County
    • Meadow Vista
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Gold Run
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Clipper Gap
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clipper Gap
      • Clipper Gap is located in Placer County
    • Foresthill
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Dutch Flat
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • El Dorado County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Illinoistown, with the one closest to Illinoistown listed first.
    • Greenwood
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Cool
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Fornis
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fornis
      • Fornis is located in El Dorado County
    • Georgetown
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Garden Valley
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Pilot Hill
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Quintette
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quintette
      • Quintette is located in El Dorado County
    • Coloma
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Lotus
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Salmon Falls ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Salmon Falls have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salmon Falls
      • Salmon Falls is located in El Dorado County
    • Jayhawk
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jayhawk
      • Jayhawk is located in El Dorado County
    • Equestrian Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Equestrian Village have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Equestrian Village
      • Equestrian Village is located in El Dorado County
  • Nevada County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Illinoistown, with the one closest to Illinoistown listed first.
    • Chicago Park
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Alta Sierra
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alta Sierra have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alta Sierra
      • Alta Sierra is located in Nevada County
    • Lake of the Pines
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake of the Pines have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake of the Pines
      • Lake of the Pines is located in Nevada County
    • You Bet ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for You Bet have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for You Bet
      • You Bet is located in Nevada County
    • Cedar Ridge
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Union Hill
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Hill
      • Union Hill is located in Nevada County
    • Grass Valley
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Gold Flat
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gold Flat have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gold Flat
      • Gold Flat is located in Nevada County
    • Glenbrook
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenbrook
      • Glenbrook is located in Nevada County
    • The Oaks
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Oaks
      • The Oaks is located in Nevada County
    • Spring Hill
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
      • Spring Hill is located in Nevada County
    • Bitney Corner
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bitney Corner
      • Bitney Corner is located in Nevada County
  • Sacramento County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Illinoistown, with the one closest to Illinoistown listed first.
    • Mormon Island ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Mormon Island. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mormon Island
      • Mormon Island is located in Sacramento County
    • Represa
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Represa
      • Represa is located in Sacramento County
    • Folsom
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Folsom
      • Folsom is located in Sacramento County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 82,726 people
      • Folsom has also been known as:
      • Folsom City
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Folsom <2>
  • Shasta County
    • Bear Valley ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bear Valley. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Valley
      • Bear Valley is located in Shasta County
  • Sierra County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Illinoistown, with the one closest to Illinoistown listed first.
    • Alleghany
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Forest
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest
      • Forest is located in Sierra County
  • Yuba County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Illinoistown, with the one closest to Illinoistown listed first.
    • Smartville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Timbuctoo ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timbuctoo
      • Timbuctoo is located in Yuba County
    • Dobbins
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Oregon House
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Camptonville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Foster Bar ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Foster Bar have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foster Bar
      • Foster Bar is located in Yuba County
    • Garden Valley ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garden Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Valley
      • Garden Valley is located in Yuba County
    • Bullards Bar ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bullards Bar have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bullards Bar
      • Bullards Bar is located in Yuba County
    • Wheatland
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Browns Valley
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Depot Hill ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Depot Hill. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Depot Hill
      • Depot Hill is located in Yuba County
    • Loma Rica
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loma Rica
      • Loma Rica is located in Yuba County

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

Newspapers Published in Illinoistown ...

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 69 newspapers that have been published in the area around Illinoistown.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Illinoistown, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Illinoistown.

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 Illinoistown:

Cemeteries Near Illinoistown ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Illinoistown.

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

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

  • Colfax Indian Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Colfax Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Colfax Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Colfax Cemetery
  • Iowa Hill Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Iowa Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Iowa Hill Cemetery
  • Foresthill Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Foresthill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Foresthill Cemetery
  • Foresthill Community Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Spanish Dry Diggings Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Elm Ridge Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Elm Ridge Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Elm Ridge Cemetery
  • Dutch Flat Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Dutch Flat Cemetery is located in the vicinity of Alta
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dutch Flat Cemetery
  • Catholic Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Catholic Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Catholic Cemetery is located in Grass Valley.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Catholic Cemetery
  • Josephine Mine Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Greenwood Memorial Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Greenwood Memorial Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Greenwood Memorial Cemetery
  • St. Patricks Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Patricks Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Patricks Cemetery
  • Continue List   (50 more) ...
    • Lone Star Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lone Star Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lone Star Cemetery
    • Deer Creek Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Deer Creek Cemetery is located outside and to the east of Nevada City.
      • The Deer Creek Cemetery has also been known as:
      • New Odd Fellows Cemetery
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Deer Creek Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2400769 <6>
    • Forest View Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)

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.

While we didn't find Illinoistown in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Illinoistown.

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

  • Colfax
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Weimar
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Chicago Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Yankee Jims
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Yankee Jims have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yankee Jims
    • Yankee Jims is located in Placer County
  • Buena Vista ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buena Vista have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
    • Buena Vista is located in Nevada County
  • Clipper Gap
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clipper Gap
    • Clipper Gap is located in Placer County
  • Kres
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kres have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kres
    • Kres is located in Nevada County
  • Gold Run
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • You Bet ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for You Bet have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for You Bet
    • You Bet is located in Nevada County
  • Wolf
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wolf have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf
    • Wolf is located in Nevada County
  • Union Hill
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Hill
    • Union Hill is located in Nevada County
  • Dutch Flat
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Glenbrook
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenbrook
      • Glenbrook is located in Nevada County
    • Towle
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Towle have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Towle
      • Towle is located in Placer County
    • Alta
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)

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

The official website for Placer County: www.placer.ca.gov/

The official website for State of California: https://www.ca.gov/

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 Illinoistown, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<4>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.
<5>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Illinoistown) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Illinoistown. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.0882, Longitude: -120.9566       In this case, the coordinates for Illinoistown have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>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.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024