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 Batavia (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 Batavia. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Batavia is primarily located in Kane County. A portion of Batavia extends into DuPage County.
To see how the shape of Illinois' counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Kane County: Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Kendall, McHenry & Will.
Below are the counties that are near Batavia. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Batavia:
- Kane County (The home county of Batavia)
- The following are listed by their distance from Batavia, with the one closest to Batavia listed first.
- Geneva
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Mooseheart
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- North Aurora
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- North Aurora is located in Kane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Aurora
- Population from the 2020 Census: 18,144 people
- Saint Charles
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Bonnie
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Bonnie is located in Kane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonnie
- Bonnie has also been known as:
- Bonnie Valley
- Aurora
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Campton Hills
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Campton Hills is located in Kane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campton Hills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 11,063 people
- Campton Hills has also been known as:
- Campton Hills village
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Campton Hills <1>
- Wasco
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Elburn
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Coleman
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Coleman is located in Kane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleman
- South Elgin
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- South Elgin is located in Kane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Elgin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 24,646 people
- Sugar Grove
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Kaneville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Cook County
- The following are listed by their distance from Batavia, with the one closest to Batavia listed first.
- Hanover Park
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Streamwood
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Hoffman Estates
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Schaumburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- South Barrington
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- South Barrington is located in Cook County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Barrington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,976 people
- Elk Grove Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Berkeley
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Hillside
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Barrington Hills
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Barrington Hills is located in Cook County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrington Hills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,152 people
- Lemont
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Burr Ridge
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Indian Head Park
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Indian Head Park is located in Cook County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Head Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,680 people
- Fairfax Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Fairfax Village is located in Cook County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfax Village
- DeKalb County
- The following are listed by their distance from Batavia, with the one closest to Batavia listed first.
- Hinckley
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Cortland
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Sycamore
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Sycamore is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sycamore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 18,317 people
- Franks
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Franks is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franks
- Sandwich
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Charter Grove
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Charter Grove is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charter Grove
- New Lebanon
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- New Lebanon is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Lebanon
- Coltonville ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Coltonville is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coltonville
- De Kalb
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Somonauk
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Elva
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Elva is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elva
- Waterman
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Brush Point ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Brush Point is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brush Point
- DuPage County
- The following are listed by their distance from Batavia, with the one closest to Batavia listed first.
- West Chicago
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- West Chicago is located in DuPage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Chicago
- Population from the 2020 Census: 26,593 people
- Eola
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Warrenville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Ingalton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Ingalton is located in DuPage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingalton
- Winfield
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Wayne
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Naperville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Wheaton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Bartlett
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Carol Stream
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Cloverdale
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Cloverdale is located in DuPage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverdale
- Glen Ellyn
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Glendale Heights
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Grundy County
- The following are listed by their distance from Batavia, with the one closest to Batavia listed first.
- Minooka
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Channahon
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Sand Ridge
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Sand Ridge is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Ridge
- Kendall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Batavia, with the one closest to Batavia listed first.
- Montgomery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Boulder Hill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Boulder Hill is located in Kendall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boulder Hill
- Oswego
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Bristol
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Yorkville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Little Rock
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Little Rock is located in Kendall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Rock
- Plano
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Millbrook
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Plattville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Plattville is located in Kendall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plattville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 257 people
- Newark
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Lisbon
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Lisbon is located in Kendall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lisbon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 310 people
- La Salle County
- The following are listed by their distance from Batavia, with the one closest to Batavia listed first.
- Millington
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Leland
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Sheridan
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Lake County
- The following are listed by their distance from Batavia, with the one closest to Batavia listed first.
- Deer Park
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Lake Barrington
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Lake Barrington is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Barrington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,840 people
- North Barrington
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- North Barrington is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Barrington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,938 people
- Kildeer
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Lake Zurich
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Fox River Valley Gardens
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Port Barrington
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Port Barrington is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Barrington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,481 people
- Port Barrington has also been known as:
- Port Barrington village
- Tower Lakes
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Tower Lakes is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tower Lakes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,219 people
- Buffalo Grove
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Forest Lake
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Forest Lake is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Lake
- Long Grove
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Aptakisic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Aptakisic is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aptakisic
- Gilmer
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Gilmer is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilmer
- McHenry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Batavia, with the one closest to Batavia listed first.
- Algonquin
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Huntley
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Lake-in-the-Hills
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Fox River Grove
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Trout Valley
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Trout Valley is located in McHenry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trout Valley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 508 people
- Cary
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Crystal Lake
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Lakewood
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Oakwood Hills
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Oakwood Hills is located in McHenry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood Hills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,011 people
- Barreville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Barreville is located in McHenry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barreville
- Prairie Grove
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Prairie Grove is located in McHenry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,920 people
- Ridgefield
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Ridgefield is located in McHenry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgefield
- Union
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Will County
- The following are listed by their distance from Batavia, with the one closest to Batavia listed first.
- Normantown
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Normantown is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Normantown
- Winston Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Winston Village is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winston Village
- Plainfield
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Walker
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Walker is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walker
- Bloomfield Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bloomfield Village is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomfield Village
- Bolingbrook
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Colonial Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Colonial Village is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colonial Village
- Romeoville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Crystal Lawns
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Crystal Lawns is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Lawns
- Summerfield
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Summerfield is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerfield
- Crest Hill
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Lockport
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Fairmont
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Fairmont is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmont
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Batavia, see our County-by-County Page for Batavia.
Cemeteries Near Batavia ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Batavia.
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 Batavia - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Batavia covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Batavia, with the one closest to Batavia listed first.
- West Batavia Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Westside Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- East Batavia Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- East Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- River Hills Memorial Park
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- State Training School For Girls Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Marmion Academy Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Pioneer Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Resurrection Catholic Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Marywood Catholic Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Oak Hill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Hill Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Oak Hill Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Geneva.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #107244 <2>
- Westside Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Continue List (392 more) ...
- Calvary Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- St. Michael Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
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 Batavia had a population of 3,543 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Batavia had a population of 26,442 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Batavia, with the one closest to Batavia listed first.
- Geneva
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- North Aurora
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- North Aurora is located in Kane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Aurora
- Population from the 2020 Census: 18,144 people
- Saint Charles
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Eola
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Warrenhurst
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Warrenhurst is located in DuPage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warrenhurst
- Bald Mound
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Bald Mound is located in Kane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bald Mound
- Aurora
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Warrenville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Ingalton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Ingalton is located in DuPage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingalton
- Wayne
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Wasco
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Montgomery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Frontenac
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Frontenac is located in DuPage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frontenac
- Elburn
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Sugar Grove
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Batavia. See our List of 1890's Communities around Batavia.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Batavia ...
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 167 newspapers that have been published in the area around Batavia.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Batavia. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Batavia and those printed in the larger area surrounding Batavia.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<4> of Batavia.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Batavia:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Kane County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cook County
- DeKalb County
- DuPage County
- Grundy County
- Kendall County
- La Salle County
- Lake County
- McHenry County
- Will County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Illinois
Footnotes ...
| <1> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Batavia, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Batavia) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |