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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

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

We've added Bowling Green to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Bowling Green, 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 Bowling Green (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 Bowling Green. 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 Bowling Green ...

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 occur.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Bowling Green: Bowling Grn.

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

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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals 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 Bowling Green is historic, it would have been located within present day Woodford 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 Woodford County: La Salle, Livingston, Marshall, McLean, Peoria & Tazewell.

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

  • Woodford County     (The home county of Bowling Green)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bowling Green, with the one closest to Bowling Green listed first.
    • Congerville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Secor
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Goodfield
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Eureka
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Kappa
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Kappa is located in Woodford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kappa
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 247 people
    • Roanoke
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • El Paso
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Panola
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Panola is located in Woodford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panola
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 51 people
    • Benson
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Metamora
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Woodford
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Woodford is located in Woodford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodford
    • Germantown Hills
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
  • De Witt County
    • Waynesville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • La Salle County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bowling Green, with the one closest to Bowling Green listed first.
    • Rutland
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Dana
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Dana is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dana
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 149 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dana <2>
    • Leeds
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Leeds is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leeds
  • Livingston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bowling Green, with the one closest to Bowling Green listed first.
    • Flanagan
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Graymont
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Long Point
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Ancona
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Logan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bowling Green, with the one closest to Bowling Green listed first.
    • Atlanta
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Emden
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Marshall County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bowling Green, with the one closest to Bowling Green listed first.
    • La Rose
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Toluca
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Varna
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Evans ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Evans is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evans
    • Hopewell
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Hopewell is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 394 people
    • Wenona
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Lacon
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Lacon is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,713 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lacon <2>
    • Sparland
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
  • McLean County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bowling Green, with the one closest to Bowling Green listed first.
    • Carlock
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Danvers
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Danvers is located in McLean County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danvers
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,093 people
      • Danvers has also been known as:
      • Danver
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Danvers <2>
    • Hudson
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Yuton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Yuton is located in McLean County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yuton
    • Normal
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Stanford
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Bloomington
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Towanda
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Gridley
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Shirley
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Lexington
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Brokaw
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Brokaw is located in McLean County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brokaw
  • Peoria County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bowling Green, with the one closest to Bowling Green listed first.
    • North Peoria
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • North Peoria is located in Peoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Peoria
    • Peoria Heights
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Rome
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Peoria
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Mossville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Keller
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Keller is located in Peoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keller
    • Chillicothe
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • West Peoria
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Bartonville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Pottstown
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Pottstown is located in Peoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pottstown
    • Bellevue
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Bellevue is located in Peoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellevue
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,037 people
    • Orange Prairie
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
  • Tazewell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bowling Green, with the one closest to Bowling Green listed first.
    • Deer Creek
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Lilly
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Lilly is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lilly
    • Cooper
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Cooper is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooper
    • Mayfair
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Mayfair is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayfair
    • Washington
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Allentown
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Allentown is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allentown
    • Mackinaw
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Mackinaw is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mackinaw
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,861 people
      • Former name for Mackinaw:
      • Mackinawtown
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mackinaw <2>
    • Crandall ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Crandall is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crandall
    • Tazewell
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Tazewell is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tazewell
    • Beverly Manor
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Beverly Manor is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beverly Manor
    • Morton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Morton is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 16,232 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Morton <2>
    • Harvard Hills
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Harvard Hills is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvard Hills

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

Cemeteries Near Bowling Green ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bowling Green.

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 Bowling Green - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Mennonite Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Oak Grove Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • White Oak Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Centennial Chapel Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Dells Apostolic Christian Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Imhoff Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Maurer Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Allison Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Wintz Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Denman Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Secor Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • North Danvers Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (315 more) ...
    • Troyer Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Hartman Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Eureka Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)

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

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

  • Congerville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Goodfield
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Carlock
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Secor
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Eureka
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Deer Creek
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Kappa
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Kappa is located in Woodford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kappa
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 247 people
  • Cruger
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Cruger is located in Woodford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cruger
  • Danvers
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Danvers is located in McLean County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danvers
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,093 people
    • Danvers has also been known as:
    • Danver
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Danvers <2>
  • El Paso
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Roanoke
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Lilly
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Lilly is located in Tazewell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lilly
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Yuton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Yuton is located in McLean County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yuton
    • Hudson
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Twin Grove
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Twin Grove is located in McLean County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Grove

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

Newspapers Published in Bowling Green ...

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 189 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bowling Green.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bowling Green, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bowling Green.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with 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 Bowling Green:

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 Bowling Green, 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>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.
<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- Bowling Green) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.