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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 Carthage (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 Carthage. 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.

Carthage is located in Ogle 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 Ogle County: Carroll, DeKalb, Lee, Stephenson, Whiteside & Winnebago.

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

  • Ogle County     (The home county of Carthage)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Carthage, with the one closest to Carthage listed first.
    • Watertown
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Watertown is located in Ogle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watertown
    • Honey Creek
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Honey Creek is located in Ogle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honey Creek
    • Oregon
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Chana
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Flagg Center
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Flagg Center is located in Ogle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flagg Center
    • Flagg
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Flagg is located in Ogle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flagg
    • Mount Morris
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Woosung
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Hillcrest
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Hillcrest is located in Ogle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillcrest
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,216 people
    • Rochelle
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Byron
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Leaf River
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Polo
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • Boone County
    • Irene
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Irene is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irene
  • Bureau County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Carthage, with the one closest to Carthage listed first.
    • Van Orin
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • La Moille
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Ohio
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Walnut
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Kasbeer
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Greenoak
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Greenoak is located in Bureau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenoak
    • Limerick
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Limerick is located in Bureau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Limerick
  • Carroll County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Carthage, with the one closest to Carthage listed first.
    • Hazelhurst
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Hazelhurst is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazelhurst
    • South Elkhorn
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • South Elkhorn is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Elkhorn
    • Elkhorn Grove
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Elkhorn Grove is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhorn Grove
    • Hitt
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Hitt is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hitt
    • Milledgeville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Shannon
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Lanark
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Georgetown
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Georgetown is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgetown
    • Zier Cors
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Zier Cors is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zier Cors
    • Chadwick
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • DeKalb County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Carthage, with the one closest to Carthage listed first.
    • Esmond
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Malta
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Fairdale
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Fairdale is located in DeKalb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairdale
    • Shabbona
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Clare
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Kirkland
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Shabbona Grove
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Shabbona Grove is located in DeKalb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shabbona Grove
    • Elva
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Elva is located in DeKalb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elva
    • De Kalb
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Brush Point ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Brush Point is located in DeKalb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brush Point
    • Coltonville ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Coltonville is located in DeKalb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coltonville
    • Waterman
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Kingston
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • La Salle County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Carthage, with the one closest to Carthage listed first.
    • Mendota
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Earlville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Lee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Carthage, with the one closest to Carthage listed first.
    • Franklin Grove
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Ashton
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Nachusa
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Dixon
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Lee Center
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Eldena
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Amboy
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Inlet
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Inlet is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inlet
    • Steward
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Prairieville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Prairieville is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairieville
    • West Brooklyn
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Nelson
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • The Burg
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • The Burg is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Burg
  • Stephenson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Carthage, with the one closest to Carthage listed first.
    • German Valley
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Ridott
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Florence
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Florence is located in Stephenson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
    • Bolton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Bolton is located in Stephenson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolton
    • Freeport
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Whiteside County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Carthage, with the one closest to Carthage listed first.
    • Penrose
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Penrose is located in Whiteside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penrose
    • Rock Falls
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Sterling
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Galt
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Coleta
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Deer Grove
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Malvern
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Malvern is located in Whiteside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malvern
    • White Pigeon
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • White Pigeon is located in Whiteside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Pigeon
  • Winnebago County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Carthage, with the one closest to Carthage listed first.
    • Alworth
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Alworth is located in Winnebago County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alworth
    • Seward
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • New Millford
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • New Millford is located in Winnebago County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Millford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 851 people
    • Indian Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Indian Village is located in Winnebago County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
    • Winnebago
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • North Park
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • North Park is located in Winnebago County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Park
    • Rockford
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Pecatonica
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Cherry Valley
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Wempletown
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Wempletown is located in Winnebago County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wempletown

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

Cemeteries Near Carthage ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Carthage.

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

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

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

  • Lighthouse Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Chapel Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Washington Grove Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Daysville Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Grand Detour Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • County Farm Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Girton Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Franklin Grove Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Oak Ridge Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Mt. Union Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Emmert Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Ashton Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashton Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Ashton Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southwest of Ashton.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #488154 <2>
  • Continue List   (233 more) ...
    • St. Mary's Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Mt. Zion Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Riverside Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 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.<3>

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

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

  • Daysville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Daysville is located in Ogle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daysville
  • Grand Detour
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Franklin Grove
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Ashton
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Honey Creek
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Honey Creek is located in Ogle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honey Creek
  • Chana
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Oregon
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Nachusa
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Flagg
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Flagg is located in Ogle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flagg
  • Flagg Center
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Flagg Center is located in Ogle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flagg Center
  • Dixon
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Mount Morris
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Stratford
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Stratford is located in Ogle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stratford
    • Eldena
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Lee Center
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in Carthage ...

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 154 newspapers that have been published in the area around Carthage.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Carthage, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Carthage.

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 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 Carthage:

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 Carthage, 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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Carthage) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.