Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
So far, we found very little information about Centerville. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>
We've added Centerville to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Centerville, 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 Centerville (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 Centerville. 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 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 Centerville is historic, it would have been located within present day Grundy 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 Grundy County: Kankakee, Kendall, La Salle, Livingston & Will.
Below are the counties that are near Centerville. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Centerville:
- Grundy County (The home county of Centerville)
- The following are listed by their distance from Centerville, with the one closest to Centerville listed first.
- Coal City
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Central City
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Central City is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central City
- Carbon Hill
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Carbon Hill is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbon Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 334 people
- Braceville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Diamond
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Gardner
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- East Brooklyn
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- East Brooklyn is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Brooklyn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 104 people
- South Wilmington
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- South Wilmington is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Wilmington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 637 people
- Mazon
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Claypool
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Claypool is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claypool
- Clarke City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Clarke City is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarke City
- Gaslight Village
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Gaslight Village is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gaslight Village
- Morris
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Ford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Centerville, with the one closest to Centerville listed first.
- Cabery
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Kempton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Iroquois County
- The following are listed by their distance from Centerville, with the one closest to Centerville listed first.
- Chebanse
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Clifton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Kankakee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Centerville, with the one closest to Centerville listed first.
- Essex
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Reddick
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Union Hill
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Bonfield
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Buckingham
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Goodrich
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Goodrich is located in Kankakee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodrich
- Herscher
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Limestone
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Limestone is located in Kankakee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Limestone
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,498 people
- Irwin
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Irwin is located in Kankakee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irwin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 71 people
- Bourbonnais
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Manteno
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Bradley
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Kankakee
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Kendall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Centerville, with the one closest to Centerville listed first.
- Lisbon
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Lisbon is located in Kendall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lisbon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 310 people
- Plattville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Plattville is located in Kendall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plattville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 257 people
- Newark
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Millbrook
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Oswego
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Yorkville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Bristol
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Plano
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- La Salle County
- The following are listed by their distance from Centerville, with the one closest to Centerville listed first.
- Seneca
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Seneca is located in La Salle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seneca
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,217 people
- Seneca has also been known as:
- Crotty
- Seneca village
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Seneca <2>
- Stavanger
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Stavanger is located in La Salle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stavanger
- Marseilles
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Ransom
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Kernan
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Kernan is located in La Salle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kernan
- Millington
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Blakes
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Blakes is located in La Salle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blakes
- Serena
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Sheridan
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Wedron
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Dayton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Dayton is located in La Salle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dayton
- Grand Ridge
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- South Ottawa ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- South Ottawa is located in La Salle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Ottawa
- Livingston County
- The following are listed by their distance from Centerville, with the one closest to Centerville listed first.
- Dwight
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Cardiff
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Cardiff is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cardiff
- Campus
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Sunbury
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Sunbury is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunbury
- Adams ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Adams is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adams
- Emington
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Budd
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Budd is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Budd
- Odell
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Griswold
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Griswold is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griswold
- Blackstone
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Eylar
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Eylar is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eylar
- Saunemin
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Missal
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Missal is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Missal
- Will County
- The following are listed by their distance from Centerville, with the one closest to Centerville listed first.
- Godley
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Godley is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Godley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 771 people
- Braidwood
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Lakewood Shores
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Lakewood Shores is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakewood Shores
- Custer Park
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Custer Park is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Custer Park
- Wilmington
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Wilmington is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,597 people
- Blodgett
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Blodgett is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blodgett
- Symerton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Symerton is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Symerton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 91 people
- Elwood
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Wilton Center
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Shorewood
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Manhattan
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Preston Heights
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Preston Heights is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Preston Heights
- Rockdale
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Rockdale is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockdale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,884 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Centerville, see our County-by-County Page for Centerville.
Cemeteries Near Centerville ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Centerville.
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 Centerville - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Centerville covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Centerville, with the one closest to Centerville listed first.
- Braceville - Gardner Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Cotton Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Mt. Olivet Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mt. Olivet Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Mt. Olivet Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the south of Braidwood.
- The Mt. Olivet Cemetery has also been known as:
- Rose Hill Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #107052 <3>
- Old Mazon Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Oakwood Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Oakwood Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southeast of Braidwood.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #107252 <3>
- Bohemian Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Bohemian National Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Brown Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Short Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Wheeler Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Brookside Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- North Essex Twp. Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Essex Twp. Cemetery
- The North Essex Twp. Cemetery has also been known as:
- Essex Cemetery
- Essex Twp. Cemetery
- North Essex Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #107202 <3>
- Continue List (260 more) ...
- Sample Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- South Essex Twp. Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Essex Twp. Cemetery
- The South Essex Twp. Cemetery has also been known as:
- Essex Cemetery
- Essex Twp. Cemetery
- Foote Cemetery
- South Essex Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1964373 <3>
- Custer Twp. Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Custer Twp. Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Custer Twp. Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Custer Park.
- The Custer Twp. Cemetery has also been known as:
- Custer Park Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #322758 <3>
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.
Centerville itself is historic and was described in the Rand McNally Atlas as having a population of 673 people in 1895 with railroad service and no post office.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Centerville, with the one closest to Centerville listed first.
- Coal City
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Braceville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Mazonia
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Mazonia is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mazonia
- Diamond
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Gardner
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Braidwood
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Mazon
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Essex
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Lorenzo
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Lorenzo is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lorenzo
- Divine
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Divine is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Divine
- Custer Park
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Custer Park is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Custer Park
- Wilmington
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Wilmington is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,597 people
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Ritchie
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Ritchie is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ritchie
- Blodgett
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Blodgett is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blodgett
- Morris
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Centerville. See our List of 1890's Communities around Centerville.
Newspapers Published in Centerville ...
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 70 newspapers that have been published in the area around Centerville.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Centerville, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Centerville.
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 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 Centerville:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Grundy County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Ford County
- Iroquois County
- Kankakee County
- Kendall County
- La Salle County
- Livingston County
- Will County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Illinois
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 Centerville, 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' (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- Centerville) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |