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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 Clarence (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 Clarence. 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 doctors 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.

Clarence is located in Ford 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 Ford County: Champaign, Iroquois, Kankakee, Livingston, McLean & Vermilion.

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

  • Ford County     (The home county of Clarence)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clarence, with the one closest to Clarence listed first.
    • Paxton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Roberts
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Elliott
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Melvin
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Gibson City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Gibson City is located in Ford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibson City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,275 people
      • Gibson City has also been known as:
      • Gibson
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gibson City <1>
    • Garber
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Garber is located in Ford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garber
    • Piper City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Proctor
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Proctor is located in Ford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Proctor
    • Sibley
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
  • Champaign County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clarence, with the one closest to Clarence listed first.
    • Ludlow
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Gifford
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Penfield
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Rantoul
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Flatville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Flatville is located in Champaign County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flatville
    • Prospect
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Prospect is located in Champaign County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prospect
    • Royal
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Royal is located in Champaign County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 273 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Royal <1>
    • Thomasboro
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Dewey
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Fisher
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Fisher is located in Champaign County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fisher
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,911 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fisher <1>
    • Ogden
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Ogden is located in Champaign County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogden
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 787 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ogden <1>
    • Saint Joseph
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
  • Iroquois County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clarence, with the one closest to Clarence listed first.
    • Loda
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Loda is located in Iroquois County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loda
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 396 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Loda <1>
    • Cissna Park
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Buckley
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Claytonville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Goodwine
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Del Rey
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Del Rey is located in Iroquois County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Del Rey
    • Woodworth
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Woodworth is located in Iroquois County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodworth
    • Wellington
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Schwer
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Schwer is located in Iroquois County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schwer
    • Thawville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Onarga
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Ridgeville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Ridgeville is located in Iroquois County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeville
  • Livingston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clarence, with the one closest to Clarence listed first.
    • Strawn
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Chatsworth
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Charlotte
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Charlotte is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlotte
    • Forrest
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • McLean County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clarence, with the one closest to Clarence listed first.
    • Cropsey
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Saybrook
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Anchor
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
    • Bellflower
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Vermilion County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clarence, with the one closest to Clarence listed first.
    • Rankin
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • East Lynn
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Armstrong
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Potomac
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Hoopeston
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Rossville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Henning
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Collison
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Coalton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Coalton is located in Vermilion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalton
    • Alvin
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Alvin is located in Vermilion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alvin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 246 people
      • Alvin has also been known as:
      • Alvan Village
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alvin <1>
    • Bismarck
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Newtown
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Newtown is located in Vermilion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newtown
  • Benton County (IN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clarence, with the one closest to Clarence listed first.
    • Ambia
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Ambia is located in Benton County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ambia
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 224 people
    • Dunn ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Dunn is located in Benton County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunn
    • Talbot
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Freeland Park
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Freeland Park is located in Benton County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeland Park
  • Warren County (IN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clarence, with the one closest to Clarence listed first.
    • Pence
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Pence is located in Warren County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pence
    • Hedrick
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Hedrick is located in Warren County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hedrick
    • Sloan ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Sloan is located in Warren County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sloan
    • State Line City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • State Line City is located in Warren County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for State Line City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 137 people
    • State Line
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • State Line is located in Warren County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for State Line

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

Cemeteries Near Clarence ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Clarence.

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

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

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

  • Pellville Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Mt. Olivet Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Trickle Grove Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Pleasant Grove Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Rankin Union Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Harwood Chapel Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harwood Chapel Cemetery
    • The Harwood Chapel Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Webber Cemetery
  • Patton Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Prospect Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Hall Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Huffman Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Pells Park Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Glen Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (206 more) ...
    • Chenoweth Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Tomlinson Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tomlinson Cemetery
      • The Tomlinson Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Tomlinson Pioneer Cemetery
    • Pine Ridge Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 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.<3>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Clarence had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Rankin
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Loda
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Loda is located in Iroquois County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loda
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 396 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Loda <1>
  • Paxton
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • East Lynn
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Cissna Park
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Ludlow
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Buckley
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Gifford
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Blue Grass ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Blue Grass is located in Vermilion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Grass
  • Claytonville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Dillsburg
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Dillsburg is located in Champaign County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dillsburg
  • Penfield
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (18 more) ...
    • Armstrong
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Hickman
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Hickman is located in Iroquois County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickman
    • Goodwine
      (12 miles [19.3 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 Clarence. See our List of 1890's Communities around Clarence.

Newspapers Published in Clarence ...

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 72 newspapers that have been published in the area around Clarence.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Clarence, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Clarence.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we 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 Clarence:

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