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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 Clear Lake (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 Clear Lake. 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 Clear Lake ...

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.

Another variation: Clearlake.

  • A typical abbreviation for Clear Lake: Clear Lk.

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

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.

Clear Lake is located in Sangamon 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 Sangamon County: Christian, Logan, Macon, Macoupin, Menard, Montgomery & Morgan.

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

  • Sangamon County     (The home county of Clear Lake)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clear Lake, with the one closest to Clear Lake listed first.
    • Riverton
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Grandview
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Grandview is located in Sangamon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,369 people
    • Spaulding
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Spaulding is located in Sangamon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spaulding
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 836 people
    • Ridgely
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Ridgely is located in Sangamon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgely
    • Rochester
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Springfield
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Sherman
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Hawthorne Place
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Hawthorne Place is located in Sangamon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawthorne Place
    • Southern View
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Southern View is located in Sangamon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southern View
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,557 people
    • Dawson
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jerome
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jerome is located in Sangamon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerome
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,575 people
    • Leland Grove
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Leland Grove is located in Sangamon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leland Grove
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,451 people
    • Buffalo
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Cass County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clear Lake, with the one closest to Clear Lake listed first.
    • Ashland
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Newmansville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Newmansville is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newmansville
    • Gurney ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Gurney is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gurney
    • Sylvan ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Sylvan is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvan
    • Philadelphia
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Philadelphia is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Philadelphia
  • Christian County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clear Lake, with the one closest to Clear Lake listed first.
    • Bolivia
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Bolivia is located in Christian County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolivia
    • Edinburg
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Mount Auburn
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Grove City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Grove City is located in Christian County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove City
    • Tovey
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Tovey is located in Christian County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tovey
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 467 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tovey <1>
    • Bulpitt
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Kincaid
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Sharpsburg
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Sharpsburg is located in Christian County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharpsburg
    • Jeisyville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Jeisyville is located in Christian County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeisyville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 100 people
    • Zenobia
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Zenobia is located in Christian County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zenobia
    • Langleyville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Langleyville is located in Christian County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langleyville
    • Stonington
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Taylorville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
  • Logan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clear Lake, with the one closest to Clear Lake listed first.
    • Cornland
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Elkhart
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Lake Fork
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Broadwell
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Broadwell is located in Logan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broadwell
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
    • Middletown
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Mount Pulaski
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Chestervale
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Chestervale is located in Logan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestervale
    • Latham
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • New Holland
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Lincoln
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Chestnut
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Bell
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Bell is located in Logan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell
    • Beason
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Macon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clear Lake, with the one closest to Clear Lake listed first.
    • Niantic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Blue Mound
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Harristown
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Boody
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Warrensburg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Bearsdale
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Bearsdale is located in Macon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bearsdale
  • Macoupin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clear Lake, with the one closest to Clear Lake listed first.
    • Virden
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Girard
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Mason County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clear Lake, with the one closest to Clear Lake listed first.
    • Mason City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Teheran
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Teheran is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teheran
  • Menard County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clear Lake, with the one closest to Clear Lake listed first.
    • Athens
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Croft
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Croft is located in Menard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Croft
    • Greenview
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Petersburg
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Tallula
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Oakford
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Montgomery County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clear Lake, with the one closest to Clear Lake listed first.
    • White Oak
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • White Oak is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Oak
    • Farmersville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Waggoner
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Morgan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clear Lake, with the one closest to Clear Lake listed first.
    • Waverly
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Alexander
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Prentice
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Prentice is located in Morgan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prentice
    • Franklin
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Clear Lake ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Clear Lake.

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 Clear Lake - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Oak Hill Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Roselawn Memorial Park
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Camp Butler National Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Bissell Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bissell Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Bissell Cemetery is located 5 miles [8 km]<2> to the northeast of Springfield.
    • The Bissell Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Churchill Cemetery
    • German Prairie Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #104767 <3>
  • Mallory Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Martin Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Ladysmith Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Rochester Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Taylor Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvary Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Calvary Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Springfield.
    • The Calvary Cemetery has also been known as:
    • German Catholic Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #104996 <3>
  • Lincoln Tomb
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Oak Ridge Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (278 more) ...
    • Wolf Creek Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Crowder Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Bice Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)

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.<4>

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

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

  • Riverton
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Spaulding
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Spaulding is located in Sangamon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spaulding
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 836 people
  • Ridgely
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Ridgely is located in Sangamon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgely
  • Springfield
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Rochester
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Barclay
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Barclay is located in Sangamon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barclay
  • Sherman
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Dawson
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Woodside
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Woodside is located in Sangamon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodside
  • Cotton Hill
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Cotton Hill is located in Sangamon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotton Hill
  • Berry
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Berry is located in Sangamon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berry
  • Buffalo
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Mechanicsburg
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Buffalo Hart
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Buffalo Hart is located in Sangamon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Hart
    • Williamsville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)

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

Newspapers Published in Clear Lake ...

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 63 newspapers that have been published in the area around Clear Lake.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Clear Lake, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Clear Lake.

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 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 Clear Lake:

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>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 from Point A (ie- Clear Lake) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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>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 Clear Lake, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.